Junior Matthew Kinoshita (left) and senior Fred Ware power the Bears’ run game this season. (Jessi Szafoni | Contributing Photographer)

The Detroit Lions have the NFL’s best one-two rushing attack: Jahmyr Gibbs as the elusive speedster and David Montgomery as the powerful bruiser — Sonic and Knuckles, as the duo has come to be known. The WashU football team has two versions of Knuckles: senior Fred Ware and junior Matthew Kinoshita, both smaller and intensely physical running backs. The duo combined for over 300 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the win against Illinois Wesleyan Oct. 4.

Saturday presented an all-important conference clash against the Titans, who were 2-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play. Coming into this matchup, WashU was 1-1 in the CCIW, having beat Carroll University but losing to No. 1 North Central College. The Bears bounced back with a 42-40 win to improve to 3-1 on the season. 

“When we lose a game, there’s some things technique-wise, execution-wise, effort-wise that we’ve got to correct,” head coach Aaron Keen said. “I felt like our guys had an awesome week of preparation leading into the game, and it’s nice to get a ‘W’ here.” 

On a pleasant 6 p.m. kickoff with an attendance of 1,056, the Bears defense took to the field first. Three minutes in, the Titans scored the first touchdown of the game via a 41-yard-long pass on a route that was uncovered over the top. The Titans missed the extra point, making the score 6-0.

The Bears offense immediately responded. Senior running back Fred Ware broke out for back-to-back runs of 26 and 9 yards. Down on the Titans’s 31-yard line, a botched snap on the third down left the Bears with a 4th & 9. Outside of field goal range, the Bears decided to go for it, and it paid off. Junior quarterback Levi Moore unlaunched a deep pass to junior receiver Makael Carter, who rose highest to bring the ball down in the end zone. The Bears converted the extra point to make it 7-6.

Six minutes later, the Titans scored again. The Bears defense could not prevent chunk play after chunk play, and Illinois Wesleyan punched the football in from three yards out to make it 13-6. 

Their next opportunity, the Bears defense held the Titans in check for the first time, giving the offense five and a half minutes before halftime to score. Throughout the drive, WashU continued to grind the Illinois Wesleyan defense down on the ground. Moore converted a 4th & 1 to keep the drive alive, and Ware ran the ball in from the 8-yard line to score. Going into half, the score was 14-13 for the Bears.

The second half kicked off with a bang, with junior Drew Bomar returning the kickoff to the halfway line. An offsides on the Titans extended the drive for the Bears, and a sliding grab from Bomar took the offense to the 21-yard line. Two plays later Bumar connected with Moore again for a 17-yard touchdown, giving the Bears their first lead 21-13. Following a quick Illinois Wesleyan three-and-out, the Bears offense and run game, again, could not be stopped. Kinoshita, who accounted for all of the team’s 59 yards on this drive, cut through the Titans defense for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 28-13.

Speaking on the run game, Keen described how his team prepared for this matchup. 

“[Illinois Wesleyan] played three different defensive fronts and we weren’t really sure what they were gonna play,” Keen said. “So once we identified what they’re gonna play, our kids had a lot of confidence attacking … and our run game was able to take advantage of it.”

However, the Titans immediately dampened the mood and broke the Bears’ streak of 21 unanswered points, returning a kickoff 80 yards for Illinois Wesleyan’s first points of the half. However, they missed another extra point, leaving the score 28-19 with 7:44 left in the third.

As the fourth quarter started, it was the run game that again brought the Bears a touchdown. Moore ran for a 10-yard touchdown, and the Bears converted the extra point, bringing the score to 35-19. On the next drive, the Bears repeated their run-first game plan. Ware broke through the middle for a 53-yard touchdown. 

With three minutes left in the fourth, the Titans scored another touchdown and converted the two-point to bring it to 42-33. Illinois Wesleyan then recovered an onside kick and scored another touchdown to make it 42-40. The game came down to another onside kick with 1:02 on the clock. This time, though, the Bears special teams recovered the ball, then seeing out the rest of the game for a 42-40 victory. 

Moore shared his thoughts on finding a way to grind out a tough win.

“I thought it was a gritty game, for sure,” he said. “[Our] offense pulled through, scoring every drive, and then the defense came through at the end. Those two missed field goals were crucial. So things like that really, really help on a game like this.”

The Bears will look to carry their winning momentum away at Carthage College next Saturday, Oct. 11.