Football’s perseverance pays off against Rhodes

| Managing Editor

Brian Benton | Student Life

Junior Zach Lonneman (left) cuts upfield as sophomore Max Elliot provides a block during the football team’s 10-7 victory over Rhodes. Lonneman had 117 all-purpose yards in the victory.

Karma seemed to favor the Washington University football team with second chances on Saturday at Francis Field in a 10-7 victory over Rhodes College. With a tied score of 7-7 at the end of the fourth quarter, the Red and Green found themselves in a close game against Rhodes for the second year in a row.

Rhodes kickers couldn’t seal the deal on either a 40-yard field goal or 35-yard field goal in the overtime periods, and the Bears took advantage of the peculiar situation. Sophomore kicker Alex Hallwachs, who had field goals in the first quarter and first overtime blocked, delivered a 27-yard strike in double overtime to clinch the Bears’ first win of the season and improve their record to 1-1.

“They’re a good football team, and we knew that going in,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “There were plays where we didn’t want to put ourselves in, and we had some weird moments on special teams, but we closed it out when it mattered most.”

While Wash. U. found a way to win in the end, the team had several miscues against the Lynx—missing field goals, turning the ball over three times on two lost fumbles and an interception, and failing to put points on the board until the fourth quarter.

“We’re much better than Rhodes as a group, but we didn’t play that way,” junior linebacker Fade Oluokun said. “We made too many mistakes that kept Rhodes close to us, and we got stuck in a dogfight. We pulled through, but we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Senior defensive lineman Nelson Nwumeh, who led the team with 10 tackles, and the rest of the defense provided pressure that limited the Lynx’s passing game to a mere 64 yards and forced three interceptions. But Rhodes relied on its running game, which produced 236 yards on 62 carries.

“I don’t think fatigue was much of factor, but they found a few plays that were working for them and kept running them,” senior defensive back Tate Byers said. “We gave up more yards-per-carry than we wanted to, and they run the zone read well. We just have to watch film and do better on first downs to force third-and-long situations.”

Besides giving up a 39-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, the defense kept Rhodes off the scoreboard and stopped four of the Lynx’s five fourth-down attempts.

“We weren’t too surprised when we saw them trying to go on fourth,” junior defensive back Ryan Bednar, who had all three of the three interceptions, said. “Their offense has always been about being aggressive, so we practiced with that mindset this past week.”

Offensively, the Bears moved the ball consistently for most of the game. Junior running back Zach Lonneman carried the ball 20 times for 100 yards; however, turnovers and 13 of 17 failed third-down conversions kept the Bears scoreless for three quarters.

“We need to be more disciplined, and I think that’ll happen through practice,” senior quarterback Eric Daginella, who completed 13 of his 32 passes, said. “We moved the ball well for most of our drives, but we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, and we need to stop doing that.”

Nevertheless, the offense put together a much-needed 45-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to tie up the score at 7 with nine minutes left and send the game into overtime.

“When our backs are against the walls, we showed that we can be at our best,” Daginella said. “We’re not going to give in, and our perseverance showed in the end.”

The Bears hit the road Saturday to play No. 22 Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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