Coming off a season that featured its first playoff appearance in 14 years, the Washington University football team isn’t resting on its laurels and is hungrier than ever to build on last year’s success.

After starting the season 1-2, the Bears finished the regular season with a seven-game win streak and relied on their strong defensive presence and clutch scoring to win the University Athletic Association title and clinch a playoff berth for just the second time in school history. This season, the Bears hope to achieve those same two accomplishments and make it deep in the playoffs.

Adam Tarshis | Student Life

Junior wide receiver Matt McCareins catches a pass during practice on Tuesday at Francis Field. The Washington University football team will hold a scrimmage against Greenville College on Saturday and open the regular season against Ohio Northern University at home on Sept. 6.

“It was an incredible season, and we want to build on that,” senior defensive back Ryan Bednar said. “We can’t rely on the success of last year for any of our success this year. It’s great that we have veteran leadership, but this is a new team and we’re not trying to be the same team as last season.”

While the Red and Green won’t be able to rely on graduated quarterback Eric Daginella, defensive lineman Nelson Nwumeh and defensive back Tate Byers to guide the team this season, head coach Larry Kindbom has been pleased with the senior class that has demonstrated its veteran presence both on and off the field.

“We have a huge senior class and while not everyone starts, each one of the guys plays an important leadership role on this team,” Kindbom said. “It’s great to see some of the guys like [senior linebacker Fade] Oluokun and Bednar become more vocal, and it’s helping this team form their own identity.”

With last season’s team surrendering only 11.5 points per game and recording two shutouts, Oluokun and Bednar believe that the unit has the ability to match and improve on those numbers as long as it focuses on stopping the run and creates pressure in the backfield. According to Bednar, senior linebackers Ryan Rees and Jonathan Paramore have impressed the team with their physical improvements.

“Even though we’ve got different guys from last season, there’s really not much that we want to change,” Bednar said. “We have guys who are familiar with our system and are coming back stronger and faster. Our expectations for this unit are higher than ever.”

While the team will rely on senior offensive linemen Will Thompson and Connor Meneough to guide the offensive unit, uncertainty remains at the quarterback position. The competition is up for grabs between sophomores J.J. Tomlin and Matt Page, junior Seamus Finnegan, and seniors Sam Van Doren and Alex Hodakowski, each of whom has had his fair share with the first unit. Kindbom will most likely announce his final decision after the team’s scrimmage against Greenville College on Friday.

“Everybody is just trying to show that they can be the man to take the job,” Oluokun said. “We’ve seen some good competition so far and we’re rooting for everyone. Each guy is learning the offense and throwing the ball well. At the end of the day, we want to have our quarterback make the right reads and the best plays for the team.”

To increase offensive production, the Bears hope to play at a faster pace this season, and the unit will run more hurry-up calls to catch defenses off guard. The Red and Green hope that their new offensive schemes will give them an edge against tough opponents like Rhodes College, University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University. The Bears open the regular season on Sept. 6 at home against Ohio Northern, a team they have never faced. While Wash. U. may not have the biggest and fastest players compared to the Klondikes, Kindbom is confident that his team will still be competitive enough and be prepared mentally.

“We played a close, competitive game last year against [the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater], and if we continue to work hard in the preseason, I’m hopeful we’ll see similar results,” Kindbom said. “As long as we work together as a team and prepare every week and take advantage of the situations on the field, I’m confident that we’ll have a great season.”