Wash. U.’s Collin Goldberg (1) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in Saturday’s 37-7 win over Carroll. (Photo courtesy: Wash. U. Athletics)
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wash. U. (8-2, 7-2) | 10 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
| Carroll (6-4, 5-4) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer
WAUKESHA, WI — The Washington University football team closed out its 2022 regular season with a 37-7 blowout road win over Carroll University.
The victory gave the Bears an 8-2 overall record and 7-2 mark in CCIW play. The NCAA Division III football playoffs selection show is Sunday, and though it’s not likely Wash. U. will receive a spot in the national championship tournament, it is possible it may be invited to play in one of Division III’s three postseason bowl games.
Last year, the Bears did play in a bowl game, as there were invited to play in the first ever Isthmus Bowl.
In Saturday’s regular season finale, Wash. U. played without standout quarterback Matt Rush, who was injured in the final minutes of last week’s game against Wheaton.
But that didn’t seem to bother the Bears one bit, as backup QB Clark Stephens made his first career start and threw for 295 yards and five touchdowns. The sophomore from Bronxville, N.Y., completed 24-of-29 passes and didn’t throw any interceptions.
Overall, Wash. U. outgained Carroll, 416 yards to 182. The Bears also forced three turnovers — all interceptions — and only gave up one themselves. The 30-point win was the Bears’ sixth this season, with all eight of their wins coming by at least three touchdowns.
On Saturday, Wash. U. jumped out to a 10-0 lead, thanks to a field goal by Chris Vartanian and a touchdown pass from Stephens to Collin Goldberg.
The host Pioneers responded scoring a touchdown on the next drive, just before the end of the first quarter. But the Bears answered with two touchdowns in the second quarter — both touchdown tosses by Stephens — and then single touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters — also scoring throws by Stephens — to close out the game.
Wash. U. will now wait to see if it gets a postseason invitation. If not, the program will head into the offseason having earned its fourth straight winning season.
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | WAS | CAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 09:05 | WAS – Vartanian, Chris 20 yd field goal 8 plays, 57 yards, TOP 03:42 | 3 | 0 |
| 1st | 05:18 | WAS – Goldberg, Collin 9 yd pass from Stephens, Clark (Vartanian, Chris kick) 5 plays, 49 yards, TOP 02:15 | 10 | 0 |
| 1st | 00:45 | CAR – Eichstaedt, Austin 17 yd pass from McClain, Tyler (Laurent, Jacob kick) 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:26 | 10 | 7 |
| 2nd | 11:21 | WAS – Goldberg,Collin 13 yd pass from Stephens, Clark (PAT failed) 8 plays, 52 yards, TOP 04:19 | 16 | 7 |
| 2nd | 00:14 | WAS – Okmin, Cole 2 yd pass from Stephens, Clark (Vartanian, Chris kick) 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:19 | 23 | 7 |
| 3rd | 09:27 | WAS – Hoyhtya, Collin 19 yd pass from Stephens, Clark (Vartanian, Chris kick) 10 plays, 66 yards, TOP 05:24 | 30 | 7 |
| 4th | 09:56 | WAS – Sirek, Gabriel 7 yd pass from Stephens, Clark (Vartanian, Chris kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 04:15 | 37 | 7 |
| 37 | 7 |