The Wash. U. Bears will host their second game of the season, Saturday afternoon against Millikin, at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS, MO — After making a spectacular 2022 season debut, with a 52-7 win over Hendrix last week, the Washington University football team will be back in action, with its first CCIW game of the year, Saturday afternoon against Millikin.

The Bears blasted the Big Blue in their meeting last year, 55-13, in a game in which quarterback Matt Rush threw five touchdown passes and tight end Cole Okmin scored five touchdowns (four receiving, one rushing).

Players to Watch: The player to watch on Saturday will undoubtedly be Rush. He is the clear leader of Wash. U., and Millikin knows it needs to find a way to control him or they might be in danger of getting routed like they were last year.

That won’t be easy though. Rush is coming off another five-touchdown game last week against Hendrix, that earned him national recognition as Top Quarterback of the Week by D3Football.com.

Rush’s top receivers last week, were junior Collin Hoyhtya and sophomore Zachary Ginsburg. Both had three catches and combined for 120 receiving yards.

The Bears were also terrific running the ball last week. Their three primary ballcarriers, Kenvorris Campbell, Kenneth Hamilton, and Fred Ware, combined for 199 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Defensively, Wash. U. held Hendrix to just 34 rushing yards, sacked the Warrior quarterback three times, and intercepted him twice.

Millikin is also coming off a win in its season opener. The Big Blue defeated Greenville, 28-14, back on September 3. Last week was an open date for Millikin, meaning it has had two weeks to prepare for this game against Wash. U.

In that game, the Big Blue was led by quarterback Aidan Lombardo, who threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 44 yards. Receivers Leigh Nutall and Jahlil Lipkin both caught long touchdown passes in the game, including a game-changing 76-yard bomb from Lombardo to Lipkin.

Next Up: Wash. U. will play its first road game of the season next Saturday, September 24, when the team will travel to Kenosha, Wisc., to play Carthage University. Millikin will be back at home next week, to play a game against North Park.