Wash. U. quarterback Matt Rush threw for 208 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ loss to No. 1-ranked North Central, Saturday afternoon at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis. (Photo: Nathan Assata)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS — The chances of claiming a share of the CCIW championship came to a crashing thud Saturday afternoon at Francis Olympic Field, for the Washington University football team. The Bears got thrashed by No. 1-ranked North Central, 59-20.

The visiting Cardinals looked every bit like the best team in D3 football this season, as they controlled the action right from the start and led throughout. North Central scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and ran back a punt for a score to lead 42-0 at halftime.

Then in the second half, the Cardinals blocked a Wash. U. field goal attempt to keep the Bears off the scoreboard, then drove down the field and scored another touchdown to lead 49-0.

Wash. U. found some rhythm after that and scored on its next two possessions — getting a touchdown pass from Matt Rush and another from Cole Okmin — but it wasn’t enough, as North Central scored a couple more times on its own to push the score to 59-14 before the Bears got a score in the final minute to finish the game.

Rush finished the day with 17 completions on 31 attempts for 208 yards and the one touchdown. On defense, senior defensive back Andrew Whitaker had a game-high 11 tackles, nine of them solo stops, and two pass breakups, but again, it wasn’t enough against a 9-0 North Central team that has simply overpowered every team its faced this season.

The Bears are now 6-3 on the season and 6-2 in CCIW play, with the two losses coming to No. 1 North Central and No. 3 Wheaton. Wash. U. will close out its season with a road game at Carthage, next Saturday, November 13.

Opening kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 12 p.m.