Wash. U. defenders Andrew Dotson (11) and Matthew Schmal (32) take down a Wheaton ballcarrier during Saturday’s game at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

Team1st2nd3rd4thFinal
#15 Wheaton7217742
#25 Wash. U.71401435

Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS, MO — The No. 25 Washington University football team fell to No. 15 Wheaton College, 42-35, Saturday afternoon at Francis Olympic Field. The Bears are now 7-2 on the season and 6-2 in the CCIW.

Wheaton got on the board first, on its first drive. Giovanni Weeks started with an 18-yard run and then caught a three-yard pass from quarterback Will Bowers. Weeks ran for another six yards and Ben Juska rushed for two for another first down. Bowers picked up 31 yards to put the Thunder on the 14 and then hit Matthew Tucker for a four-yard pass. Weeks notched another seven yards before running in for a three-yard touchdown. Caleb Mary’s kick was good, giving Wheaton a 7-0 edge with 11:16 left in the first quarter.

Wash. U. turned around to tie things up on its first drive of the game, starting with a nine-yard run by senior quarterback Matt Rush. Rush hit senior Danny Taylor for a six-yard pass and Kenneth Hamilton picked up two yards to bring the Bears to the 50.

Rush connected with senior Cole Okmin for 12 yards and a first down before finding sophomore Collin Goldberg for a four-yard pass to the 34. Rush’s next pass intended for Goldberg was incomplete, but the Bears moved up five yards to the 29 following a Wheaton offside penalty. Wash. U., however, got pushed back 10 yards on the next play following a holding call.

Rush ran for nine yards to the 30 and Hamilton broke free for an 18-yard run picking up a first down at the 12. Rush then ran for four yards before Hamilton added another seven for a first down at the one yard line. Hamilton finished the job with a one-yard touchdown run and senior kicker Chris Vartanian converted the extra point to tie things up at seven apiece.

Wheaton began its next drive with a five-yard run from Weeks before catching a six-yard pass from Bowers. Weeks added another two yards before Bowers hit Tyler Gautier for a five-yard pass to the Thunder’s own 43. Bowers threw back-to-back five-yard passes to Ben Bonga and Gautier, respectively and then hit Jack Allen for 18 yards for a first down at the 29.

Weeks picked up another two yards and then caught a six-yard pass from Powers to put the Thunder at the 21. Bowers ran for four yards on the final play of the first quarter. Bowers opened the second quarter with a 12-yard pass to Gautier and Weeks ran the final five yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, putting Wheaton up 13-7.

The Bears reached their own 10 before punting on the next drive, giving Wheaton the ball back.

Starting on their own 45, the Thunder started things with an 18-yard run from Bowers to the 37 before Bowers hit Bonga for a 25-yard pass for a first down at the 12. Bowers then connected with Tucker for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The Thunder went for another two-point conversion and were successful this time, as Bowers found Juska in the end zone to go up 21-7.

Wash. U. started its next drive with a five-yard delay of game penalty, moving back to its own 30. Rush was then sacked for a loss of two but the Bears picked up five yards on a Wheaton offside call. Rush followed that with a 17-yard pass to Hamilton and another 11-yard pass to Okmin for back-to-back first downs. Hamilton broke away for a 37-yard touchdown run and Vartanian’s kick was good, cutting Wheaton’s lead to 21-14 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half.

Wash. U.’s defense forced a Wheaton punt on the following drive, setting the Bears up for another touchdown.

Following a false start call that moved them back five yards, Rush hit Lamphier for a 77-yard touchdown run. Vartanian converted the extra point, tying things up 21-21 with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter.

The Thunder ended the half with one final touchdown drive, starting with a Weeks’ 15-yard run. Weeks ran for another 11 yards, picking up a first down at the 45. Weeks added another four yards before Bowers found Bonga for six yards to the 35.

Bowers hit Bonga for another six-yard pass and followed that with a five-yard pass to Weeks for a first down. Weeks ran for 12 yards to the 12, but Wheaton was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, moving back 15 yards. The Bears’ defense then stopped the Thunder for a loss of four yards before Bowers hit Tucker for an 11-yard pass for a first down at the 20.

Tucker picked up another seven yards on a pass from Bowers and Bowers ran for 10 yards for a first down at the three. The next pass to Bonga had no game, but Weeks finished things off with a three-yard run and Mary’s kick was good for a 28-21 Wheaton lead.

Wash. U. received to start the third quarter, but after only reaching its own 28, was forced to punt.

Wheaton’s next drive started with a six-yard pass from Bowers to Tucker, followed by a four-yard pass from Bowers to Juska. Bowers kept the ball and picked up 22 yards for a first down at the Thunder’s own 46. Weeks picked up two yards and Bowers added 18 yards on two rushes for a first down at the 34. Weeks recorded three yards ad Bowers hit Bonga for an eight-yard pass to the 23. Bowers found Tuckers for nine more yards and Weeks ran for one yard for a first down at the 13. Weeks ran for another three yards before Bowers connected with Bonga for a 17-yard touchdown. Caleb’s kick was good for a 35-21 Wheaton lead.

Wash. U. started its next drive with a loss of four yards before Rush found Goldberg for an 11-yard pass. Rush was sacked for a loss of five yards but Wheaton was hit with a holding penalty, moving WashU up 15 yards. Rush connected with Collin Hoyhtya for a 20-yard pass for a first down at the 40 before Ware ran for two yards, 18 yards and two yards, respectively. Rush found Goldberg for a 10-yard pass to the eight, ending the third quarter.

The Bears opened the fourth quarter with a seven-yard run by Ware to the one and Hamilton finished things off with a one-yard touchdown run. Vartanian’s kick was good, cutting the Thunder’s lead to 35-28.

Wheaton opened its next drive with a nine-yard run from Bowers but lost 10 yards on a holding call. Weeks broke open for a 41-yard run to the 41 for a first down before Wheaton moved back five yards on a delay of game. Allen ran for four yards before Bowers hit Gautier for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Mary’s kick was good, extending Wheaton’s lead to 42-28.

After stopping Wheaton one yard short of a first down, the Bears took over and began their drive with 2:24 remaining in the game.

Ware ran for back-to-back rushes of 18 and 10 yards, respectively. Quarterback Clark Stephens ran for no gain, but the Bears moved up 10 yards on a Wheaton holding call. Ware picked up another three yards and Stephens connected with Hoyhtya for five yards. Stephens then launched a 23-yard pass to Hamilton for a touchdown and Vartanian converted the kick, cutting the Thunder’s lead to 42-35 with just over one minute left on the clock.

Wheaton finished with 505 yards of total offense with 234 passing and 271 rushing while the Bears had 386 yards of total offense with 225 passing and 161 rushing.

Rush went 13-for-17 with 190 yards and one touchdown. Hamilton led the Bears in rushing with 77 yards on 10 attempts with three touchdowns while Ware had 63 yards on 10 attempts. Lamphier led WashU’s receivers with 77 yards on one catch and a touchdown. Hamilton finished with 49 receiving yards on four catches and one touchdown.

Defensively, Sam Mattecheck finished with nine total tackles including four solo while Connor Burke had eight total with seven solo. Kyle Schroeder also had eight total with three solo and Gus Christensen finished with seven total including five solo with one tackle for a loss.

Wash. U. concludes the regular-season with a 12 p.m. game at Carroll next Saturday.

QtrTimeScoring PlayWHEATONWASH. U.
1st11:16WHEATON – Weeks, Giovanni 3 yd run (Mary, Caleb kick), 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:4470
1st05:41WASH. U. – Kenneth Hamilton 1 yd run (Chris Vartanian kick), 12 plays, 67 yards, TOP 5:2977
2nd14:23WHEATON – Weeks, Giovanni 5 yd run (Spisz, Evan rush failed), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:18137
2nd11:25WHEATON – Tucker, Matthew 12 yd pass from Bowers, Will (Juska, Ben pass) 4 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:18217
2nd10:14WASH. U. – Kenneth Hamilton 37 yd run (Chris Vartanian kick), 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:032114
2nd07:59WASH. U. – Treyton Lamphier 77 yd pass from Matt Rush (Chris Vartanian kick) 1 plays, 72 yards, TOP 0:132121
2nd01:40WHEATON – Weeks, Giovanni 3 yd run (Mary, Caleb kick), 16 plays, 71 yards, TOP 6:192821
3rd05:21WHEATON – Bonga, Ben 17 yd pass from Bowers, Will (Mary, Caleb kick) 14 plays, 86 yards, TOP 7:403521
4th14:14WASH. U. – Kenneth Hamilton 1 yd run (Chris Vartanian kick), 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 6:013528
4th11:08WHEATON – Gautier, Tyler 42 yd pass from Bowers, Will (Mary, Caleb kick) 4 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:064228
4th01:11WASH. U. – Kenneth Hamilton 23 yd pass from Clark Stephens (Chris Vartanian kick) 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:134235