St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 8, 2014 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team ran its home winning streak to four games with a 47-19 win over Alfred State Saturday night at Francis Field in St. Louis.
Washington U. improved its record to 4-5 with the win, while Alfred State dropped to 2-7. Washington U. seeks to finish with a .500 season traveling to Carnegie Mellon University Saturday, Nov. 15, in Pittsburgh. Game time is set for Noon (ET).
The Bears totaled 404 yards of total offense in the win, and the defense forced three turnovers. Washington U. has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games for the first time in school history.
Alfred State senior running back Rasheed Williams finished the contest with 236 yards rushing on 34 carries and three touchdowns, marking the fifth time this season he has eclipsed 200 yards on the ground. The Pioneers totaled 246 yards rushing on 41 carries.
The Bears forced their first turnover of the game on Alfred State's opening possession after junior Jonathan Way picked off freshman QB Jake Bahantka at midfield. Way's interception led to the first score of the game after sophomore running back Austin Smestad scored from one-yard out to make it 7-0 with 6:18 to play.
Washington U.'s defense came up big again late in the first quarter after senior linebacker Fade Oluokun picked off Bahantka and returned it to the Pioneer 30-yard line. Five plays later, junior kicker Alex Hallwachs booted a 36-yard field to push the advantage to 10-0.
Alfred State rode the back of Williams for its first points of the game. He carried the ball eight times for 36 yards, and capped the 12-play, 61-yard scoring drive with a six-yard run to trim the lead to 10-7 with 1:57 before half.
Washington U. answered back with a six-play, 69-yard drive, capped by sophomore quarterback's J.J. Tomlin 19-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Hammarlundon a fade route to make it 17-7.
Alfred State had a 20:26-9:34 advantage in time of possession, but Washington U. totaled 166 yards of total offense on just 30 plays. Williams ran for 90 yards on 21 carries and a TD in the opening half for the Pioneers.
After Washington U.'s defense forced a punt on the first possession of the third quarter, Hallwachs booted a 35-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-7. The field goal for Hallwachs was his 12th of the season. The Bears pushed the lead to 27-7 after Tomlin connected on a 25-yard TD pass to senior tight end Chris Levine after a botched snap on a field goal.
With the Bears leading by 20, Williams snuck through the Washington U. defense for a 50-yard touchdown run to trim the lead to 27-13. Senior running back Alex Graham added a one-yard TD run to put the game out of reach.
Senior quarterback Alex Hodakowski threw a 12-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Hank Childs and senior David Smith added a 27-yard touchdown run to round out the scoring for the Bears.
Tomlin finished the day 19-of-32 for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while Hodakowski was 3-for-3 for 58 yards and a TD. Washington U.'s three quarterbacks connected with nine different receivers in the win.
Senior defensive back Patrick Cantwell led the defensive unit with eight solo tackles, while junior defensive back Quincy Marting, senior linebacker Jonathan Paramore and Oluokun added five tackles each
Bear Notebook: This was the first meeting in school history between the two teams … Head coach Larry Kindbom picked up win number 160 at Washington U. … Senior Connor Meneough made his 40th-straight start at left tackle … Oluokun, junior Dylan Petre and Way each recorded the second INT of their career … The Bears have won 10 of their last 11 games at Francis Field … Washington U. is 22-7 (.759) when playing in the month of November since 2000 … WUSTL was 6-of-6 in the red zone.