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St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 22, 2018 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team picked up its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) victory with a 51-31 win over Carthage College Saturday at Francis Field in St. Louis.
WashU improved to 2-1 and 1-1 in the CCIW, while Carthage dropped to 1-2 and 1-1 in the league.
WashU forced a season-high five turnovers, including four interceptions, and four sacks in the win. Senior linebacker Jake Coon had a season-high 13 tackles, while junior linebacker Jeff Gurley made six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and added a sack.
"Our guys stayed focused on one play at a time today," said WashU head coach Larry Kindbom. "Our offense had the confidence to move the football and came out of the locker room ready to play. Our defense stepped up today and coach (Jeff) Fisher put us in great position to win today."
Junior quarterback Johnny Davidson was 25-of-40 for 297 yards and four touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Jason Singer had five catches for 100 yards and a pair of TDs.
Carthage jumped in front 7-0 in the opening four minutes of play, but it was all WashU the rest of the quarter. The Bears scored on four consecutive possessions, and added a safety.
Davidson scored from two yards out to tie the game, and then junior defensive line Carter Rholl initiated a safety to make it 9-7. Singer scored the first of his two TDs in the quarter with a 24-yard TD pass with 5:09 left to push the lead to 15-7.
Sophomore Joe Rogan booted a 43-yard field goal, and then Singer hauled in a 48-yard TD pass from Davidson with 1:23 to play to make it 25-7. Davidson was 7-of-10 for 139 yards as WashU had 195 yards of total offense in the opening quarter.
After a Carthage TD, junior tight end Mitchell Groen hauled in five-yard TD pass to push the lead to 32-14. Senior Charles Coccia added a 27-yard field with 2:20 left as the Bears took a 35-24 lead to half.
Davidson was 15-of-22 for 192 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears totaled 258 yards of total offense. Singer had four catches for 93 yards.
WashU's defense limited Carthage to 96 yards in the third quarter, keeping them out of the end zone and forcing one turnover.
Senior wide receiver Matt Goldberg pushed the advantage to 42-24 with 8:41 left with a 23-yard TD reception from Davidson. Coccia added his second field goal of the game, from 26 yards out, to make it 45-24.
Junior defensive back Jeff Marek added an 81-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:59 left to secure the victory.
WashU plays its second CCIW road game of the season at North Park University (1-2, 0-2 CCIW) on Saturday, Sept. 29. Game time is set for 1 p.m. in Chicago.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU and Carthage met for the first time in school history … Carthage was picked first in the CCIW Preseason Poll while WashU was sixth … Kindbom was recognized for his 30thanniversary following the contest …. The Bears have a 22-6 record at home the past six seasons.