Case Western Reserve University senior quarterback Drew Saxton capped off a 46-second, 91-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Lucas DeCaro with 20 seconds on the clock, giving the Spartans a 42-38 come-from-behind win over Geneva College during CWRU's Homecoming Game at DiSanto Field on Saturday.
The Spartans have won back-to-back games and improved to 4-3 overall on the season, including a 3-3 record in Presidents' Athletic Conference games. Geneva fell to 2-5 following the loss, including a 2-4 PAC record.
Trailing by three after a Geneva field goal broke a 35-35 tie with 1:10 to play in the game, the Spartans would start the next drive from their own nine-yard line with 1:06 to play and no timeouts remaining. First-year wide receiver Ethan Dahlem made three key catches for first downs on the drive – a nine-yard grab on second-and-four from the Spartans' 15-yard line, a 26-yard catch that brought CWRU to midfield, and a 29-yard catch to give the Spartans a first-and-10 on the Geneva 21-yard line. Saxton then connected with senior wide receiver Colt Morgan on back-to-back passes, a 10-yard completion and a two-yard catch to give CWRU a second-and-eight at the Geneva nine-yard line. On the next play, Saxton found DeCaro open to his left, and he was able to run into the end zone for what would be the game-winning touchdown.
Geneva would get the ball back with 12 seconds left on the clock, but could not mount a threat in the time remaining, as the Spartans defense secured the win.
Morgan finished the game with a season-high 12 receptions to become the program's all-time leader with 216 career catches, passing former Spartan Zach Homyk's previous record of 211 career receptions on Saturday. Morgan totaled a team-high 151 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Saxton completed 32-of-48 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing just one interception, and added a rushing touchdown. The four touchdowns give him 78 for his career, moving him past former Spartan Rob Cuda for the second-most in program history. Dahlem added six catches for 102 yards, while DeCaro finished the game with five catches for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner. Junior running back Antonio Orsini finished the game with a team-high 38 rushing yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Michael Amadio led all Spartan players with 13 tackles, while sophomore defensive lineman AJ Dudowski and junior defensive back D.J. Wolf each tallied 10 tackles in the game. Sophomore defensive lineman Kaden Tong totaled nine tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble.
The Spartans got on the board with a blocked punt by sophomore defensive back Marco Toth early in the first quarter. Toth blocked the punt, and then picked it up at the Geneva 41-yard line with a clear path in front of him to the end zone to put CWRU in front 7-0. The score remained 7-0 until the second quarter, when Geneva would score three unanswered touchdowns and take a 21-7 lead over the Spartans with 3:33 to play in the half.
The CWRU offense began to heat up on their final drive of the half. Backed up to their own three-yard line and facing a third-and-10, Saxton completed a 13-yard pass to Morgan to convert the first down. Saxton would find Morgan four times for 86 yards on that drive alone, including an 18-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining in the period to get the Spartans back within a touchdown, 21-14, at halftime.
Case Western Reserve evened the score on the opening drive of the second half, as Saxton finished off a 12-play, 67 yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to first-year wide receiver Noah Coyne, the first of his career, with 9:07 left in the third. On the ensuing kickoff, Toth forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore linebacker Ryan Cabrera at the Geneva 31-yard line, and seven plays later, Saxton would punch the ball in from a yard out to give the Spartans a 28-21 advantage.
Geneva evened the score with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Amos Luptak to Jared Ozias with 4:06 left in the third and took the lead on a 47-yard throw from Luptak to Blake Peet with 10:07 left in the fourth. The Spartans responded quickly with a five-play, 61-yard drive in just 1:59, as Saxton found DeCaro with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:03 to play, knotting the score at 35-35.
Geneva's triple-option offense was able to run down the clock, driving 80 yards down the field over the next six minutes and 44 seconds. However, senior Thomas Koss and sophomore Sean Torres combined on a stop on third-and-three at the CWRU 10-yard line, forcing a 27-yard Geneva field goal with 1:10 left. The play would prove to be key, allowing the Spartans to take the lead on their last-second touchdown.
The Spartans will be back in action next week, when the team travels to Greenville, Pennsylvania to face the Thiel College Tomcats. Kickoff on Saturday, October 30 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Saxton Leads Late Touchdown Drive to Push CWRU Past Geneva 42-38
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211023_wuqb.xml
2021
Geneva
38
Case Western Reserve
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva (2-5) | 0 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Case Western Reserve (4-3) | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
Oct 23, 2021