BOX SCORE | PHOTO | HIGHLIGHTS
St. Louis, Mo., October 5, 2013 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team ran for a season-high 276 yards in a 44-7 win over Berry College Saturday at Francis Field in St. Louis. Washington U. had a 508-149 advantage in total offense and scored a season-high 44 points in the win.
The Bears picked up its second-straight victory to improve its overall record to 3-2, while Berry falls to 0-4.
Junior running back Zach Lonneman ran for a career-high 148 yards on 23 carries, while sophomore running back Cody Ratermann picked up a career-best 75 yards on 15 carries and his first career touchdown.
After a scoreless first quarter, Washington U. put together a 14-play, 98-yard drive early in the second quarter to get on the scoreboard first. Senior quarterback Eric Daginella found sophomore tight end Max Elliott across the middle for a 13-yard TD to make it 7-0. The touchdown for Elliott was the first of his career.
A 42-yard punt by sophomore Alec Stankepinned Berry on its five-yard line, and two plays later freshman defensive linemanJosiah Situmeang recorded a safety after tackling Jonathan Lewis in the end zone. The safety for Washington U. was its first since November 19, 2009, at Case Western Reserve University.
The Bears offense continued to grind the clock behind the running back tandem of Lonneman and Ratermann. Daginella orchestrated a 14-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a three-yard TD run by Ratermann to make it 16-0 just before half. Washington U. had a 235-28 advantage in total offense in the first half, as the Bears' offense had the ball for 21:17 of the 30 minutes. Washington U. ran for 174 yards in the first half, highlighted by 79 yards by Lonneman and 62 yards by Ratermann.
Washington University put the game out of reach early in the third quarter on its first possession of the second half after a 45-yard TD run by Lonneman. Junior wide receiver Ryan Lubatkin added a 26-yard touchdown reception on 4th-and-6 from Daginella to extend the lead to 30-0 after three quarters. Lubatkin would leave the game in the fourth quarter with an injury.
Freshman backup quarterback J.J. Tomlin added a 35-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Kevin Hammarlund and a 21-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Tim Bartholomew in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring for the Bears. Berry scored its lone TD of game with 5:14 to play when Dale Jackson found Will Chomskis for a 37-yard TD reception.
The Bears' defense limited Berry to 149 yards of total offense, including 36 rushing yards on 28 carries. Washington U. forced three turnovers in the win, forced six punts and had 10 tackles for loss in the win. Sophomore linebacker Matt Goad led the defensive unit with six tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery, while senior linebacker Peter Loweryadded four stops and a tackle for loss. Junior defensive back Ryan Bednar added an interception, the eighth of his career.
Daginella was 14-of-245 for 127 yards and two touchdowns, while Tomlin was 7-for-7 for 92 yards and two TD. Bartholomew (six catches, 54 yards, TD), Hammarlund (five catches, 65 yards, TD) and Lubatkin (four catches, 52 yards, TD) led the receiving corps for Washington U.
Washington U. opens a three-game road tip Saturday, Oct. 12 at Hendrix College. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (CT) in Conway, Ark. Hendrix suffered a 47-38 loss at Millsaps College Saturday to drop its record to 2-2.
Bear Notebook: This was the first meeting in school history between the two teams … Washington U. has won 22-straight games dating back to the 2007 season when scoring 21 or more points … Head coach Larry Kindbom picked up the 179th win of his career, sixth most by an active NCAA Division III coach … The Bears had a 40:03-19:57 advantage in time of possession … Washington U. was 10-of-18 on third down and 4-of-5 on fourth down.