 "Photo: Matt Mitgang | Student Life")
Since the creation of the UAA conference, Washington University has faced the University of Chicago annually in the Battle of the Founders Cup. In the 22nd installment of the series on Saturday, the heavily-favored Bears failed to retain the cup.
Chicago won the game 17-14, a loss that drops the Bears to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in UAA conference play. The Red and Green now lead the series 16-6.
Wash. U.’s offense got off to a miserable start. On the very first drive for the Bears, junior Matt Glenn fumbled the ball, giving Chicago possession at their own 41-yard line.
The next drive only lasted two plays, as senior quarterback Buck Smith threw an interception at the Bears’ 24-yard line, setting up the Maroons for a touchdown on their following possession on a one-yard run by running back Francis Adarkwa.
After a 53-yard punt return early in the second quarter, Chicago threatened to score, starting again at the Wash. U. 24-yard line. The Bear defense held the Maroons to a 42-yard field goal, putting the Maroons on top 10-0.
In the first half, Wash. U. only managed to record 89 yards of offense, punted three times and went zero for six on third-down conversions.
“We just weren’t executing. We weren’t capitalizing on the things they’d given us. We ran a lot of shots downfield, and we just didn’t make the connections,” Smith said.
The Bears’ offense started to come alive in the second half. On their first possession of the half, Smith connected with freshman Brandon Rogalski for a 60-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 10-7.
Five minutes later, the Red and Green took the lead. After forcing an 18-yard punt, the Bears put together a nine-play, 40-yard scoring drive with 10:17 left in the third quarter. On fourth-and-four, senior tight end Miles Chan recorded his first career touchdown on a diving eight-yard catch into the end zone, making the score 14-10 in favor of the Bears.
“I was actually the second read on the play. Tom Gulyas, the receiver, was running across the field, and he was supposed to be the first option, and I knew all week that they were going to be playing me man-to-man with their linebacker…I pulled a quick move, got off of him, Buck floated it up there for me, and I just dove and got to it,” Chan said.
The Maroons recaptured the lead with 14:55 left in the game when Adarkwa ran into the end zone on a 13-yard rush, single-handedly putting the Maroons ahead 17-14.
With almost the entire fourth quarter left, the Bears needed to score and had plenty of time to either tie or take the lead. Smith, however, was unavailable for the rest of the game due to a knee contusion.
“It’s really tough. Obviously when you’re sitting and watching, you have no control over the outcome of the game, but I had confidence in Mitch, the backup, that he would get the job done, and we just came up a little short,” Smith said.
Sophomore Mitchel Bartel took over for Smith but was unable to give the Bears the lead, ending the final drive of the game with an interception.
Smith went 10 for 24, throwing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while Bartel had 28 yards. The Bears recorded 84 net rushing yards.
Adarkwa, on the other hand, rushed for 142 yards on 42 carries. Chicago’s quarterback, John Kiernan, also suffered an injury and only attempted nine passes during the game, completing only one.
Even with the loss, the Bears still have a chance to win the UAA championship next Saturday at Francis Field against undefeated Case Western Reserve University, ranked No. 13 in the country.
“It was one of the goals of our season to win the UAA, and since that’s still a viable option, we’re really excited to go into this weekend and hopefully pull out a victory against the No. 13 team in the country,” Smith said.
