St. Louis, Mo. - The Denison football team suffered a road setback on Saturday, losing to No. 7 WashU by a final of 37-14. Special teams gaffs allowed the Bears to score 14 points throughout the game, as Denison falls to 5-3 overall on the season and 5-2 in the NCAC.
A sack forced Denison into a three-and-out on its opening series of the game, and on the punt after quarterback
Brian Rager was taken down for a loss, as bad snap led to
Blake Wilmot's punt being blocked, setting up WashU with strong field position. The Bears would score three plays later, turning its first offensive series of the day into a 7-0 lead. Rager responded and led the offense into WashU territory on the ensuing drive, but penalties and a fumble derailed the momentum, ending the series in a turnover on downs.
WashU would tack on another touchdown to their lead as a Levi Moore pass of 63 yards set up a touchdown, putting the hosts on top 14-0 late in the first quarter. Denison was unable to get the offense going on its first two possessions of the second quarter, but after the defense stood tall to keep the Big Red in the game, forcing two stops, with the first being a punt and the second being a missed field goal from 31 yards out.
Taking over with 1:01 to play before intermission, Rager and company began to find a rhythm, as the quarterback connected with
Grayson Kerscher and
Graham Tonkonogy for 20-yard gains, driving the offense into the high red zone. A first down pass to Kerscher for 14 and scramble from the quarterback put the offense in striking range, and with 16 seconds to play, Rager found his running back
Kade Koroneos for a 13-yard touchdown, giving Denison seven points before halftime.
Denison would trail 14-7 at the half, but were challenged before the break as WashU's Makael Carter returned the kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown, put the play was nullified due to a holding penalty, allowing the Big Red to remain within seven.
In the third quarter, WashU made their push to turn the game into a one-sided affair, as they outscored Dension 20-7. The Bears scored on a 47-yard passing play on their first series, and on Denison's first crack, special teams again allowed the opponent to get on the board, as a bad snap to Wilmot on a punt was unable to be handled cleanly, setting up the Bears with prime position inside the five. One play later the Bears scored to extend the lead to 21 points, as Denison fell behind 28-7.
The Big Red would respond as the offense marched seven plays and 75 yards for a score, ending the series with a Rager touchdown pass to
Luke Reed, cutting the lead to two scores. WashU answered the Rager touchdown pass with another score, as the Bears moved the ball 62 yards in five plays, seeing a 25-yard touchdown run extend their lead back to three scores.
Denison was unable to establish a rhythm on offense after falling behind 34-14 with 3:20 to play in the third quarter, punting twice in between a WashU field goal. Denison ended the game with the ball in their possession, but they were unable to add to their points on the final offensive series of the game, ending the contest in a 37-14 defeat.
Brian Rager ended the day as the leading rusher in addition to his passing skills, finishing 30-41 through the air for 277 yards and two touchdowns, while running 14 times for 29 yards.
Grayson Kerscher caught a game-high 10 passes, and led Denison in receiving with 102 yards.
Rob Lucey had 46 yards, and
Kade Koroneos and
Luke Reed each caught three passes, one each for a score.
Cole Harris and
Colton Morrow each had six tackles to lead the defense, and
Fin O'Brien recorded a sack in a four-tackle effort.
Denison will return home and look to bounce back into the win column when they host Wittenberg on senior day and Big Red Weekend. Kickoff for the November 7 game is set for 7:00 p.m., and senior day ceremonies will take place around 6:25 p.m.
