Case Western Reserve University matched a program record with a 28-point second quarter, propelling the Spartans to their third-straight lopsided win, 59-20 over Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia on Saturday.
The win keeps the Spartans tied with Thomas More atop the standings in the Presidents' Athletic Conference with a 3-0 mark in conference play. CWRU improved to 3-1 overall, while Bethany dropped to 2-3 (1-2 PAC).
Case Western Reserve has now scored at least 40 points in each of their last three games, the team's longest streak since a three-game stretch during the 2009 season. The Spartans' 59 points scored were the most by the team in a game since they put up 63 against Hiram College as a part of that stretch in 2009.
Sophomore Anthony Canganelli rushed for 74 yards and three touchdowns, while senior receiver Bryan Erb caught seven passes for 107 yards and another pair of scores. Sophomore quarterback Rob Cuda continued his stellar start to the season with 210 yards and three touchdowns through the air, with another 88 yards on the ground.
Defensively the Spartans forced three turnovers in the game, while allowing CWRU to score 45 unanswered points between the second and fourth quarters. Seniors Aaron Weisberg, Jordan Esteban and Scott Suren led the team with seven tackles apiece, with each accounting for one of the team's turnovers forced.
The Spartans took the early 7-0 lead in the contest, when Canganelli punched in the ball from the one yard line for his first score of the day with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Bethany had an answer for CWRU, scoring on a one-yard run by Jalen Holmes with 13:32 left in the second, and on a five-yard touchdown catch by Tyler Ambush with 10:13 left in the half, giving the Bison a 13-7 lead.
The rest of the second quarter, however, belonged to the Spartans. Erb gave CWRU the lead back, 14-13, with a 17-yard touchdown catch from Cuda with 8:22 to play in the quarter. After an interception by senior Scott Suren provided the Spartans with a short field, Canganelli scored his second of the day from a yard out again, putting CWRU up 21-13. Case Western Reserve padded its first-half lead with a pair of long touchdown passes from Cuda, one for 52 yards to senior tight end Ethan Albers, and the second for 46 yards to Erb, giving the Spartans a 35-13 advantage heading into halftime.
The 28-point quarter matched the largest scoring output in a frame in CWRU history, equaling the team's 28-point quarter against Oberlin during the 1998 season.
Canganelli picked up in the second half where he left off in the first, running for a 39-yard touchdown with 12:56 to play in the third. Junior cornerback Nick Kwon recovered and returned a blocked punt to push the Spartans' advantage to 49-13. A field goal late in the third quarter by sophomore Ben Carniol put CWRU on top 52-13 heading into the final period.
Bethany's Eric Blinn caught a touchdown pass with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter to trim the CWRU lead to 52-20. The Spartans struck again, however, after a 50-yard punt by sophomore Jacob Burke pinned the Bison at their own one, and Jordan Esteban forced a fumble, giving the team possession on the Bethany two-yard line. Sophomore Jeffrie Brown Jr. scored on a two-yard pass from junior Stephen Guenther two plays later to extend the lead to 59-20.
Cuda has now passed for 13 touchdowns this season, without throwing an interception. He also led the team in rushing for the fourth-straight game, and has a CWRU-best 383 rushing yards in 2015. Canganelli now leads all Spartans with five rushing touchdowns for the campaign.
The Spartans will return to Cleveland for their next game, hosting Waynesburg College at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 10th as part of Case Western Reserve University's Homecoming Weekend festivities.