The Case Western Reserve University offense reached the end zone nine times on Saturday afternoon, lifting the Spartans to a 66-33 win over Waynesburg University in the teams' Presidents' Athletic Conference opener at John F. Wiley Stadium in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.
The Spartans improved to 2-0 overall with the win, while Waynesburg dropped to 0-2.
The 66 points scored in the game by the Spartans' offense marked the second-most ever in program history, behind only a 70-point effort against Oberlin in 1998. CWRU matched a team record with 28 points in the second quarter of the game, a mark the team had previous achieved on five occasions, most recently against Thiel on October 14, 2017. The Spartans' 575 yards of offense on Saturday were the most by a CWRU since the 2017 matchup with Thiel.
Senior quarterback Drew Saxton completed 22-of-33 passes for 433 yards, the most of his career and third-most in a game in team history behind former Spartan Eli Grant's 492-yard effort against Washington University (Mo.) on October 26, 2002 and Grant's 436-yard game against Chicago on November 16, 2002. He threw for five touchdowns in the game, matching his career-high for the fifth time, and fell just one passing touchdown short of Dan Whalen's single-game team record.
Junior wide receivers Lucas DeCaro and Michael Wojkowski each surpassed 100 receiving yards for the first time in their careers, with DeCaro totaling seven receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown, and Wojtkowski finishing the contest with six catches for 138 yards and a pair of scores. Senior wide receiver Colt Morgan added four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Senior running back Donald Day III led the team with 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while junior running back Antonio Orsini ran for 27 yards and a pair of scores.
First-year linebacker Nate Cikalo led all Spartan players with 12 tackles (his second-straight double-digit tackle effort to begin his career), including two tackles for a loss and a sack. Sophomore defensive lineman Kaden Tong added a pair of sacks, and sophomore linebacker Alex Lindberg picked up the first interception of his career on Saturday.
Sophomore kicker Brett Callow converted all nine of his point after attempts to match the program's single-game record for extra points in a game, while also making the first field goal of his career.
For the second-straight game, the Spartans' defense forced a three-and-out on the opening drive, while the offense quickly converted its first drive for a touchdown. CWRU needed just six plays and 2:27 to drive 44 yards down the field, scoring on a one-yard run by Orsini, the first as a Spartan for the transfer from Duquesne.
Waynesburg pulled back within a point on the first play of the second quarter on an 18-yard pass from Tyler Raines to Trenton Kerns. However, senior cornerback Colin Schuster blocked the ensuing extra point, and on the first play of the next drive, Saxton completed a pass on a slant route over the middle to DeCaro, who ran it 69 yards into the end zone, as CWRU extended its lead to 14-6 with 14:33 left in the half.
The Spartans added to their lead further with 10:17 left in the half, when Saxton capped off a seven-play, 59-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Aidan Cain, his second of the season, to put CWRU ahead 21-6. Waynesburg responded with a touchdown on its next drive, cutting the lead back to a touchdown, but the Spartans added on two more scores before the end of the half. After a short punt set the Spartans up on Waynesburg's half of the field, the team went 44 yards on five plays, and Orsini scored on an outside run from a yard out to put CWRU ahead 28-13 with 2:17 left. The Spartans' defense forced a quick three-and-out on the Yellow Jacket's next drive, and then needed just 1:21 to go 75 yards for the score. Wojkowski caught three passes for 51 yards on the drive, including a 24-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the half, to give CWRU a 35-13 lead going into the break.
Saxton and Wojkowski would hook up again for a touchdown on the third play on the second half, scoring on a 59-yard catch and run, extending CWRU's advantage to 42-13. The Yellow Jackets scored on their next drive to cut the lead to 42-20, but another long play by the Spartans, this time an 80-yard pass from Saxton to Morgan with 8:05 left in the third, put CWRU ahead 49-20. The 80-yard pass was the longest play from scrimmage for the Spartans since an 81-yard pass from Saxton to former Spartan Sam Jenkins in 2018.
The Spartans and the Yellow Jackets continued to trade touchdowns, with Day scoring on a one-yard run and sophomore quarterback Alex Fromberg rushing for a 16-yard score (the first of his career) in the fourth quarter. Callow's 19-yard field goal with 33 seconds left in the game set the final score to 66-33.
Case Western Reserve University will now turn their attention towards their home opener next week against Westminster College. The Titans, who stand at 0-1 on the season after a loss to #2 Mount Union in week one and a bye week this week, will look to begin the defense of their Spring 2021 PAC title against the Spartans, who won the 2019 PAC Championship during the last full season of play. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. under the lights at DiSanto Field on Saturday, September 18.
Explosive CWRU Offense Leads Spartans to 66-33 Win over Waynesburg in PAC Opener
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20210911_ghnq.xml
2021
Case Western Reserve
66
Waynesburg
33
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case Western Reserve (2-0) | 7 | 28 | 14 | 17 | 66 |
| Waynesburg (0-2) | 0 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 33 |
Sep 11, 2021