St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 15, 2016 – Washington University in St. Louis limited Sewanee to 320 yards of total offense and forced five punts in the Bears' 34-6 win in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play Saturday at Francis Field in St. Louis.
WashU improved its overall record to 5-1, 4-1 in the SAA, while Sewanee suffered its 15th-straight loss and dropped to 0-6, 0-4 in the SAA. The Bears are off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2007. With the win, WashU moved into a tie with Berry College for first place in the SAA standings.
"Across the board it was a good effort. Sewanee had a great game plan for us, and hung onto the ball in the first quarter, but we did not get rattled," said WashU head coach Larry Kindbom, who picked up career win No. 199. "We came back and got the touchdowns we needed. I was happy with our performance."
Senior quarterback J.J. Tomlin completed 23-of-36 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns. Tomlin broke Thor Larsen's (1994-97) all-time WashU mark for total offense with 7,411 yards.
Sewanee marched 15 plays on the opening drive of the game that took 7:13 off the clock and resulted in a 26-yard field goal. After WashU forced a turnover on downs, Tomlin tossed a 20-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Kevin Hammarlund to make it 7-3 with 11:49 left in the second quarter.
After a third straight stop by the WashU defense, Hammarlund caught a screen pass from Tomlin and scampered 58 yards to push the lead to 14-3.
WashU had a 218-208 advantage in total offense in the opening half. The Bears defense forced four punts. Tomlin was 13-of-19 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Hammarlund had seven catches for 111 yards.
The Bears drove the field down inside the Sewanee 20 on its opening drive of the half, and a 30-yard field goal by junior Dan Kalvaitis made it 17-3. The big play of the drive was a 69-yard reception by junior wide receiver Marcus Ramspott.
WashU jumped on a fumbled punt on the six-yard line, and on the following play Tomlin found sophomore wide receiver Matthew Goldberg open for a six-yard TD reception across the middle to make it 24-3.
Kalvaitis added an 18-yard field goal with 2:36 left in the third quarter to push the advantage to 27-3. Tomlin tossed his fourth TD of the game, a 21 yarder to Ramspott, to round out the scoring.
Hammarlund had nine catches for 133 yards and two TDs, while Ramspott hauled in five catches for a career-high 116 yards and a TD. WashU totaled 456 yards of total offense in the win.
Sophomore linebacker Jake Coon made 12 tackles to lead the WashU defense, while senior defensive back Nick Annin, junior defensive lineman Jared Lake, junior defensive back Nate Lowis and junior defensive back Andrew Ralph had seven tackles. Lake added 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
WashU plays its fourth road game of the season at Millsaps College on Oct. 22. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in Jackson, Miss.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: Sewanee leads the all-time series with WashU 13-10, in a series that dates back to 1902 … The Bears are 16-2 at home the past four seasons … Kalvaitis is 7-for-7 this season in field goals … Sewanee had a 42:49-17:11 advantage in time of possession … The interception for sophomore defensive back Chandler Elmore was the second of his career … Hammarlund went over 100 yards receiving for the third-straight game and ninth time in his career …. Tomlin threw for over 300 yards for the 13th time in his career … Coon has recorded 12 or more tackles in three games this season … WashU has outscored its opponents 63-20 in the third quarter.