Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
The Case Western Reserve University defense notched its second shutout through five games this season and the offense scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away late and lead the Spartans to a 19-0 win over Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.
The win was the third-straight victory for the Spartans who reached the halfway point of the season with a 4-1 record. The Bearcats dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
It was a bend-but-don't-break approach for the CWRU defense, which yielded 262 yards in the game (just 56 rushing) but kept the Bearcats out of the endzone for the team's second shutout of the campaign, along with a 14-0 win at Thiel to open the season. It marked the first time since 2010 and the seventh season in program history that the Spartans have notched two or more shutouts in a single campaign.
As a team, CWRU is now allowing just 9.2 points per game through its first five games this year.
Senior quarterback Alex Fromberg completed 17-of-26 pass attempts (65.4%) for 238 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while running for an additional 30 yards. Junior running back Gage Duesler led the team with 48 rushing yards and notched his first touchdown of the campaign, while senior wide receiver Riley Knurek caught four passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, graduate student linebacker Jake Sommers recorded the first interception of his Spartan career, while sophomore cornerback Osi Chukwuocha and senior linebacker Gabe Troch each had a team-leading six tackles. Senior defensive end Kaden Tong and graduate student nose tackle R.J. Ayers each had a sack, with Ayers' resulting in a forced fumble and recovery for the Spartans.
The Spartans took the lead with 5:28 left in the first quarter when a 10-play, 60-yard drive culminated in a 30-yard field goal by junior Joseph Rhodes V. The score remained 3-0 until midway through the third quarter when Rhodes connected on another 30-yard field goal with 8:37 left in the period to extend the Spartans' lead to 6-0.
CWRU added onto its lead early in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard touchdown run by Duesler, his first of the season, that put the Spartans in front 12-0 with 14:15 to play in the game after a missed two-point conversion. Later in the fourth quarter, Fromberg connected with Knurek for a 46-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown with 11:28 to play to put CWRU in front 19-0.
The Spartans finished the game with 358 yards of total offense, including 238 passing and 120 rushing.
The Spartans will be back in action next weekend, returning to Cleveland for Homecoming Weekend. CWRU will host Westminster for their annual Homecoming game on Saturday, October 14 with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at DiSanto Field.