The Case Western Reserve University football team recorded its program-record-tying third shutout of the season with a 35-0 triumph over Waynesburg University at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday afternoon.
The win was the fifth straight for the Spartans, who improved to 6-1, both overall and in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 1-6 overall and in the league with the setback. With the win, CWRU remained a game back in the loss column from Grove City in the PAC standings with three games left in the regular season.
The shutout was the third this season for the Spartans, matching the 1986 team for the most in a single season in program history. CWRU, which entered the weekend ranked seventh among all Division III teams in points allowed per game, is now surrendering just 7.4 points per contest this year and has allowed one or fewer touchdowns in five of their seven games. The defense held Waynesburg to just 187 total yards of offense in the game, including just 56 on the ground.
Senior linebacker Sean Torres led the CWRU defense with 10 tackles and a quarterback hurry and senior defensive lineman AJ Dudowski had four tackles, including a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior defensive back D.J. Wolf recorded an interception on the first drive of the game, his second in as many games.
Meanwhile, the Spartans rushed for a season-high 241 yards behind an offensive line that also did not allow a sack for the third time in the last four games. Junior running back Gage Duesler led the rushing attack with the first 100-yard game of his career, finishing with 130 yards and two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Alex Fromberg completed 18-of-27 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 29 yards and a second score. Junior wide receiver Noah Coyne led the Spartans with five catches for 84 yards.
CWRU took the lead with 4:24 left in the first quarter on a 37-yard run by Duesler for his second rushing touchdown of the season. The score remained 7-0 until the Spartans' final drive of the first half when Fromberg led the Spartans on a six-play, 65-yard drive in just 40 seconds and found senior wide receiver Riley Knurek for an 11-yard touchdown with 14 seconds left in the half to give CWRU a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Spartans put the game away with three third-quarter touchdowns. On the first play of the second half, Duesler broke off a 63-yard run for a touchdown, matching the longest play from scrimmage this season by a Spartan and the longest rush of his career. With 7:52 left in the frame, Fromberg capped off an eight-play, 58-yard drive with a one-yard run to put CWRU ahead 28-0. Sophomore Christopher Lim added a two-yard scoring run with 3:09 left in the third, his first of the season, to put the Spartans in front 35-0.
The CWRU offense finished the game with 472 total yards, its second-highest output of the year.
The Spartans will now turn their attention towards their final three games of the season, during which the team will face two of the other top squads in the PAC. CWRU will begin the stretch next weekend, traveling to Washington, Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 28 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff against Washington and Jefferson College.
CWRU Matches Program Record for Shutouts with 35-0 Win over Waynesburg
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231021_vl5n.xml
2023
Waynesburg
0
Case Western Reserve
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waynesburg (1-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Case Western Reserve (6-1) | 7 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 35 |
Oct 21, 2023