WAUKESHA, Wis. – Makael Carter returned a kickoff a school record 98 yards for a touchdown and the Washington University in St. Louis football team opened up the CCIW slate on Saturday afternoon with a 41-29 win over Carroll on the road. The Bears are 2-0 on the season heading into next weekend's game against No. 1 North Central.
The Bears kicked off and scored on their first drive. Senior Fred Ware picked up two yards on the run, and junior quarterback Levi Moore launched a 65-yard touchdown pass to junior Drew Bomar. Sophomore Matias Adrogue converted the extra point for a 7-0 Bears' lead.
Carroll came out on its first drive to also score, evening things up at 7-7. Elisha Nieves hit Daniel White for a 41-yard pass for a first down at the 38. Mikey Coleman ran for eight yards, and Nieves connected with Reed Breckheimer for seven yards and a first down at the 23. Breckheimer ran for six yards before Coleman scored on a 17-yard run. Matthew Swink's kick was good for the tied game.
The Pioneers scored again after forcing the Bears to punt. On the first play, Coleman ran for 24 yards, and Carson Crouch picked up another three. Nieves hit Coleman for six yards, and Crouch ran for another six yards for a first down at the 46.
Nieves connected with Breckheimer for a one-yard gain and then found Sammy Muth for a 12-yard pass to the 33. Nieves picked up one yard himself, and Crouch ran for seven yards. Crouch then ran for five more yards on two runs, and Nieves hit White for a four-yard gain. Coleman scored his second touchdown of the game with a one-yard run, and Swink's kick was good for a 14-7 lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, junior Makael Carter returned it for a 98-yard touchdown, setting a new program record for longest kickoff return for a touchdown, previously set in 2023. Adrogue's kick was good, tying the game at 14-14.
On the Pioneers' next possession, the ball was fumbled and recovered by junior Spencer Snipe, setting the Bears up for their next drive at the Carroll two-yard line. Ware ran the final two yards for a touchdown, making it a 20-14 game. Adrogue's extra-point kick was blocked and returned by a Carroll player for two points.
At the start of the second quarter, Carroll brought the ball down to the 11 before Swink kicked a 28-yard field goal to cut WashU's lead to 20-19.
The Bears were forced to punt on their next drive, and Carroll went on to score. Nieves hit Breckheimer for 19 yards and a first down at the 45 and then connected with Coleman for eight yards on two passes. Crouch picked up a first down at the 35 following a two-yard run and added another 13 yards after that for another first down. Coleman ran for 10, two, and seven yards, respectively, putting the Pioneers on the three-yard line before Crouch finished it off with a three-yard touchdown run. Swink's kick was good to give Carroll a 26-20 lead with 4:41 left in the second quarter.
Ware opened the next WashU drive with a seven-yard run followed by another two-yard run before Moore connected with Bomar for a six-yard pass for a first down at the Bears' own 47. Following a holding call on WashU that moved the Bears back 10 yards, Moore connected with Carter for 14 yards to the Carroll 49.
Moore hit Bomar for seven yards and a first down at the 42, and junior Matthew Kinoshita picked up five yards. Moore found senior Will Gardner for four yards and then ran for four yards himself for a first down at the 29. Following two incomplete passes, Moore connected with Carter for 22 yards and a first down at the seven, and then found Bomar for the seven-yard touchdown pass. Adrogue's kick was good for a 27-26 Bears' lead to end the first half.
Following the break, Carroll came out to reach the 18 before Swink kicked a 35-yard field goal to put the Pioneers ahead 29-27.
After both teams were forced to punt, WashU began its drive on its own 32. Moore ran for 34 yards for a first down at the Carroll 34. After a loss of two, Moore ran again for 14 yards and a first down at the 22. Moore ran for eight more yards and then connected with Carter for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Adrogue hit the extra-point kick for a 34-29 Bears' lead with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Following a weather delay, the Bears came out in the fourth quarter and brought it down to the 21, but the field goal attempt was no good, giving Carroll the ball back. The Pioneers, however, were forced to punt.
The Bears began their next drive at the 50, and Ware picked up six yards to start things off. He ran again for another yard, and Moore connected with Carter for 36 yards and a first down. Carroll was whistled for an off-side call before Moore hit sophomore Lucas Blumenthal for a seven-yard touchdown. Adrogue's kick was good, putting WashU ahead 41-29.
WashU finished with 381 yards of total offense (215 passing, 166 rushing), while Carroll had 361 total yards (203 passing, 158 rushing).
Moore finished 15-for-27 with 215 yards and four touchdowns. He also led the rushing game with 116 yards on 11 attempts. Kinoshita had 36 yards on nine attempts, and Ware had 20 yards on nine attempts. Carter led the receivers with 86 yards on four catches with a touchdown, while Bomar had 85 yards on four catches and two touchdowns.
Defensively, junior Joy Chane had 11 total tackles (six solo, five assists), while senior Ryan Schmadtke had 10 total tackles (one solo, nine assists) as well as 0.5 tackles-for-loss. Senior Brady Willmer had nine total tackles (four solo, five assists) with 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
The Bears kick off against North Central next Saturday at 1 p.m., which is part of Parent and Family Weekend.
Carter Sets Program Record as WashU Opens CCIW Play With Win Over Carroll
/seasons/2025/boxscores/20250920_we0j.xml
2025
Washington U.
41
Carroll
29
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington U. (2-0) | 20 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Carroll (0-2) | 16 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 29 |
Sep 20, 2025