Box Score St. LOUIS, Mo. – The Case Western Reserve University football team improved to 8-1 for the season and kept its drive for a University Athletic Association Championship and an NCAA Playoff berth alive on Saturday with a 16-6 victory versus Washington University-St. Louis at Francis Field.
The Spartans (2-0 UAA) have won seven in a row and can win a fourth UAA Title in five seasons at rival Carnegie Mellon University (5-4, 1-1 UAA) in the annual "Academic Bowl" next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Washington-St. Louis falls to 5-4 and 1-1 in the UAA and will need to defeat the University of Chicago (Ill.) next Saturday and pick up some help from Carnegie Mellon to force a three-way tie for the title.
For the game, the Spartans were a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth down conversions. Freshman running back Manny Sicre (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit Prep) rushed for a team-high 92 yards on 19 carries, while freshman wide receiver Sean Lapcevic (Presto, Pa./Chartiers Valley) posted 35 receiving yards with his first career touchdown.
Defensively, junior linebacker Kevin Nossem (Munster, Ind./Munster) posted a team-high 10 tackles in his first career start. Senior tackle Dale English (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) recorded four tackles and his 31st career sack – breaking the CWRU career record. Junior safety Dan Calabrese (Concord, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) recorded two interceptions to bring his season total to six.
On special teams, senior kicker Daniel Vasil (Erie, Pa./McDowell) hit a career-high three field goals, including a career-best 43-yarder.
The Bears broke a scoreless tie late in the first quarter when quarterback Dan Burkett hooked up with wide receiver Easton Knott for a 55-yard touchdown pass at the 1:17 mark. A missed extra point left the score at 6-0.
The Spartans cut the lead in half on the ensuing possession as Vasil nailed a 25-yard field goal to cap a 12-play, 30-yard drive with 11:19 remaining in the first half.
Case moved ahead a little over eight minutes later as senior quarterback Erik Olson (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) threw his ninth touchdown pass of the season on a shovel to Lapcevic with 3:07 left before half. Vasil's extra point made the score 10-6 and capped a 14-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 6:13 off of the clock.
The Bears' next drive went deep into Spartan territory, but Calabrese recorded his UAA-best fifth interception of 2011. Five plays and 32 yards later, Vasil booted the career-best 43-yarder to make the score 13-6 as time expired in the first half.
The Spartans controlled the ball for most of the second half and scored the only points of the stanza when Vasil hit a 27-yard field goal with 2:00 left in the third quarter to cap a nine-play, 48-yard drive.
