Box Score The Case Western Reserve University offense scored a season-high 56 points on 595 total yards on Saturday evening, pacing the 18th-ranked Spartans to a 56-21 win over Waynesburg University at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
The win raised the Spartans' record to 3-0 on the season with a 2-0 Presidents' Athletic Conference record, while Waynesburg fell to 0-4 with a 0-2 PAC mark with Saturday's loss.
Senior running back Jacob Burke ran for three more touchdowns in the game, and has seven in the last two weeks and eight overall through three games this season. Burke carried the ball 21 times for a season-high 137 yards, his second-straight and sixth-career 100-yard rushing effort. He has run for 297 yards through three games this season.
Senior quarterback Rob Cuda completed 17-of-26 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to senior running back Aaron Aguilar, who finished the game with three catches for 57 yards. Junior wide receiver Justin Phan caught six passes for 93 yards, including one touchdown, and senior wide receiver Zak Hurd had a pair of catches for 83 yards.
The Spartans defense came out strong, holding the Yellow Jackets to just seven yards of offense in the first quarter, forcing four-straight three-and-outs. Meanwhile, the offense went to work quickly, taking a 14-0 lead on a six-yard touchdown run for Burke with 8:44 to play in the period, and a six-yard pass from Cuda to Aguilar with 2:51 left.
Waynesburg capitalized on a Spartan turnover in the second quarter. After an interception by Cuda gave the Yellow Jackets possession on the CWRU 40-yard line, quarterback Tyler Perone found wide receiver JaWuan Jones in stride down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown pass, cutting the CWRU lead to 14-7 with 3:46 to play in the half. However, Case Western Reserve struck back quickly, as Cuda found Hurd for a 47-yard pass on the next drive, setting up Burke's second touchdown run of the game, this one from five yards out. An interception by senior linebacker Alex Habeeb with 59 seconds left in the half, the second pick of his career, led to a 29 yard touchdown pass from Cuda to Phan, giving CWRU a 28-14 heading into halftime.
The Spartans outgained Waynesburg 299-94 in the first half, with the CWRU defense holding the Yellow Jackets to -4 rushing yards during the first 30 minutes of play.
The Yellow Jackets struck first in the second half, capitalizing on a 54-yard run by Austin Wilson to setup a 13-yard pass from Perone to Chad Walker, cutting the lead to 28-14 with 12:26 left in the third. But, the Spartans would cement the game from that point forward with 21 unanswered points. Burke rushed for his third touchdown of the game from two yards out with 3:23 left in the third. On the next drive, CWRU forced a three-and out, and then extended the lead to 42-14 on a nine yard pass from Cuda to Aguilar to end the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, senior running back Myles Anthony scored from two yards out to give the Spartans a 49-14 advantage.
Waynesburg added a touchdown in the fourth quarter, before sophomore Sam Jenkins rushed for a 45 yard touchdown, the first of his career, to cap off the scoring for the day.
The Spartans outgained the Yellow Jackets 595-255 in the game, including a 281-74 edge on the ground.
Case Western Reserve will be back in action next weekend, traveling to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to face the Saint Vincent College Bearcats. Kickoff from Chuck Noll Field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30th.
