The Case Western Reserve University football team recorded its ninth consecutive winning season in 2024, finishing the year with a 6-4 overall record.
The nine consecutive years with an above-.500 record marks the longest stretch of winning campaigns in program history, surpassing a streak of seven straight years from 2007 through 2013. CWRU has won at least five games in all but two of the last 23 seasons.
It was a tale of two seasons for the Spartans, who opened the campaign with a 6-0 record, averaging 53.3 points and holding opponents to just 8.0 points per game during the period. However, CWRU dropped its final four games of the season (including three to ranked opponents who went on to make the NCAA Postseason), despite losing by an average margin of just 8.3 points, including a pair of one-score games. With each of the team's games played during the season against Presidents' Athletic Conference opponents, the Spartans finished with a 6-4 conference record, good for fifth place in the final league standings.
CWRU's play during the season was characterized by a stingy defense and an offense with big-play capability. On the defensive side of the ball, the Spartans finished the season ranked 12th among Division III teams in total defense (243.8 yards allowed per game), 33rd in scoring defense (16.6 points per game), 10th in passing yards allowed (147.0 per game), and third in first downs allowed (132). The team's defense was led on the line by its defensive ends in All-PAC First Team graduate student AJ Dudowski (65 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries) and All-PAC Second Team graduate student Kaden Tong (38 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks), while the linebacking corps was paced by graduate students Sean Torres (46 tackles) and Gabe Troch (58 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries), who were each All-PAC honorable mentions. In the secondary, junior cornerback Osi Chukwuocha (37 tackles, six pass breakups) was named to the All-PAC Second Team after leading the Spartans with a pair of interceptions, senior safety Nate Cikalo (45 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss) earned an All-PAC honorable mention, and senior cornerback Dominic Sais totaled 50 tackles and led the squad with eight pass breakups and two blocked kicks.
The trademark of the offense during the year was its passing game, as senior quarterback Alex Fromberg and junior quarterback Aaron Filips helped the team rank sixth in Division III in passing offense (317.0 yards per game), ninth in passing efficiency (175.53), 16th in red zone offense (89.6%), 22nd in scoring offense (40.5 points per game), 23rd in passing yards per completion (14.74 yards), and 32nd in total offense (440.0 yards per game). The team's 405 total points scored during the year were the fifth-most in a season in program history. Fromberg, an All-PAC honorable mention, completed 63.5% of his passes for 2,308 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His three top targets included All-PAC Second Team seniors Noah Coyne (58 receptions, 765 yards, 11 TDs) and Ethan Dahlem (31 receptions, 490 yards, eight TDs), and All-PAC honorable mention junior Dylan Cave (36 receptions, 816 yards, four TDs). First-year Andy Kavcic emerged as the team's top rusher, finishing the season with 55 carries for 329 yards and five touchdowns.
The offense was also aided by a strong offensive line that allowed just 2.10 sacks per game and 4.3 tackles for loss per contest. The line was anchored by senior center Tony Thivener, who was named to the D3football.com All-Region Third Team and the All-PAC First Team, along with junior All-PAC Second Team right tackle Owen Myer, graduate student All-PAC honorable mention left guard Peter Kelly, junior left tackle David Freedman, and junior right guard Zach Miller. CWRU had the 10th-fewest penalty yards per game among Division III teams in 2024.
CWRU scored 41 or more points and did not allow more than 14 during their six-game winning streak to start the campaign. The Spartans opened the season with a 41-7 win at Waynesburg University, the team's 19th win in its last 20 season-opening games, before coming back to Cleveland to claim a resounding 64-6 win over Bethany College in their home opener. CWRU set a program record in the game with 51 points scored in the first half and matched the program records for the most points in a quarter (28) and the largest margin of victory (58).
Following their week three bye, the Spartans rallied off four more consecutive impressive victories with back-to-back road wins at Geneva College (56-14) and Allegheny College (58-14) and home triumphs over Saint Vincent College (49-0) and Thiel College (52-7). The 6-0 start was the 10th in program history, and the stretch of six straight games with 40 or more points scored was the longest in team history.
CWRU entered its seventh game of the season, a matchup at Westminster College, in sole possession of first place. The two teams traded touchdowns in both the second and third quarters and headed into the final frame knotted at 14-14, but a Spartan drive stalled at the Westminster 23-yard line and the Titans went on to kick a go-ahead field goal with 7:02 left on the clock. CWRU had a final chance to tie the game or take the lead but a late interception at the Titans' 17-yard line allowed Westminster to run out the clock on the win.
The Spartans went on to lose at home to 19th-ranked Washington & Jefferson College the following week despite a career-best 421 passing yards from Fromberg, including a career-high nine receptions and 211 yards from Cave, effectively ending the team's hopes for a PAC Championship. CWRU then suffered a 30-20 setback at #13 Grove City College on November 9, despite Filips throwing for three touchdowns over the final 16 minutes of the game, and dropped a one-score affair to rival and 13th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in the final scheduled playing of the Academic Bowl on November 16 to conclude the year. Filips threw for a career-high 315 yards with two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 67 yards with a touchdown against the Tartans, as CWRU overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to take a 30-29 lead with 4:07 left in the game. However, Carnegie Mellon regained the lead with a touchdown with 1:21 left on the clock and held on for the victory.
In addition to the team's success on the field, 58 members of the team were named to the PAC Fall Academic Honor Roll, presented to players with a grade point average of 3.6 or higher during the Fall 2024 semester. Eight Spartan players – Chukwuocha, Cikalo, Coyne, Dudowski, Fromberg, Myer, Thivener, and Troch – were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team following the campaign.
CWRU football players earned the following individual awards during the 2024 season:
The following were the team's statistical leaders during the 2024 season:
