On Sep. 19, the Case Western Reserve University football team prevailed in their home opener on DiSanto Field against Shenandoah University, winning 48-41. This game was the first-ever matchup between Spartans and the Hornets, resulting in a multitude of new records for the home team.
Third-year running back Andy Kavcic broke the program record for total offense yards, recording 264 yards to beat the previous record from 1999 by 12 yards. He was the first Spartan to run over 200 rushing yards in a game in more than 20 years.
“When I found out about the record I was incredibly proud of not just myself but the entire team,” Kavcic said. “Finding an identity in the run game is something we’ve looked for ever since I’ve gone to school here and it seems like we’re finding our stride. The only reason I say ‘we’ is because it truly is our record. It takes 11 guys to run the football and we all did our job.”
Head Coach Greg Debeljack’s career record improved to 150-67-1 with the win on Saturday. He is the winningest coach in program history and became No. 14 active Division III coach with 150 or more victories.
The Spartans hit the ground running in the first quarter with three touchdowns, shutting out the Hornets and leading the game 20-0. In the first 15 seconds of the matchup, Kavcic received the opening kickoff and tossed the ball to fourth-year wide receiver Beau Wolf who ran the ball 89 yards to the endzone for the first touchdown of the game.
With seven minutes left in the period, graduate student quarterback Aaron Filips found graduate student wide receiver Sergio Beltran and secured their team’s second touchdown of the game. Five minutes later, Kavcic carried a 47-yard touchdown to extend the lead 20-0. In just the first quarter, Kavcic surpassed his career single-game record for rushing yards completing the frame with 113 yards.
On the opening drive of the second quarter, Filips threw a passing touchdown to fourth-year wide receiver Garrett Pavlick to increase the Spartans’s lead and give Pavlick the first touchdown of his career.
Shenandoah made a break halfway through the quarter, scoring two touchdowns to cut the Spartans’ lead. The Hornets scored again with four minutes left on the clock, minimizing the lead once again. The Spartans had a quick response and Kavcic came back with a 53-yard run to the endzone to end the first half up 34-20.
On the opening possession of the half, the Spartans creeped up to the Hornet’s 1-yard line but a fumble cost them the touchdown. Shenandoah countered going 95-yards on their drive to shrink the Spartans’s lead, putting the score at 34-27.
On the first play of the final quarter, Filips completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Wolf to increase the lead. The Hornets fought back with a seven play response resulting in a 10-yard touchdown pass with 12 minutes remaining.
Third-year linebacker Zach Yordy intercepted a pass from the Hornets and brought it to the endzone for a touchdown increasing the lead to 48-34. Yet again, Shenandoah responded with an 80-yard drive to the endzone to reduce the Spartan’s lead to a one score game. However, the Spartans were able to hold possession of the ball for the last five minutes and run out the clock to secure the win.
When asked about the game, Kavcic noted several flaws in the team’s performance but also highlighted the team’s resilience.
“The overall team performance was sloppy. We’re turning the ball over too much and we need to fix that if we want to beat [Washington & Jefferson College],” Kavcic said. “But Shenandoah is a good team and I thought we showed great mental toughness versus adversity when last year we were very bad when faced with adversity.”
The Spartans have now gone 116 consecutive games without being shut out. Their next matchup will see them host the Washington & Jefferson Presidents on DiSanto Field on Saturday, Sep. 26.
Disclaimer: Derick Su is a second-year on the football team.