This past Saturday, Sept. 7, the Case Western Reserve University football team kicked off the new season with a bang, defeating Waynesburg University 41-7 while on the road in Pennsylvania. With this win, CWRU starts the 2024 season with a 1-0 record, while Waynesburg starts at 0-1.
The game started off relatively uneventful, with neither side scoring at all during the first quarter. Waynesburg spent the first seven minutes of the game on the opening drive before performing a punt, giving possession of the ball to CWRU. For the rest of the first quarter, the Spartans made a drive down the field—a move that enabled fifth-year quarterback Alex Fromberg to run a goal line touchdown early in the second quarter, giving CWRU the first score of the game and putting the score at 6-0.
Fromberg’s touchdown was followed up exactly four minutes later, with 10:08 to play in the quarter, by a touchdown from fifth-year running back Sean-Michael James through a 12-yard pass from Fromberg. This touchdown in turn was followed up by one from fourth-year wide receiver Noah Coyne, scoring from a nine-yard pass by Fromberg with 4:21 left. CWRU’s final touchdown of the second quarter came courtesy of third-year quarterback Aaron Filips, giving CWRU a 27-0 lead going into halftime.
Going into the third quarter, CWRU appeared poised to keep a hold on their strong lead over Waynesburg. This proved true as first-year quarterback Jake Kavcic completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to third-year tight end Jack Bryer. This pass further extended CWRU’s lead to 34-0 with 8:50 left in the third quarter. Attempts by Waynesburg to break through CWRU’s defense through the rest of the quarter proved largely unsuccessful, as the latter held their ground throughout the period.
With 1:54 left in the quarter, third-year defensive back Osi Chukwuocha intercepted an attempted pass by Waynesburg from the CWRU three-yard line, with the Spartans holding onto possession of the ball as the third quarter ended.
With the start of the fourth quarter came a powerful offensive charge from CWRU, pushing past the defense of Waynesburg and all the way to the Spartans’s sixth touchdown of the game, putting the score at 41-0 with 11:15 left in the quarter. However, this would prove to be CWRU’s last touchdown of the game, with Waynesburg following up CWRU’s move with a touchdown of their own—and their first of the game. This left the score at 41-7, a score that went unchanged for the remainder of the game as the two sides went back and forth over possession of the ball, with neither side able to make much progress breaking through the other side’s defense.
Overall, Fromberg completed the game with 269 yards on 24-of-29 pass attempts, along with 2 touchdowns and an interception while running for an additional 18 yards with a score. He found Coyne 8 times for 74 yards and a score. As a team, the Spartans ran for 186 yards and passed for 303 while allowing for 37 rushing yards and 147 passing yards. Their offense proved to be very strong throughout the game, with no sacks allowed and a mere 2 tackles surrendered for loss.
The Spartans have a chance to continue their momentum on Saturday, Sept. 14, when they will be hosting Bethany College on DiSanto Field at 7 p.m. Bethany will also be playing their second game of the season, coming off a 14-20 loss in their season opener against Allegheny College. The previous game between Bethany and CWRU, held on Sept. 30 of last year, saw the Spartans emerge victorious with a 34-12 win.