Shea Dwyer Sets Wesleyan Seasonal Rushing Record with 1,015 Yards after Collecting 164 Yards in 41-7 Win over Bowdoin
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. --- Wesleyan University grad student running back Shea Dwyer rushed 27 times for 164 yards to become the single-season rushing leader at Wesleyan as he helped the Cardinals defeat visiting Bowdoin College here this afternoon, 41-7. The 34-point margin of victory matched the second-largest in the in the 83-year history of the series which dates back to 1906. Only the 39-0 win by Wesleyan in 1966 represented a greater scoring difference.
Dwyer, who entered the game averaging 170.2 yards a game to lead all NCAA runners (all divisions) coming into the contest, pushed his seasonal rushing figure to 159 carries for 1,015 yards, an average of 6.4 per rush. He scored his 11th rushing TD of the year on a two-yard dart at 6:16 of the second quarter to open the day's scoring. He has produced at least one rushing TD in each of the Cardinals' six contests this season. His run capped a 65-yard, seven-play drive that included a 27-yard screen pass to Dwyer to begin the march. He finished the game with three catches for 38 yards, giving him 202 all-purpose yards on the day.
Wesleyan added a 25-yard TD toss from junior QB Matt Coyne to freshman Kevin Hughes with just 18 seconds left before halftime to up the margin to 14-0. Coyne ended the game with 14 completions in 26 attempts for 205 yards and three scores.
Despite being held off the board in the first half, Bowdoin had outstanding field position throughout the opening 30 minutes, starting eight drives with an average field position of the the Wesleyan 46-yard line. But all the Polar Bears could muster was a pair of missed 26-yard field goals (one of which was blocked), four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) and a pair of punts. Bowdoin lost another fumble in the second half to suffer five turnovers in the game. Wesleyan had just one miscue, an interception on the Cardinals' first offensive series. Only two of Wesleyan's six TDs resulted from Bowdoin turnovers.
The second-half scoring featured a Coyne three-yard run just 2:41 into the third period to make it 21-0 for the Cardinals. A 42-yard screen pass to sophomore Te'Rhon O'Neal was the key play during the drive. Bowdoin countered with its only points on its initial series of the third period. An eight-yard run by freshman Zach Donnarumma finished off the six-play, 55-yard drive. Donnarumma ended the game with 14 carries for 47 yards to pace the Polar Bears, who gained just 102 yards on the ground from 30 tries. Wesleyan amassed 308 yards on the ground on its 52 attempts.
The Cardinals added three more scores with Hughes grabbing his second TD pass of the day, this one for 15 yards at 5:16 of the third quarter ; a 27-yard pass to a wide-open junior Joe Byous on a 4th-and-1 play at 9:40 of the fourth period ; and a one-yard run by O'Neal at 5:17 to complete the day's scoring. O'Neal ended the day with six runs for 48 yards and three receptions for another 52 yards.
Bowdoin rotated quarterbacks during the game with limited passing success as the combination of junior R.J. Shea and freshman Grant White accounted for only 10 completions in 30 throws for 105 yards. For the game, Wesleyan held a substantial edge in total yards of 531-207 and a 13-minute advantage in time of possession.
While Wesleyan boasts a comfortable lead in the long-standing series with a 53-28-2 margin, the Cardinals' dominance since 1977 is an overwhelming 26-4 as the teams were virtually even in the series 33 years ago.
Ahead for Wesleyan is its final Little Three game of the year Sat., Nov. 6 at undefeated Williams College. Bowdoin begins C-B-B action in its next outing, hosting Bates College.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Bowdoin College..... 0 0 7 0 - 7 Record: (1-5,1-5)
Wesleyan University. 0 14 13 14 - 41 Record: (4-2,4-2)
Scoring Summary:
2nd 06:16 WES - Shea Dwyer 2 yd run (Sebastian Aguirre kick), 7-65 2:56, BOW 0 - WES 7
00:18 WES - Kevin Hughes 25 yd pass from Matt Coyne (Sebastian Aguirre kick), 10-80 3:30, BOW 0 - WES 14
3rd 12:19 WES - Matt Coyne 3 yd run (Sebastian Aguirre kick), 5-61 2:29, BOW 0 - WES 21
09:34 BOW - Zach Donnarumma 8 yd run (Jimmy Garvey kick), 6-55 2:38, BOW 7 - WES 21
05:16 WES - Kevin Hughes 15 yd pass from Matt Coyne (Sebastian Aguirre kick failed), 9-71 4:10, BOW 7 - WES 27
4th 09:40 WES - Joe Byous 27 yd pass from Matt Coyne (Sebastian Aguirre kick), 7-65 3:55, BOW 7 - WES 34
05:17 WES - Te'Rhon O'Neal 1 yd run (Sebastian Aguirre kick), 5-38 3:25, BOW 7 - WES 41
BOW WES
FIRST DOWNS................... 13 26
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 30-102 52-308
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 105 223
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 30-10-2 27-15-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 60-207 79-531
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 5-21 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-174 2-40
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-20 2-11
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-35.0 6-30.0
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-3 2-0
Penalties-Yards............... 5-29 11-108
Possession Time............... 23:05 36:55
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 13 7 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 3 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-4 4-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-6 1-8
RUSHING: Bowdoin College-Zach Donnarumma 14-44; Pat Noone 4-23; Grant
White 5-21; R.J. Shea 3-9; Kevin Miao 1-7; Ian Vieira 1-2; Lonnie Hackett 1-1;
TEAM 1-minus 5. Wesleyan University-Shea Dwyer 27-164; Te'Rhon O'Neal 6-48; Joe
Byous 4-43; Pete Modera 2-29; Matt Coyne 11-18; Gabe Manzanares 2-6.
PASSING: Bowdoin College-R.J. Shea 4-17-1-57; Grant White 6-13-1-48.
Wesleyan University-Matt Coyne 14-26-1-205; Blake DuBois 1-1-0-18.
RECEIVING: Bowdoin College-Sean O'Malley 3-22; Pat Noone 2-38; Brendan
Garner 2-35; Zach Donnarumma 2-15; Brian Glazewski 1-minus 5. Wesleyan
University-Te'Rhon O'Neal 3-52; Shea Dwyer 3-38; Kyle Weiss 3-23; Kevin Hughes
2-40; Tim Morley 2-25; Joe Byous 1-27; Ernest Wingate 1-18.
Attendance: 1800
