Case Western Reserve University senior quarterback Drew Saxton connected with sophomore wide receiver Ethan Dahlem for a 56-yard touchdown pass with 4:21 remaining in regulation for what would prove to be the difference-making score in a 14-10 upset win for the Spartans over 25th-ranked Washington & Jefferson College at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday night.
The Spartans improved to 2-1 overall, including a 1-0 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference play, while Washington & Jefferson dropped to 2-1 with an 0-1 conference ledger.
Saxton finished the game 22-for-32 for 297 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air, including the eventual game-winner. He moved within two scores and 113 yards of surpassing the program records for career passing touchdowns and career passing yards, both set by former Spartan Dan Whalen. Dahlem, whose touchdown reception was the first of his career, finished the game with a career-high 108 receiving yards on a team-high seven receptions.
The 59-yard strike was the second long touchdown of the day for Saxton as he opened the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Noah Coyne with 13 seconds remaining in the first half. Coyne ended the day with five receptions for 62 yards and the score, his second in as many games. Junior wide receiver Riley Knurek followed his breakout game with 74 yards receiving on four catches, including a 61-yard reception in the first quarter.
Prior to the touchdown, both defenses dominated during the first half. The Spartans forced punts on nine consecutive President drives spanning from the first quarter through the third quarter. W&J finished the game with just 24 yards rushing, more than 150 fewer than the team's season average of 177.0 heading into the contest. The 24 yards allowed are the fewest by a Spartan defense since the team allowed 9 in a 53-0 win over Bethany during the 2021 season.
CWRU totaled seven sacks and nine tackles for loss in the contest. Junior linebacker Marco Toth recorded two sacks and forced a fumble, while junior defensive lineman Kaden Tong finished with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. In his season debut, junior linebacker Ryan Cabrera led the team with seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Sophomore defensive back Nate Cikalo and junior linebacker Gabe Troch each added six tackles.
W&J finally broke through in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of the first CWRU turnover of the season to score on an 11-yard pass from Colton Jones to John Peduzzi. Following a Spartan punt, the visitors drove down to the CWRU two-yard line. The Spartan defense stuffed two rushes and Toth recorded his second sack of the game to force a President field goal attempt from the 10-yard line. Deven Wyandt converted the 27-yarder with just over five minutes remaining in regulation to give the Presidents their only lead of the night.
CWRU needed just three plays to respond and reclaim the lead on the Saxton-to-Dahlem score. On the ensuing drive, Washington & Jefferson marched to the Spartan eight-yard line with 2:22 left in the game. On first down, Tong and junior defensive lineman AJ Dudowski sacked Jones for a four-yard loss. The Presidents fumbled the next snap and lost two yards, before the Spartans forced two incomplete passes to give the offense a chance to secure the win.
However, W&J forced a three-and-out, bringing sophomore punter Joseph Rhodes V out for his ninth boot of the afternoon. With the Spartan coverage team swarming the returner, he dropped the ball, and first-year defensive back Osi Chukwuocha recovered it for the first Spartan forced turnover of the season. With just 1:03 remaining in the game, CWRU easily ran out the clock to send the raucous crowd into a frenzy and secure the win.
The victory marks the first for the Spartans over an opponent ranked in the D3football.com Top 25 since the team's 28-0 win over #11 Illinois Wesleyan in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The previous time an unranked CWRU team upset a ranked team was on October 24, 2015, when the Spartans defeated #15 W&J 35-28.
Prior to the game, a free concert was held on Finnegan Field outside the Wyant Athletic Center featuring CWRU student musician Franco Krais. In addition, Case Western Reserve's 17 club sports were recognized throughout the game as part of Club Sports Day.
The Spartans will begin a stretch of back-to-back road games starting next weekend, as the team will travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania for a 7 p.m. contest against Geneva College on Saturday, September 24.