Bears Defeat Chicago, 31-10, to Win Founders Cup 
CHICAGO-WU BOX | PHOTO
Washington U. has won 16 of the 21 Founders Cup meetings, including seven of the last 10. The win improved the Bears to 6-1, sealing its 15th-straight winning season.
"Not enough people appreciate defense in football," said Washington University head coach Larry Kindbom, who picked up his 148th career victory. "Slowly, quietly, but surely the talented defensive football teams are the ones that rise to the top and today we really showed how tough we are on defense. If you rely on defense and its consistent, you’ll always have a chance to win."
After the Bears’ defense forced a punt on Chicago’s opening drive, Washington U. marched down the field in seven plays capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior Buck Smith to senior Michael Casper to make it 7-0.
Washington U., which entered the game ranked second in Division III in turnovers gained (21), picked up its first take-away of the game after junior Brent Sensenich recovered a fumble and scampered 62 yards for the TD.
 The Bears capitalized on Chicago’s fourth turnover when senior Tyler McSparin picked off UC quarterback Marshall Oium and returned it 37 yards for the touchdown to make it 21-0 with 12:28 remaining in the second. An interception by junior Tommy Bawden set up a 30-yard field goal by senior Michael Elliott to push the lead to 24-0 at halftime.
Washington U. forced seven turnovers in the first half, including five interceptions. The Bears’ defense allowed 145 yards of total offense on 42 plays in the first half, but held the Maroons to 2-of-8 on third-downs.
Chicago (3-2) took advantage of the first mistake by Washington U. early in the third quarter. A fumble by sophomore Matt Glenn was recovered by the Maroons at the Chicago 49-yard line. Eight plays later, Thomas Parks scored from one-yard out to trim the lead to 24-7. A 27-yard field goal by Ryan Verissimo cut the lead to 24-10 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bears’ had five interceptions in the win, including two by freshman Brandon Brown and one by sophomore Tim Machan. Machan leads the team and the UAA with seven interceptions.
"The best thing about the interception was coming back to the sideline and celebrating with my teammates," said McSparin, who had a game-high 10 tackles and forced fumble in the win. "It was probably the most fun I’ve had playing football at WU. It’s been a fun season because when the defense has been down, Buck [Smith] and the offense has picked us up. But when they’re down we’ve been able to pick them up too."
Chicago outgained Washington U. 322-224 in total offense, and had a 124-91 advantage on the ground. Smith struggled in the win connecting on 13-of-31 passes for 131 yards and one TD.
Washington University will have next week off before returning to action at Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Gesling Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.
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