Wesleyan University

BRUNSWICK, Me. – The Wesleyan football team pitched a shutout with three interceptions on defense while the Cardinals featured two 100+ yard rushers on offense in a dominant 28-0 road win over Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (6-1) bounce back in a big way after falling at Amherst last weekend while the Polar Bears (0-7) are one of two winless teams remaining in the NESCAC.
 
The Cardinal defense dominated in all facets, holding a team scoreless for the first time since a 24-0 win over Middlebury back in 2021. Bowdoin was held to nine first downs, going 3-for-16 on third downs in the contest, while the Polar Bears gained 144 total yards on 58 plays (2.5 yards per play). Bowdoin didn't rush for a single first down while the Cardinals allowed just 28 rushing yards on 20 carries in the game. Bowdoin's quarterback Soren Hummel was picked off three times while he went just 16-for-38 throwing for 116 yards (3.05 yards per attempt).
 
Meanwhile, the Wesleyan offense picked up chunk plays on the ground game all afternoon, rushing for a season-high 232 yards on 43 carries as a team. The 232 rushing yards is the highest single-game total for Wesleyan since that 2021 meeting with Middlebury when the Cardinals picked up 265 rushing yards in that contest. Angelo LaRose '27 gained 112 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown while Matt Diaz '28 rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries and one score. This marks the first time Wesleyan has featured a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since Charlie McPhee and David Estevez both rushed for over 100 against Middlebury in 2021.
 
Wesleyan took the ball for the first time on offense and marched 90 yards down the field in nine plays for a touchdown in their first possession. Matt Fitzsimons '27 completed a 17-yard pass to Donte Kelly '29 on 3^rd-and-6 early in the drive to keep the chains moving. Wesleyan picked up 24 yards combined over the next three plays before Fitzsimons used a pump fake on a play action sequence, hitting Blake Newcomb '27 wide open on a slant route in the end zone.
 
Following that scoring drive, five of the next six drives ended in punts, with the one exception being a Bowdoin fake punt on 4^th-and-13 at midfield that only gained five yards. The Polar Bears found some success on offense towards the end of the second quarter, driving 34 yards on six plays, only to see Tommy Kilroy '29 step in front of a Hummel pass for his NESCAC-leading fifth interception of the season.
 
The Cardinals took the 7-0 lead into halftime and needed just four plays from the start of the second half to double their advantage. After Fitzsimons connected with Sean Cannon '27 for a 14-yard pickup on 3^rd-and-6, Diaz took a simple shotgun handoff up the middle and burst through the line. He juked out the defensive back as the last line of defense and sprinted to the pylon on the far side for the 61-yard score.
 
Trying to answer the Wesleyan score, Bowdoin picked up a pair of first downs on their ensuing drive, but on a 3^rd-and-9 near midfield, Hummel rolled to his right and underthrew his receiver right to Aiden Nelson '27 who registered his first career interception on the play.
 
Six straight drives ended in punts following the Nelson interception before the Cardinals all but put the game away early in the fourth quarter. After picking up a 4^th-and-1 on the Bowdoin 32-yard line, on the next play from scrimmage it was Fitzsimons throwing a perfect deep ball to the back left corner of the end zone where Cannon hauled in a 30-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 Wesleyan with 11:07 left.
 
Bowdoin's last-gasp attempt to try and make a game of it ended in another interception as this time it was Jack Bronikowski '28. Another underthrown ball to a receiver from Hummel resulted in a pick with Bronikowski reading the Bowdoin quarterback in coverage the entire play.
 
The game was officially put the bed just three plays later as LaRose, who had already picked up 13 yards on two carries into the drive, took the shotgun handoff up the middle and went untouched 50 yards to the end zone.
 
Wesleyan outgained Bowdoin 359-144 and finished +3 in turnover margin. Fitzsimons went 9-for-13 throwing for 121 yards and 2 TD with 0 INT. Cannon led the receivers with three catches for 72 yards and 1 TD.
 
The Cardinals look to stay in contention for a NESCAC Championship with the regular season home finale against Williams up next on the docket.