CLEVELAND, Ohio – Case Western Reserve defensive end/kicker Brian Calderone booted a pair of field goals, scored on a 32-yard fumble return, tallied 14 tackles, 4.0 sacks and forced a fumble to lead the Spartans to a 27-9 victory over Washington and Lee on Saturday afternoon at Case Field.
The Spartans (5-5) opened a 7-0 lead just 5:21 into the game when wide receiver Joe Brenner hauled in an 11-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Dan Whalen. Calderone made it a 10-0 game with a 20-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the first quarter, before the Generals got on the board with a 24-yard field goal by senior placekicker Ben Long (Frankford, W.Va./Hargrave Military) with 6:49 left in the first half. However, Calderone stretched the Case advantage to 17-3 just two minutes later when he picked up a fumble and rumbled 32 yards for a touchdown.
Calderone made it a 20-3 game with 11:59 left in the third quarter with a 22-yard field goal and cornerback Bobby Bott gave the Spartans a 24-point lead when he returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
W&L sliced to a 27-9 game with 11:28 remaining on a 4-yard touchdown run by junior tailback J.C. Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Cistercian Prep), but could get no closer.
The Generals (7-3) were limited to just 137 yards of total offense and committed five turnovers in the contest. Senior wide receiver Colton Ward paced the offense with six carries for 27 yards and five catches for 24 yards. Junior wide receiver Jack Martin (Clayton, Mo./Hun School) hauled in five passes for 49 yards, while freshman quarterback R.J. Varner (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park) completed 12-of-22 passes for 91 yards, but was intercepted three times. Junior linebacker Kyle Harvey (Columbia, S.C./Richland Northeast) led the defense with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Junior cornerback Mark Snoddy (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) notched five tackles and one interception as he set a new W&L record for career interceptions (17), breaking the record of 16 that was set by Dave Waters '51.
Calderone spearheaded Case's effort on offense, defense and special teams. Whalen completed 11-of-22 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown, while tailback James Rosenbury totaled 93 yards on 32 carries. Brenner snared seven balls for 67 yards and one touchdown.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Wilkes University for the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The Generals will take on the Colonels at 12:00 pm.
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