CHICAGO – The University of Chicago football team celebrated Senior Day in style, rolling to a 58-0 victory in front of a Stagg Field crowd over Grinnell College.

The Maroon defense proved especially devastating, only letting their average yards per play rise above the single yard mark in the fourth quarter. The sterling overall performance also marked the team's first shutout and first contest scoring over 50 points this season.

As they ready themselves for the final two games of the season, the Maroons record now stands at 6-2 (5-2 in Midwest conference play). The Pioneers have now slipped to 2-5 playing an entirely in-conference schedule.

Before the game, UChicago honored its 20 seniors on the field with their families. The departing class owns a 20-7 record over the past four years.

Running back Nicholas D'Ambrose proved nearly impossible to contain and carried the day for his fellow seniors. He headlined the day with four rushing touchdowns, 162 yards (good for a nine yards per carry average) and yet another score through the air. He found the end zone for the first time after a quick five-play drive late in the first quarter, as the offensive line cleared a massive hole for a score from two yards out.

While it took most of the first quarter for the Maroons to find pay dirt, the onslaught picked up momentum. UChicago's defense got a quick stop, and on their next offensive drive, it was Luke Degner who cashed in. Rookie quarterback Jack Ruff launched a pass to Degner, who was running up the midfield hash in the final seconds off the quarter. As he tracked the ball into the end zone, the first-year wide receiver from California made a sensational catch, plucking the ball off his shoelaces to secure the 32-yard score. Senior quarterback Wesley Gow re-entered the game soon after, and the home side's passing attack as a whole racked up 138 yards and three scores on eight completions.

Two minutes later, in the beginning of the second quarter, D'Ambrose lit up the highlight reel again. The line bore down on the Grinnell front-seven to spring him loose, and D'Ambrose didn't miss his chance, dodging tacklers and taking off for the front pylon on a 44-yard rush.

When Grinnell took over, the junior pairing of Aidan Cappellino and Carlos Cardona made sure that it wasn't for long. From his linebacker position, Cappellino sped into the Grinnell backfield on a well-timed blitz, leveling the quarterback as he threw. Spying the fluttering ball, Cardona turned from his man on a dime to come up with the interception to regain possession for the Maroons near midfield.

The defense truly earned the shutout, as they played well enough to set the UChicago offense up in Pioneer territory for most drives. The Maroons allowed a mere 67 yards of total offense, assisted by three sacks from Leo Spiedel, Tim Clifford, and another shared by Stafford Anderson and Cale Patton. Grinnell's offense averaged 1.1 yards per play and only completed 4 of 16 passes.

Gow and Michael Janis made it back-to-back scores on the first play of the next drive. Gow dumped the ball off to Janis on a screen pass, where the senior wide receiver went to work. Picking up a block from a teammate and flashing his elusiveness, Janis worked his way into the defensive secondary, where he shed tacklers and turned on the jets down the sideline for a runaway 45-yard touchdown.

By the time senior running back Greg Asare locked up a 15-yard touchdown run on a smooth scamper in the closing seconds of the half, the Maroons had scored five touchdowns in the second quarter alone. Gow had connected with D'Ambrose for an 11-yard score through the air and D'Ambrose tacked on a six-yard touchdown for good measure. D'Ambrose worked in one more five-yard running score early in the third quarter as well to push his total touchdowns to five on the day.

The final points of the afternoon came courtesy of junior kicker Will Goodman, who tied his own school record with a 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

UChicago's total rushing yardage came to 248 yards for an average of 6.4 yards per rush. Gow completed 7 of 11 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Degner hauled in three receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, the Maroons compiled a whopping 13 tackles for loss and three sacks. Junior linebacker William Skowronski led the team with nine tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior nose guard Roman Lewis and Cappellino tallied 1.5 tackles for loss each.

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Nov. 5 @ 1:00 PM – UChicago at Lawrence University