The Maroons racked up their first away victory of the season at Sewanee with an impressive 49–30 victory over the Tigers. This brought their record up to 4–4 for the season and 4–3 in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA). Sewanee, on the other hand, continued their disappointing campaigning with an eight consecutive loss (0–8, 0–6).
However, the main story of the night was fourth-year quarterback Burke Moser, who broke 10 records on the day (five team, five individual). With a pass completion rate of around 62 percent, Moser threw for 558 yards and seven touchdowns, and tossed only two interceptions. These stellar numbers led to the shattering of records for most touchdowns passes and passing yards in a single game. In addition, he broke the seasonal records for most passing touchdowns, passing yards, and passing attempts.
However, not everything was rosy for the South Siders. They found themselves down at halftime 17–14, and were even losing by 17 points at one point during the second quarter. However, guided by the brilliance of Moser, Chicago made multiple important plays as the quarterback linked well with first-year wide receiver Dante Nepa for two touchdowns, 66 and 60 yards, respectively, as well as third-year James Rieger for a touchdown from 29 yards out. During the fourth quarter, the Tigers tried to make a comeback by scoring a touchdown and bringing the score to 35–30. However, all fears were allayed, as the Maroons put the game to bed with two consecutive touchdowns by fourth-year Syd Reynolds and third-year star running back Chandler Carroll.
While the entire team benefitted from Moser’s brilliance, Nepa in particular had a great game with seven catches for a season-high 190 yards. “Any accomplishments I had would not have been possible without Burke making some great throws and all five of our linemen, fourth-years Andrew Maneval, Nick Zimmerman, and Max Schumann, and second-years Charles Shifman and Tucker Squiers, giving Burke the time he needed to throw. I’m just grateful that I had the opportunity to get the ball and help my team win,” Nepa said after the game.
Although this win was uplifting for Chicago, it now turns its focus to an old UAA opponent: Carnegie Mellon. “We are happy to have gotten that win on the road. However, we are now focused on what we can improve on in preparation for these next two games at home,” Nepa said. “Both Carnegie Mellon and Wash U are very good teams, so we know we must be very focused in order to be ready to play our best football these next two weeks,” the first-year said on the mood in the team camp. If the Maroons are to make a push for the SAA title, they would need more such performances from Nepa, Moser, and the rest of the team.
Chicago next plays Carnegie Mellon University this Saturday with the game scheduled to start at noon at Stagg Field. They would hope for a similar outcome to this game, and with Moser in the form he is, as well as home field advantage, the chances are high.
