ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Hendrix College football team committed five turnovers, falling to Washington University in St. Louis 49-46 in Southern Athletic Association action Saturday.

Both teams failed to score in the first quarter, but the host Bears (7-2, 6-1) opened the second quarter with a 16-yard rushing touchdown from Austin Smestad. The Warriors (6-3, 3-2) fumbled on their next possession, but Washington also fumbled after a 13-yard sack by sophomore cornerback Demarcus McDaniel and recovered by Chad McGonigal. Two plays later, Hendrix tied it up on an eight-yard run from senior Dayton Winn.

Sophomore Jared Goff forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff with junior Neal Parsons recovering it for the Warriors. Winn ran it from the 15-yard line to put Hendrix up 14-7. The Bears knotted it up on their next drive on a two-yard pass from J.J. Tomlin to Kevin Hammarlund. Later in the quarter, Wash U. scored again on three-yard throw to Matt Page. Warrior senior kicker Steve Crenshaw booted a 39-yard field goal as time ran out of the half to make the game 21-17 at the break.

In the third quarter, Washington's Ben Marcus intercepted a pass a returned it 27 yards to set up a 28-yard touchdown pass to Matt Goldberg to give the Bears a 28-17 lead. Hendrix answered with nine-play, 69-yard drive capped by a Winn six-yard run into the endzone.

Senior defensive end Tyler Clifton caused a fumble on a sack which was recovered by fellow senior end Gray Stanton giving the Orange & Black the ball back. Hendrix then fumbled after a catch, allowing the Bears to recover. That set up a three-yard touchdown catch by Hammarlund to give the home team a 35-24 advantage.

The Warriors marched down the field 68-yards for 12 plays and scored on a Seth Peters five-yard pass to Ben Luedtke with 14:52 left in the final quarter. Peters completed a two-point conversion to senior tight end Doug Phillips to make the game 35-32. Just over three minutes later, Peters was sacked by Nick Leduc, causing another fumble with the Bears recovering deep into Hendrix territory. Smestad rushed for 12 yards to give Wash U. a 10-point lead.

Luedtke responded with an 81-yard kickoff return for a score, cutting their deficit back to three. Freshman Chad McGonigal picked off a Tomlin pass on the Bears next drive. Hendrix went down to the Washington 7 on fourth down, but the potential game-tying field goal was blocked by Ben Marcus.

Smestad broke a run for 80 yards to put Wash U. up 49-39 with 1:01 left. The Warriors managed to scored on Winn's fourth TD of the day, a one-yard carry, with 12 seconds left. Hendrix attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Bears to seal the win.

"I was proud of our team," said Hendrix head coach Buck Buchanan. "It was a good football game with two good teams. Our three losses have come from teams with winning records. We will learn from today and make it a positive for the future of our program.

"I told our team that we do not have permission to hang out heads. We have a lot to be thankful for and I told them as long as they give in life the way they to play that game, then the score won't matter."

Hendrix ran a school record 105 plays for 631 yards of total offense, averaging 6.0 per play. Washington ran 84 plays for 524 yards and averaged 6.2 per play.

Hendrix Notes
- Luedtke set a school record with 205 kick return yards.
- Winn ran 39 times for 271 yards and four touchdowns. His yardage was the third most in school history.
- Peters was 28-of-39 passing for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
- Junior Nate Hodapp caught seven passes for 82 yards. Ethan Hoppe had seven catches for 80 yards.
- Junior safety Michael Kramer recorded nine tackles to lead the defense.
- John Donald and Kody Smith both recorded seven tackles.
- McDaniel had five tackles with the sack and a forced fumble.
- Clifton had three tackles with a sack.
- Senior defensive end Jake Falleur registered two tackles for a loss.

Washington Notes
- Smestad ran 24 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
- Tomlin was 23-of-36 passing for 282 yards with four TDs and one pick.
- Hammarlund caught eight passes for 141 yards and two scores.
- Jake Coon had 17 tackles and a forced fumble.
- Marcus also had 17 tackles with one for a loss and an interception.

Up Next
Hendrix will finish the season at home next Saturday against Sewanee - The University of the South.