Football 08-09

Bert Bathiany

Dan Whalen passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 75 more as No. 14 Case Western Reserve topped Denison 45-14 at Case Field in Cleveland.

The Spartan offense was clicking on all cylinders early thanks to the arm and feet of Whalen.  The 6'1 junior quarterback hooked up with Shaun Nicely from 28-yards out on their first possession.  Case would go on to score four more times before the half, resulting in a 31-0 lead at the half.

While the Case offense put up some big numbers through the first three quarters their defense kept Denison from putting together any lengthy drives in the first half.  Senior quarterback Mike Barnes (Gates Mills, Ohio/Mayfield) had a tough day through the air, completing 5-of-18 passes for 26 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown to Brandon Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson).  He did gain a team-high 74 yards rushing off 20 carries but he was playing catch-up most of the afternoon thanks to five sacks by the Case defense.

The Denison defense was led by senior linebacker Bert Bathiany (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands) who posted 10 tackles.  Joe Ulrey (Marengo, Ohio/Highland) added nine stops and junior safety Drew Homyk (Chicago, Ill./St. Ignatius Prep) chipped in eight tackles.  A three-year starter for the Big Red defense, Homyk had the rare opportunity to go head-to-head with his younger brother, Zach, a sophomore wide receiver for Case.  Not only did they line up against each other for the second time, Drew made two tackles following receptions by Zach in the first and second quarter.  The younger Homyk would get some payback thanks to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Whalen just before halftime.

The loss drops Denison's record to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference while Case Western Reserve improves to 4-0.  This also runs CWRU's regular season winning streak to 17 games dating back to 2006.