Nov 02, 2024
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, ranked 17th nationally, hosted the Westminster College Titans for a homecoming President's Athletics Tartans (PAC) heavy-weight bout Saturday, at Richard M Lackner Field, The Tartans got out front early and never looked back, winning 45-20 to stay firmly in the PAC title race.
Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 45, Westminster 20
Records: Carnegie Mellon (7-1, 7-1 PAC), Westminster (6-2, 6-2 PAC)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Richard M. Lackner Field at Gesling Stadium)
How it Happened
- Carnegie Mellon opened the scoring with a 6-yard shovel pass from graduate student quarterback Ben Mills to graduate student running back Tre Vasiliades, capping an 11-play, 70-yard drive of 5:29 to go ahead 7-0 at the 9:31 mark in the first quarter.
- The Tartans struck again on a 15-yard pass from Mills to senior tight end Matt Evert to finish a seven-play, 66-yard drive of 3:23, going up 14-0.
- Carnegie Mellon added another touchdown through the air on a 45-yard air out from Mills to a diving grab from sophomore wide receiver Reece Kolke, topping off a three-play, 91-yard drive of 1:27 to extend the lead to 21-0 with 6:45 left in the half.
- Tartan junior kicker Justin Caputo added to the scoring with a 21-yard field goal, increasing the lead to 24-0 with 1:10 left in the half.
- With under a minute left in the first half, an errant Westminster pass was picked off and ran in for the score by Tartan junior defensive back Jacob Franze, setting the lead at 31-0 going into halftime.
- Carnegie Mellon would strike again coming out of halftime on a two-yard dive from junior running back Willem Bouma to end a five-yard, 52-yard drive of 1:53, upping the score to 38-0 at the 5:10 mark in the third.
- On the ensuing kickoff, Westminster would open its scoring with a 89-yard kick return for a touchdown by freshman wide receiver Brite Cannon, setting the score at 38-7 with 4:58 in the third quarter.
- On the following drive, Carnegie Mellon answered with a 26-yard touchdown rush from Bouma, wrapping up a quick two-play, 68-yard drive of 46 seconds to go up 45-7.
- The Titans added another touchdown to the scoresheet on a 28-yard back-corner strike from junior quarterback Billy Levak to senior wide receiver Jalen Washington to cap a five-play, 56-yard drive eating up 2:46, making the score 45-14 with 8:19 left in the game.
- Westminster revisited the endzone on a 10-yard quick strike from Levak to senior wide receiver Ethan Buford to close a ten-play, 65-yard drive of 4:36 to set the score at 45-20. This would close scoring for the game.
Stats
- The Tartans outgained the Titans to the tune of 440-230 on 55 to 61 plays, respectively.
- Vasiliades led the Tartans on the ground with a season-high 187 yards on 18 carries for an average of 10.4 yards per touch. He added 19 yards on two catches and a touchdown receiving, as well.
- Mills led the Tartans through the air with 165 passing yards on 13 completions and three touchdowns. He also took care of punting duties with three for an average of 40.7 yards.
- Kolke led the Tartans' receiving corps with 45 yards on three catches and a touchdown.
- Tartans senior linebacker Evan Roper and graduate student linebacker Thomas Coury led the defense with eight tackles a piece. Roper had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack, and Coury had 1.5 tackles for loss, as well.
- Caputo finished perfect on the game with 6/6 PATs and a 1/1 field goals.
Game Notes
- The Tartans now lead the series by a game, 22-21-1, winning four straight and five of the last six.
- Carnegie Mellon extends its home winning streak to 22 games the second longest home winning streak in Division III and fourth longest among FBS, FCS, DII and DIII institutions.
- It marked the 43rd straight win for the Tartans with holding a lead after three quarters on play.
- The Tartans have now won 25 straight games when winning the turnover battle.
- The Tartans have now won 22 straight games when scoring either a special teams or defensive touchdown.
- Carnegie Mellon graduate student linebacker Robert Coury is now needs one sack to move into third on the all-time sack leaders list.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen
- "I am incredibly proud of our program and how we played today! We played with relentless effort, high energy, and executed at a high-level, which was something we had talked about the whole week. We look forward to getting back to work tomorrow and honoring our senior class next Saturday with senior day against Allegheny!"
Up Next
The Tartans host the Gators of Allegheny on Saturday, November 9 at Gesling Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.