Tartans Even Record with 35-14 Victory Over Kenyon

(GAMBIER, Ohio) – Junior Patrick Blanks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) scored on a 56-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and the Carnegie Mellon University football team beat Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon, 35-14. Blanks would find the end zone twice more, as the junior running back tallied a career-high 147 yards for the Tartans who are now 2-2.

After trading defensive stops, the Tartans began their next scoring drive from the Kenyon 47-yard line with 6:24 remaining in the opening quarter. Junior Jake Nardone (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) ran for 21 yards on the drive and finished with a six-yard touchdown run. After the extra-point from freshman Kevin Donohue (West Hempstead, N.Y./Chaminade), the Tartans led 14-0.

The Carnegie Mellon defense continued its solid start in the second quarter, as junior Nick Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) recovered a fumble on the Tartans' 20-yard line. Sophomore quarterback Rob Kalkstein (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) hooked up with sophomore Tim Kikta (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) twice on the drive to move the Tartans down the field, with a big 60-yard pass play taking Carnegie Mellon down to the Lords' nine-yard line. Blanks would finish the scoring drive three plays later with a five-yard touchdown run. Donohue converted the extra-point and Carnegie Mellon led 21-0 with 10:39 remaining in the first half.

Carnegie Mellon continued its dominance in the second quarter and began another scoring drive with 1:29 remaining in the half. Kalkstein and Kikta once again hooked up for 22 yards before Blanks scored his third touchdown of the half on a 10-yard run with 37 seconds left. Donohue's kick gave the Tartans a 28-0 lead at the break.

Kenyon answered at the start of the third quarter with a six-play, 46-yard touchdown drive to cut the score to 28-7. The Tartans pushed the lead back to four touchdowns later in the quarter, as Kalkstein found freshman wideout Timothy Swanson (Millburn, N.J.) for a 26-yard touchdown. Donohue made his fifth extra-point of the afternoon and Carnegie Mellon led 35-7. The Lords would score again on a 16-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter to make it 35-14.

It was a big day for the Carnegie Mellon offense, as the Tartans gained 541 total yards. Nardone rushed 16 times for 122 yards and the touchdown. It was his second career 100-yard rushing game. Kalkstein was 9-of-17 for a career-high 196 yards through the air. Kikta had three catches for a career-high 89 receiving yards.

Defensively, the Tartans were led by sophomore Eric Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira), who recorded 11 tackles. Junior Vincent Brown (Duluth, Ga./Peachtree Ridge) had seven tackles and sophomore Akwasi Brefo (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinette) added six. Junior Owen Parker (Burton, Ohio/Notre Dame - Cathedral Latin) added an interception for the Tartans.

Carnegie Mellon will return to action next week against Hiram College. Last fall, the Tartans defeated Hiram, 62-31.

Take a look back at our football history as we celebrate a run to 500 wins. The team now sits at 497 wins.