Tartans Earn 17 Spots on the All-UAA Football Team
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 16 players and 17 position spots honored when the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) Football Team was announced Tuesday, November 25 by the league coaches. Of the 16 players selected, 14 Tartans are making their first appearance.
Freshman kick returner Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) was the lone Tartan to find a spot on the UAA first team. Benger, led the UAA with 1,325 all-purpose yards and with an average of 27.2 yards per kick return which ranked 20th nationally. The freshman also showed spark in the backfield finishing the season with 570 yards rushing on 96 attempts for an UAA leading average of 5.9 yards per carry. He rushed for 100 yards on three occasions including a 175-yard effort in the Tartans' final season contest against Washington University.
Joining the freshman as a special teams honoree is classmate placekicker/punter Tyler Kohman (Pataskala, Ohio/Columbus Academy) and senior punt returner Shae Sealey (Lithia Springs, Ga./Douglas County). Kohman was selected as the second-team kicker and punter while Sealey was named honorable mention. Kohman was second in the UAA with an average of 37.7 yards per punt while placing 23 inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He booted a season-best kick of 54 yards against Saint Vincent. The freshman kicker also recorded a school record 50-yard field goal on an untimed down to defeat Westminster. Sealy returned 13 punts with a long of 17 while ranking fourth in the UAA with an average return of 5.8 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball there were six members honored, five second teamers and one honorable mention. Senior defensive lineman Dustin Schneider (Hampton, N.J./North Hunterdon) and senior linebacker Eric Myers (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette), junior linebacker Nico Comsa (Connellsville, Pa.) along with two defensive backs, junior cornerback Ryan Aitken (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) and freshman safety Drew Fitzmorris (Omaha, Neb./Westside) landed a spot on the second team with junior safety Malcolm Guya (Whitehall Pa.) garnering honorable mention honors.
Schneider, a three-year starter and captain, ended the season with 32 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss while forcing a fumble. Myers was second on the team with 71 tackles and recorded a career-best 11 tackles, seven solo, against Saint Vincent. He followed that performance with his second career double-digit tackle game against Thiel where he tallied 10. The senior also forced one fumble and recorded 2.5 tackles for loss. Comsa led the UAA with 97 tackles and was the top UAA linebacker with 12.5 tackles for loss of 40 yards which ranked second in the association. He recorded his first two career interceptions and returned one 24 yards for a touchdown against Westminster. Comsa also tallied 2.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and had six games of double-digit tackles including a career-best 12 on three occasions.
Aitken was the Tartans' fourth leading tackler with 52 stops, 31 solo. The junior led the team with eight pass breakups and 10 total passes defended, as he recorded his first two career interceptions in 2014. In the Tartans win over Geneva, Aitken posted a career-best 12 tackles. Fitzmorris, who missed two games due to injury, finished third on the team with 58 tackles. In his eight games, he had four where he recorded double-digit tackles including a season-best 16 at Chicago. Against Geneva, Fitzmorris had his breakout game where he tallied nine solo tackles, 12 total, and forced a fumble on his way to being named to the D3football.com Team of the Week and Corvias Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southwest Rookie of the Week. Guya was fifth on the team with 49 tackles and tied a career-high with 11 against Bethany. In the Tartans' win over Grove City, Guya logged a career-best six solo tackles.
The offensive side of the ball saw three second-team and four honorable mention selections. Two offensive linemen were honored on the second-team, junior Will French (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) and sophomore W. Tyler Reid (Lees Summit, Mo./Lees Summit West). The two headed a line that saw the Tartan offense improve throughout the year. On two occasions in 2014, the Tartans compiled 400 yards or more of total offense including their best outing in the season finale of 460 yards, 286 coming by way of the ground attack. The third second-team member is senior wide out Tim Swanson (Millburn, N.J.), who is making his third appearance on the All-UAA squad. Swanson, a captain, finished the season second on the team with 35 receptions and third with 345 yards. He ended his career with 1,465 yards receiving and 92 receptions, ranking fourth in both categories all-time in school history.
Fellow junior receivers Chris Herrera (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) and Max Reinertsen (Esko, Minn.) join Swanson on the All-UAA team as honorable mention honorees along with senior tight end Fred Bolio (Franklin, N.J./Wallkill Valley Regional) and junior signal caller Andrew Hearon (Tulsa, Okla./Metro Christian Academy).
Herrera led the Tartans with 432 yards receiving and 36 receptions while tying with Reinertsen for the team lead with three receiving touchdowns. Herrera's receptions and yardage ranked second in the association. He turned in a career performance in the Tartans' setback at Saint Vincent early this season catching seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Reinertsen finished second in receiving yards with 411 and third in receptions with 31 for the Tartans. In the Tartans setback to Thiel, Reinertsen recorded a career-best nine receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He ended the 2014 campaign fourth in the UAA in yards. Bolio, a captain, played a valuable role in the Tartans blocking upfront from the tight end spot. He added one reception for 27 yards against nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson. Hearon threw for 1,649 yards, ranking fourth most by a Tartan in a single-season. The junior also topped Carnegie Mellon's single-season chart with 149 completions and 278 attempts. He had four games where he threw for two or more scores and passed for a career-best 279 yards and three touchdowns against Saint Vincent. In the season finale against Washington, Hearon recorded a career-best 98 yards rushing.