Football Evens Record with 49-26 Win Over Bethany

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team hosted the Bison of Bethany College on Saturday, October 1 in the Fifth Annual Cindy Lackner Memorial Game and came away with a 49-26 victory. The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory evens the Tartans overall record at 2-2 and moves the Cardinal and Gray to 2-1 in PAC play while Bethany is now 1-3, 1-2.
    
The first quarter saw 34 points scored, with the Tartans leading 21-13 at the close of the first 15 minutes of action.  Tartans' junior running back Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run following a strip fumble and recovery by junior Kyle Brittain (Largo, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic). The junior then scored on another 1-yard scamper later in the quarter. Bethany sandwiched a score of their own between Benger's two touchdowns when quarterback Chase Kinemond found Aronis Espinal on a 14-yard strike.

A play following a 49-yard punt return by Carnegie Mellon's freshman William Richter (Leander, Texas/Cedar Park), junior quarterback Bryan Jangro (Jessup, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) connected with classmate wide out John Prather (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) for a 36-yard touchdown.

The first quarter scoring came to a close when Kinemond hooked up with Tyler Ambush on a 49-yard catch-and-run.

Carnegie Mellon wasted little time answering the Bison score. Once again, Richter provided great field position with a 33-yard kickoff return and on the next play from scrimmage, Benger scored on a 49-yard run. Another Jangro touchdown pass, this time a 13-yard strike to junior wide receiver Alex Froimzon (Hollywood, Fla./Scheck Hillel Community School), pushed the Tartan lead to 35-13 with four minutes to play in the half.

Bethany added a score with 1:16 to play, as Kinemond tossed his third touchdown of the half. The junior found Raekwon Wright on a 28-yard pass which pulled the score to 35-20 at the half.

Prather, who finished the game with 125 yards on four receptions, scored his second touchdown with 1:27 left when Jangro found him in the middle of the field on a 37-yard catch-and-run.

On the ensuing possession, Carnegie Mellon junior linebacker Sean Graff (Oswego, Ill.) intercepted Kinemond which setup up Benger's fourth touchdown run. On the next play, Benger sprinted 55 yards for the Tartan score.

Bethany finished the scoring on the night when it added a score early in the fourth quarter, as Kinemond tossed his fourth touchdown and second to Espinal to make the score 49-26.

Carnegie Mellon totaled 417 yard of offense to Bethany's 395. The Tartans defense recorded a school record 8.0 sacks breaking the old mark set in 2007 when they had 7.0 against Grove City. Senior defensive linemen Brian Khoury (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) and Jack Fagan (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) each totaled 2.5 sacks. With Khoury's 2.5 sacks, he now is tied for the career school mark of 24.0 with Anima Nwankwo (1994-98). Senior safety Malcolm Guya (Whitehall Pa.) led the team with 10 tackles.

Benger ended the game with 174 yards on 19 carries, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. He tied a career-high with four touchdowns. Jangro completed 11-of-19 passes for 208 yards and tossed a career-best three touchdowns.

Kinemond threw for 224 yards and four touchdowns. Ambush led all receivers with 10 catches for 111 yards and one touchdown.

Carnegie Mellon returns to the gridiron on Saturday, October 8 with a 2:00 p.m. kick at Washington & Jefferson College.