Prather Records Career Highs as Football Falls in Double Overtime at Washington & Jefferson; Khoury Sets Sack Record

Oct. 8 - (WASHINGTON, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to Washington & Jefferson College for a President' Athletic Association (PAC) showdown and dropped a 55-52 double overtime thriller. The loss moves the Tartans record to 2-3, 2-2 while the Presidents are now 4-1, 2-1.

Washington & Jefferson began overtime on offense and needed four plays to take a seven-point lead on a 5-yard run by quarterback Pete Coughlin. Carnegie Mellon answered Washington & Jefferson with a 9-yard touchdown run by junior running back Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) to force a second extra frame.

In double overtime, Carnegie Mellon settled for a 20-yard field goal off the foot of senior Gabe Renna (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) to make the score 52-49, after having first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. The Presidents' then took the field on offense in on third-and-seven from the 8-yard line Coughlin tossed his seventh touchdown of the game and fourth to wide out Jesse Zubike for the game winner.

Carnegie Mellon totaled 502 yards of offense while Washington & Jefferson finished the game with 606 yards. Benger led all runners with 160 yards on 40 carries and three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Alex Cline (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) tossed a career-best 285 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver John Prather (Olney, Md./Our Lady Of Good Counsel) turned in a career performance with nine receptions for 177 yards and a score.

Coughlin accounted in all eight Washington & Jefferson's scores and 451 yards, as he threw for 340 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 111 yards in a score. Zubik broke the Presidents single-game record with 17 receptions for 201 yards and four scores. Washington & Jefferson's Austin Kemp led the home team with 159 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Defensively, the Tartans totaled 4.0 sacks. Junior linebackers Kyle Brittain (Largo, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) and Stanley Bikulege (Greer, S.C./Saint Joseph's Catholic) led the Tartans with 10 and nine tackles, respectively, and each added a sack. Seniors Malcolm Guya (Whitehall Pa.) and Brian Khoury (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) accounted for the other two sacks. Khoury now stands alone atop the school's all-time sack list with 25.0 for his career.

Nick Murgo led the Presidents with a game-best 15 tackles and Tom Marra finished with 10.

Washington & Jefferson wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as the Presidents marched 75 yards on the opening drive of the game which resulted in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Coughlin to Zubik. The point after made the score 7-0 with 12:23 on the clock in the first quarter.

Carnegie Mellon answered the home teams score on the ensuing drive. The Tartans eight-play, 52-yard drive, ended with a 42-yard field by Renna to make the score 7-3.
    
The first quarter scoring continued on Washington & Jefferson's next possession when Coughlin and Zubik connected again for their second touchdown. The 29-yard catch-and-run gave the Presidents' a 14-3 lead midway through the first quarter.

In the closing minute of play in the first stanza, Carnegie Mellon cut the deficit to 14-10 when Cline found junior Tommy Mansfield (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) on a 29-yard touchdown pass.
    
Renna pulled the Tartans to within a point at 14-13 with 10 minutes to play in the half when the senior converted a 26-yard field goal.

Following a defensive hold for the Tartans, Carnegie Mellon needed two plays to take its first lead of the game. Benger sprinted around the right side for a 57-yard touchdown. Benger's successful two-point conversion run was good and the Tartans led 21-14 with 8:09 on the clock in the second quarter.

The Presidents answered with 14-play drive that covered 71 yards and resulted in a third touchdown strike by Coughlin. This time, Coughlin found Austin Kemp on a third-and-goal from the 7-yard line in the back of the end zone to knot the score at 21-21.

Carnegie Mellon struck again before the end of the half. An 82-yard punt return by freshman William Richter (Leander, Texas/Cedar Park) setup Cline's second touchdown pass three plays later. The sophomore signal caller connected with Prather in the back left corner of the end zone with 12.7 seconds left to make the score 28-21 at the half.

Benger add his second touchdown run of the afternoon with 3:07 to play in the third quarter. His 5-yard scamper extended the visitor's lead to 35-21.

Once again the Presidents reacted to the Tartans score, and on the next possession cut Carnegie Mellon's lead in half. Coughlin tossed his fourth touchdown and first to Braydon Toy as they hooked up on a 15-yard score.

The teams then exchanged scores again. First, Cline threw his third touchdown of the game finding junior wide receiver Alex Froimzon (Hollywood, Fla./Scheck Hillel Community School) for a 14-yard strike. Then, Coughlin and Toy struck again, scoring on a 16-yard inside screen to leave the score 42-35 with 9:24 to play in the fourth quarter.  

Coughlin and Zubik tied the score at 42-42 on the third connection of the afternoon for a touchdown. The 30-yard score came with 4:25 left on the clock and capped off a six-play, 60-yard drive.  

The Tartans travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Saturday, October 15 for a 7 p.m. kick against the Golden Tornadoes of Geneva College.