Football Loses 21-7 at Westminster

Football Loses 21-7 at Westminster

(NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to New Wilmington, Pennsylvania on Saturday and dropped a 21-7 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game to Westminster College in a wet and cold atmosphere. The loss moves Carnegie Mellon's record 7-2 overall and 5-2 in PAC play while Westminster moves to 6-2 and 5-1.

After being held to 71 yards of total offense in the first half, Carnegie Mellon finished with 233 yards while Westminster totaled 423 yard of offense. Junior quarterback Alex Cline (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) passed for 240 yards on 18-of-29 passes and a score. Senior wide receiver John Prather (Olney, Md./Our Lady Of Good Counsel) led the Tartan receivers with 85 yards on five catches. Sophomore wide receiver Jamie Greenwell (Celina, Texas/Mckinney Christian Academy) finished with a career-best six receptions for 61 yards.

Paul Columbo completed 15-of-19 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. The senior signal caller rushed for another score and recorded 83 yards on the ground. D'Aundre Johnson led the Titans receivers with seven catches for 124 yards and a score.

Defensively, Carnegie Mellon was led by senior safety Drew Fitzmorris (Omaha, Neb./Westside) with 18 tackles, including a career-best 13 solo, and a sack. Senior outside linebacker Kyle Brittain (Largo, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) totaled 10 tackles in the setback for the Tartans.

After a scoreless first quarter that saw a 29-yard blocked field goal by Carnegie Mellon sophomore Anthony Kennon (Lancaster, Mass./Nashoba Regional) in the closing minutes, Westminster got on the board early in the second quarter. The Titans marched 61 yards on nine plays, culminating in a 17-yard quarterback keeper by Columbo that gave the home team a 7-0 lead with 11:26 to play in the half.

With 1:21 to play in the half, Westminster took over after stopping the Tartans on fourth down. The Titans needed just three plays to go 73 yards and extend their lead to 14-0. The drive ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Columbo to Johnson with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

Carnegie Mellon took the opening kick of the second half and drove 71 yards on six plays to cut the deficit in half. Cline connected with junior wide receiver Karl-Mark Kumm (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) on a 5-yard score with 12:12 to play in third quarter.

Westminster responded with a 15-play, 78-yard drive that took 7:03 off the clock and resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Kimu Kim. The score pushed the home teams lead back to 14 at 21-7 with five minutes to play in the third quarter.

Carnegie Mellon is idle next week and will conclude its regular season on Saturday, November 11. The Tartans will entertain Case Western Reserve University in the 32nd Annual Academic Bowl at Gesling Stadium. Kick is set for 2:00 p.m.