Tartans Open Season with a 21-19 Victory Over Grove City

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team won its season opener Saturday, September 3 with a 21-19 win over Grove City College at Gesling Stadium. With Saturday's win, the Tartans won their 13th straight opening game.  The Carnegie Mellon football program now sits just four wins shy of the 500-victory milestone.

Carnegie Mellon began its first scoring drive as the second quarter got underway.  The Tartans only passed once on a drive that ended in a 17-yard touchdown run by junior Jake Nardone (Beaver, Pa.).  The Tartans missed the extra point. Nardone would finish the day with 13 carries for 76 yards and the touchdown.

Grove City also put together a ground-dominated drive as it went 72 yards on 11 plays to tie the game on a Blaine Miller eight-yard run.  With the extra point, the Wolverines took a 7-6 lead over the host team.

The Wolverines regained the ball with 2:42 remaining in the first half.  Quarterback Clayton Hall was sacked on the second play of the drive and coughed up the ball on a hard hit by junior linebacker Philip Nicolaides (Exton, Pa./Downington East).  Sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Jok (Novi, Mich.) fell on the ball to set the Carnegie Mellon offense up for a scoring drive.

Four plays later, the Tartans scored on a 10-yard run by junior Patrick Blanks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller).  Blanks had his career day on the field running for 125 yards on 17 carries.  Blanks' two touchdowns tied his career high.  The Tartans tried a two-point conversion where sophomore quarterback Rob Kalkstein (Monroeville, Pa.Gateway) was stopped a yard shy of the goalline, leaving the score at 12-7. The Cardinal and Gray took that same lead and the momentum into halftime.

A seven play, 64-yard drive to begin the third quarter kept the momentum rolling for the host Tartans.  Another mistake on the extra point would lead to an 18-7 lead for Carnegie Mellon. The big play from the drive was a 40-yard gain for Blanks that moved the Tartans deep into Wolverine territory.

Grove City began to drive as the third quarter ticked down.  Hall completed a pass to Miller.  Miller weaved through the Carnegie Mellon defense and down the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown. The Wolverines went for the two-point conversion but were shut down by the Tartans' defense as Hall missed his target.

Another run-dominated drive for the Tartans brought them to the four-yard line before they couldn't cross the goal line. In a clutch moment, freshman kicker Kevin Donohue (West Hempstead, N.Y./Chaminade) converted a 21-yard field goal to give Carnegie Mellon an eight-point lead, 21-13.

Grove City, attempting a late fourth quarter comeback, drove down the field on the Tartans' defense.  Hall called his own number many times on the drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Miller, his second of the afternoon.

The Wolverines lined up to go for two points to tie the game. Hall threw a backwards pass that appeared to be a trick play attempt.   Carnegie Mellon head coach Rich Lackner's defense held for the Cardinal and Gray and the lead remained 21-19 for the home team.

Sophomores Jack Butler (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb) and Robert Winkleman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) both picked up career highs in tackles with eight and nine, respectively, as they led the Tartans' defense.

Grove City attempted a surprise onside kick that was fair caught by Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans ran the ball straight at the Wolverines' defense and couldn't be stopped as they accumulated 22 yards on seven plays to run out the clock.

After picking up the second first down of the drive, Kalkstein downed the ball twice to secure the 13th straight opening-game win for Carnegie Mellon.

Kalkstein completed 8-of-13 attempts through the air for 51 yards. To add to the balanced running attack of Blanks and Nardone, senior Chris Garcia (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) tacked on another 46 yards on 13 carries for the Tartans.

In total, the Tartans ran the ball for 281 yards in Saturday's contest while Grove City tallied 135 on the ground. Hall led the Wolverines with 100 yards on the ground and finished the afternoon 10-of-12 in the air for 104 yards and a touchdown.

The Tartans will look to improve to 2-0 next Saturday when they take on the Allegheny College Gators at 12:00 pm at Gesling Stadium.

Take a look back at our football history as we celebrate a run to 500 wins.