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Tartans Drop a 19-7 Decision at Catholic

Tartans Drop a 19-7 Decision at Catholic

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to Washington, D.C. to play the Cardinals of Catholic University of America Friday, September 20. The Tartans dropped a 19-7 decision to the Cardinals as they move to 1-2 and Catholic remains unbeaten at 2-0.  

Catholic wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as the Cardinals scored with 13:21 left in the first quarter when Leif Colberg returned a blocked punt five yards for the Cardinal touchdown. The extra point by Peter Rosa made the score 7-0.

Rosa extended the home team's lead with 10:38 to play in the half.  The freshman place kicker converted a 27-yard field goal to give Catholic a 10-0 edge.

Before the end of the half, the Tartans cut the deficit to 10-7. Sophomore running back Troy Witt (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) capped off a nine-play, 64-yard drive with a 3-yard run on a sweep to the right.

With 1:25 left in the first half, Catholic's two-minute offense went into gear.  The Cardinals drove down to the Tartans' 18-yard line to set up a 35-yard field goal for Rosa as time expired in the half. The converted kick gave the Cardinals a 13-7 lead at the break.

After the teams exchanged possessions to open the second half of play, Catholic put together a 12-play drive that resulted in a 7-yard touchdown strike from quarterback E.J. Montgomery to Tanner Keefe.  The extra point attempt went left of the post making the score 19-7 with 6:44 to play in the third quarter.

Freshman running back Zach Cree (Vanderbilt, Pa./Connellsville Area) led the Tartans in rushing with a career-high 67 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Dallas Hartman (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area) led the Tartan defense with 2.5 sacks. Senior inside linebacker Eric Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira) recorded his first career interception and led the team with 12 tackles, nine solo, in the setback while senior safety Jack Butler (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb) recovered a fumble for the Tartans.

The Tartans will host Geneva College Saturday, September 28.  The homecoming kick is set for 1:00 p.m. on the turf of Gesling Stadium.