Tartans Face Tough Air Attack in Setback at Case Western Reserve in 29th Academic Bowl / PAC Kickoff Classic

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team kicked off its season with a 30-0 setback at Case Western Reserve University in the 29th Academic Bowl as well as the 2014 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Kickoff Classic Saturday night, September 6 at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The contest counts towards both the PAC and the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings, as the Tartans and Spartans reentered the PAC this season.   

On Case's second possession of the game, the Spartans marched 75 yards on 11 plays which ended on an 8-yard touchdown strike by Billy Beecher to Ethan Albers.  The point after attempt sailed through the uprights to give Case a 7-0 lead with 4:33 to play in the first quarter.

With just under four minutes to play in the half, Case extended its lead to 14-0 on a 6-yard quarterback draw by Beecher.  Carnegie Mellon answered the Spartans drive with a 15-play, 63-yard drive of its own to end the half, which resulted in a blocked 19-yard field goal to leave the score 14-0 Case at the half.

On the Spartans first possession of the second half they pushed the lead to 17-0 on a 33-yard field goal by placekicker Nick Bavaro with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter Beecher and Albers connected for their second score of the game.  This time, the duo score was a 7-yard strike making the score 24-0.  The scoring ended for the evening on a 5-yard run by Anthony Bianco and the missed after attempt made the score 30-0.

Freshman quarterback Bryan Jangro (Jessup, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) completed 19-of-35 for 149 yards in the setback. Junior Chris Herrera (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) led the Tartan receivers with five catches for 56 yards.

Carnegie Mellon won the turnover battle, 2-1, with an interception by sophomore Samer Abdelmoty (McLean, Va.) and a fumble recovery by junior linebacker Nico Comsa (Connellsville, Pa.).  Sophomore defensive back Jonathan Dyer (Bowie, Md./Bullis School) led the Tartans with a career-high nine tackles, eight solo, while senior linebacker Eric Myers (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) finished with a career-best eight stops.

Beecher finished with 301 yards passing on 24-of-37 and added two touchdowns.  Luke DiFrancesco led the Spartans with five receptions for 56 yards. Zech Medved hauled in three of Beecher's passes for 58 yards while Albers finished with three receptions for 36 yards and two scores.

The Tartans will be idle next week before traveling to Washington and Jefferson on September 20 for a 1:30 p.m. kick.