Fitzmorris Shines in Setback at Chicago

(CHICAGO, Ill.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to Chicago Ill. On Saturday, November 8 and dropped a 28-7 contest to the University of Chicago in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.  The loss puts the Tartans record at 3-6 and 0-2 in UAA play while the Maroons improve to 7-1, 2-0.

On the Maroons first possession of the game, they marched 90 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 50-yard rush by Chandler Carroll. Early in the second quarter, Chicago double its lead when Ryan Patrick hooked up with Sam Coleman for a 15-yard touchdown with 12:26 to play in the half.  

The score remained 14-0 until midway through the third quarter when Patrick tossed his touchdown, as he found Colin Macri on an 11-yard strike.  The score capped off a 14-play, 64-yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock to start the second half.  

Carnegie Mellon was fighting to get back in the contest, but with 8:34 to play in the game, Brandon Bolock put a stop the Tartans drive.  The senior returned an interception 45 yards for a score to push the home team's lead to 28-0.

With 3:19 on the clock in the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Andrew Hearon (Tulsa, Okla./Metro Christian Academy) found fellow junior Chris Herrera (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) for an 18-yard touchdown.  Freshman placekicker Tyler Kohman's (Pataskala, Ohio/Columbus Academy) extra-point made the score 28-7.

Freshman safety Drew Fitzmorris (Omaha, Neb./Westside) led the Tartans defense with a career-high 16 tackles while recording his first career interception. Junior linebacker Nico Comsa (Connellsville, Pa.) tied a career-high with six solo tackles as he finished with 12 total in the setback.  Comsa also recorded a sack for a loss of 13 yards and ended with 2.5 tackles for loss of 20 yards.  

For the third straight game, junior Max Reinertsen (Esko, Minn.) was the top Carnegie Mellon receiver, as he hauled in four receptions for 90 yards.  Senior Tim Swanson (Millburn, N.J.) had six catches for 37 yards. The senior moved into fifth-place on the school's all-time receiving list with 1,430 yards for his career and needs five more to move into fourth. Hearon threw for 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 20-of-30. Freshman running back Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) led the Tartans ground attack with 73 yards on 16 carries to average 4.6 yards per carry.

The Tartans will conclude their season on Saturday, November 15 when they entertain the Bears of Washington University at 1:00 p.m. at Gesling Stadium.