#18 Tartans Blank Geneva 41-0

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team entertained the Golden Tornados of Geneva College in the 10th Annual Cindy Lackner Memorial game on Saturday night. The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest saw the Tartans record a 41-0 shutout over the Golden Tornadoes.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 41, Geneva 0
Records: Carnegie Mellon (8-0, 6-0 PAC), Geneva (1-6, 1-4 PAC)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Gesling Stadium)

How it Happened

• Junior Tre Vasiliadis started the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run that capped off a 12-play, 70-yard drive. The touchdown run gave the Tartans a 7-0 lead with 4:29 to play in the first quarter.
• A 24-yard field goal by graduate student Cole Hanna to open the second quarter made the score 10-0.
• The Tartans extended their lead to 17-0 when senior Aryan Hegde scooped up a block punt by junior Kevin Cooke and returned it 29 yards for the score.
• Another field goal by Hanna with 6:24 to play in the first half pushed the Tartans lead to 20-0. This time Hanna connected from 19 yards away.
• After holding Geneva to a three-and-out, Carnegie Mellon needed four plays to march 50 yards to extend its lead to 27-0 on a 3-yard run by Willem Bouma.
• The Tartans struck again before the break. Another three-and out by the Golden Tornadoes and a short punt set the home team up on the Geneva 30-yard line. Five plays later junior signal caller Ben Mills found sophomore Ben Condemi on an 8-yard touchdown toss with 1:14 to play, as the Tartans took a 34-0 lead into the locker room.
• The only scoring in the second half came on a forced and recovered fumble return by junior Thomas Coury with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Coury returned the fumble 27 yards for the touchdown to close the scoring at 41-0.

Stats

• Carnegie Mellon totaled 354 yards of offense while holding Geneva to 218.
• The Tartans forced three turnovers while committing zero.
• The Cardinal and Gray totaled 10.0 tackles for loss.
• Mills ended the game throwing for 234 yards on 18-of-27 and a touchdown.
• Kris Hughes led the Tartan receivers with six receptions that went for 46 yards with junior Ethan Reifer hauling in five catches for 71 yards. Condemi finished with 59 yards on four receptions.
• Vasiliadis led the ground attack with 12 carries for 61 yards, averaging 5. 1 yards per touch, and a touchdown.
• Cooke led the Tartans with a career-high 11 tackles while forcing a fumble, blocking a punt and recorded 1.0 tackles for loss.
• Sophomore Vincent Ceci also recorded a career-high with nine tackles, five sole. Ceci tabbed a sack for a loss of nine yards in the win.
• Thomas Coury ended the game with two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, 1.5 tackles for loss and six total tackles.

Game Notes

• The Tartans extend their winning streak to 15 straight games, the longest active in the NCAA across all divisions.
• Carnegie Mellon is now 9-1 all-time in Cindy Lackner Memorial games.
• The Tartans' 8-0 start is the first time the program has won its first eight games of the season since 2006. It marks the sixth time in program history that a Tartan team has started the season with eight straight wins.
• The shutout marked the Tartans second this season and fourth in the last three seasons.
• The two fumble recoveries by Thomas Coury marks the most by a Tartan in a single-game since Sean Kennedy had two against Case Western Reserve on November 7, 2009.
• Junior Ben Mills moved into eighth in program history in career passing yards with 2,934.
• Kris Hughes has 1,645 career receiving yards and ranks fourth all-time.
• Carnegie Mellon has won 14 straight games when scoring a special teams or defensive touchdown.
• Carnegie Mellon has now won 11 straight games when winning the takeaway battle.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen

• "I'm incredibly proud of our team tonight! The challenge was to play a complete game, and all three phases found a way in the first half to make big plays. We still have room to grow and improve, but I couldn't be more proud of the trajectory of our team."

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon will entertain Saint Vincent College on Saturday, October 29. Kick is set for 1:00 p.m. on the turf at Gelsing Stadium.