#18 Tartans Get Back on Track with 69-7 Win Against Bearcats

(LATROBE, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, ranked #18 nationally, travelled to Saint Vincent College for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) match-up on Saturday, Oct 26. After a close first quarter, the Tartans ran away with the game, winning 69-7 to get back in the win column.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 69, Saint Vincent 7
Records: Carnegie Mellon (6-1, 6-1 PAC), Saint Vincent (1-7, 1-7 PAC)
Location: Latrobe, Pa. (Chuck Noll Field)

How It Happened

• The Tartans opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown strike from graduate student quarterback Ben Mills to senior tight end Matt Evert, capping a long 10-play, 96-yard drive eating up 4:39 to go up 7-0 at the 8:34 mark in the first quarter.
• The Bearcats would respond with a seven-play, 79-yard dive taking 3:04 off the clockn, topped off by a five-yard dive by junior running back Brandon Saint-Preux to level the score at 7-7 at the 5:24 mark.
• Following an interception, Carnegie Mellon tacked on a three-yard touchdown scamper behind the legs of junior running back Willem Bouma, retaking the lead 14-7 with 13:36 left in the half.
• Six minutes later, a Saint Vincent punt was blocked and recovered in the endzone by graduate student linebacker Thomas Coury, extending the lead to 21-7 with 7:22 left in the half.
• Soon after, the Tartans opened their bag of tricks with a flea-flicker from Mills to senior wide receiver Will Squibb for a one-play, 40-yard drive to widen the lead to 28-7 with 5:32 to go in the half.
• With 2:48 left in the half, Tartan junior kicker Justin Caputo nailed a 37-yard field goal to lift the score to 31-7.
• Just before the close of the half, the Tartans struck again on a 34-yard corner connection from Mills to Tartan senior wide receiver Dominic Voiland, capping a three-play, 47-yard drive to go up 38-7 at the halfway point.
• Carnegie Mellon opened the second half with a gargantuan 16-play, 75-yard drive taking 7:08 off the clock, capped by a one-yard touchdown plunge from Bouma to extend the lead to 45-7 with 7:45 in the third quarter.
• The Tartans notched another rushing touchdown on a seven-yard scamper behind the legs of Bouma to cap a 13-play, 94-yard drive of 5:42 and go further up 52-7 to close the third.
• Tartan junior quarterback Joey McGinnis IV would extend the scoring on a 24-yard endzone strike to freshman wide receiver Carter Sheets to cap a three-play, 55-yard drive of 1:16 to go up 59-7 with 12:46 left in the game.
• Soon after, Carnegie Mellon struck again behind the legs of sophomore running back Giacomo Valente on a gritty four-yard rush, capping a four-play, 74-yard drive of 1:43 and increasing the lead to 66-7 with 9:11 left in the game.
• With about four minutes left, Carnegie Mellon sophomore kicker Jack Norell connected on a career-long 40-yard field goal to put the Tartans up 69-7 to close scoring for the game.

Stats

• The Tartans outgained the Bearcats 569-67 on 76 and 47 plays, respectively. The Tartans gained 245 yards on the ground and 324 yards through the air.
• Mills led the Tartans passing with 251 yards on 23-of-35 completions for three touchdowns. He also added 30 yards on the ground, and took care of punting duties with three, averaging 42.3 yards. McGinnis added a touchdown through the air, as well.
• Graduate student running back Tre Vasiliadis and Bouma led the Tartans rushing with 72 yards on 10 carries and 67 yards on 12 carries, respectively. Bouma and Valente added three touchdowns and one touchdown on the ground.
• Squibb and Voiland led the Tartan receiving corps with 92 yards on five catches and a touchdown, and 74 yards on three catches and a touchdown, respectively. Sheets and Evert added touchdown catches, as well.
• Carnegie Mellon senior defensive lineman Mitchell Stokey, Thomas Coury, and graduate student linebacker Robert Coury led the defense with six, five, and four tackles, respectively.
• Tartan senior defensive back Nolan Pitsenberger matched a game-high two interceptions for the Tartan defense. Freshman defensive back Darius Green and sophomore defensive back Ethan Ming added an interception a piece, as well.
• Caputo and Norell finished perfect on the day. Caputo connected on 5/5 PATs and 1/1 field goal attempts, and Norell connected on 4/4 PATs and 1/1 field goal attempts including a career-long.

Game Notes

• The Tartans lead the series 11-5-1 all-time, including winning the last seven meetings straight.
• Mills became the Carnegie Mellon all-time passing yards leader today with 6,776. He now leads the all-time passing yards, completions, and touchdowns categories for the Tartans.
• Robert Coury moved into second on the all-time tackling list with 334 total, and needs 25 to become the all-time leader.
• The Tartans have won 21 straight contests when scoring a special teams/defensive touchdown.
• The Tartans have won 26 straight contests when holding their opponents to 14 points or less.

Thoughts From Coach Larsen

"I'm incredibly proud how our guys prepared the past two weeks for St. Vincent in all three phases of the game. All three phases made big plays, and it was a great overall team effort. We will look to clean up some mistakes from today, and get ready to play a really impressive Westminster team starting Sunday."

Up Next

The Tartans host the Westminster College at the Richard M. Lackner Field at Gesling Stadium Saturday, November 2. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.