Tartans Overpower Thiel 80-22

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team hosted the Thiel College Tomcats 11th Annual Cindy Lackner Memorial game on Saturday night at Gesling Stadium. The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest saw the Tartans score the second most points in a single game in program history, as they won 80-22.  

 Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 80, Thiel 22
Records: Carnegie Mellon (5-1, 5-1 PAC), Thiel (2-4, 2-4 PAC)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Gesling Stadium)

How it Happened

• Senior Tre Vasiliadis started the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown rush four minutes into the game. The point after attempt was no good, giving Tartans a 6-0 lead.
• Carnegie Mellon took a 13-0 lead on a touchdown pass from senior Ben Mills to sophomore Danny Moynihan, his first career touchdown reception. The score came two plays following a blocked punt by senior Thomas Coury which was recovered by freshman Brendan McCullough at the 19-yard line.
• A 43-yard pass to junior Dominic Voiland from Mills with a minute reaming in the first quarter gave the home team a 20-0 advantage.
• On the second play of the second quarter, the Tarans blocked their second punt of the contest. This time, senior Kevin Cooke blocked the punt that went out of bounds at the Thiel 7-yard line.
• Three plays following Cooke's block, sophomore Willem Bouma scored a touchdown off a two-yard run pushing the score to 27-0.
• Sophomore placekicker Justin Caputo made the score 30-0 on a 40-yard field goal with 10:33 to play in the half.
• The Tomcats got on the scoreboard following a 38-yard pass from Chase Lawler to Scott Oliver at the eight-minute mark of the second quarter. The rush attempted by Donny Pattison was good, which made the score 30-8.
• With 2:43 left in the second quarter, an 80-yard catch-and-run by Thiel's Andrew Plowden made the score 30-15.
• Before the end of the first half, Mills threw his third touchdown pass, as senior Brian Stacy caught a 24-yard reception to give the Tartans a 37-15 lead at the half.
• The Tartans blocked their third punt of the game at the 11:02 mark of the third quarter. Breaking through the line was senior Robert Coury while Thomas Coury then recovered the block on the Thiel 31-yard line and returned it for a touchdown making the score 43-15.
• An interception return by senior Adrian Williams of 48 yards for a touchdown put the Tartans ahead 57-15 at 8:05 in the third quarter.  
• A Thomas Coury strip sack was returned 23-yards for a Tartan touchdown, making the score 63-15.
• Junior Brady Hess threw his first career touchdown with 2:29 left in the third quarter, as McCullough was on the receiving end for his first career touchdown, making the score 70-15.
• On the fourth play of the fourth quarter, a fumble recovery by freshman Wayne Pirt was returned 38 yards for a touchdown to make the scoreboard read 77-15.
• Thiel got in the end zone on an 11-yard rush by Jorden Collier, making the score 77-22.
• Freshman Jack Norell capped off scoring with a 32-yard field with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter, making the final score 80-22.

Stats

• Carnegie Mellon totaled 312 yards of offense with Thiel totaling 313 yards.
• Mills passed for 152 yards and three touchdowns, as the signal caller completed 15-of-26 passes.
• Defensively, the Tartans were led by junior Evan Roper with six tackles, 3.0 sacks and a total of 3.5 tackles for loss. Roper also forced a fumble.
• Senior Logan Young ended with eight tackles, six solo, and three other Tartans finished with six tackles each: Williams, Cooke and Thomas Coury.
• The Tartans defense recorded 16 tackles for a loss of 61 yards.
• Vasiliadis led the Tartans ground attack with 39 yards on 13 carries.
• Voiland led in receiving with 48 yards on three catches with McCullough ending with a career high five receptions and totaled 29 yards.

Game Notes

• The 80 points scored for Carnegie Mellon is the second most points scored in Tartan football history. In 1915, the Tartans scored 88 points against Waynesburg.
• The three blocked punts in the game were a school record and one off the NCAA Division III record of four.
• Carnegie Mellon leads the all-time series 36-11-2.
• The Tartans have won eight straight contests over the Tomcats.
• The 16 tackles for a loss is the second most in a single-game for the program. The school record is 18 set October 23, 2021, in a 53-0 win over Thiel.
• Carnegie Mellon has won 17 straight games when scoring a special teams or defensive touchdown
• Mills now has 4,630 yards passing for his career and ranks sixth all-time as a Tartan. He needs 184 more to move into fifth.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen

• "All year we have challenged our team to play a complete game, and tonight they answered the call! It was awesome to see so many young guys get in and make an impact as well. We will use this to learn and grow as we prepare for Bethany this week!"

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon will travel to Bethany College on Saturday, October 14 with kick set for 1:00 p.m.