From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
The Carnegie Mellon University football team hosted Geneva
College Saturday, September 27 to open its home schedule and came
away with a 22-21 Presidents' Athletic Association (PAC)
victory. The Tartans five forced turnovers played a huge part
in Carnegie Mellon's first victory of the season as they now sit at
1-2 overall and 1-2 in PAC play while Geneva moves to 1-3,
0-2.
The Golden Tornadoes started the game on an eight-play,
72-yard drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown reception by
Josh Guiser from Aaron Channing. Midway through the first quarter,
the Tartans knotted the score at 7-7. Junior
quarterback Andrew Hearon (Tulsa,Okla./Metro
Christian Academy) found senior Tim
Swanson (Millburn, N.J./Millburn) for an 18-yard
touchdown.
The score remained tied until the second half when the
Tartans capitalized off of five Golden Tornadoes mishaps, scoring
on three. The first Tartan score in the second frame came
following a Geneva fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive
lineman Jacob Bartel (North Newton,
Kan./Newton). Four plays following the fumble, Hearon tossed
his second score of the day finding sophomore Garrett
Strobel (Leesport, Pa./ Schuylkill Valley) for a 23-yard
score. The extra point attempt sailed right of the post leaving the
score 13-7 Carnegie Mellon with 10:48 to play in the third
quarter.
Later in the quarter, junior corner back Vince
Demarchi (Chesterland, Ohio / West Geauga) intercepted
Channing and darted to the end zone for an 84-yard touchdown. On
the ensuing kickoff, Geneva coughed up the football, as the Tartans
placekicker, Tyler Kohman (Pataskala,
Ohio/Columbus Academy) jumped on the football at midfield.
Carnegie Mellon moved the ball to Geneva's seven-yard line before
settling for a Kohman 24-yard field goal to give the home team a
22-7 edge as the third quarter came to an end.
Geneva attempted to fight back as Lemuel Fuller scored on an
18-yard pass from Nick Cook with 6:45 to play. Geneva tried to
creep closer with a two-point conversion pass but failed, leaving
the score 22-13. On the last play of the contest, Cook tossed his
second touchdown of the afternoon as he found Jeff Clegg on a
19-yard strike. The converted two-point attempt end the
contest with the score 22-21 Carnegie Mellon.
Freshman Drew Fitzmorris (Omaha,
Neb./Wstside) and junior corner back Ryan
Aitken (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) led the Tartans
with a career-best 12 tackles. Fitzmorris recorded nine solo
while Aitken tallied six solo. Senior linebacker David
Hohn (Butler, Pa.) and junior
linebacker Nico Comsa (Connellsville, Pa.)
each added seven tackles and Demarchi finished the game with six
solo tackles. For Hohn, it marked a career-best.
Hearon ended the game passing for 121 yards and two
touchdowns. Swanson led all Tartan receivers with five
catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. The senior moved into
eight-place on the school's all-time receiving list with 1,223
yards for his career.