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Four Carnegie Mellon Players Named to D3football.com All-South Region First Team

Four Carnegie Mellon Players Named to D3football.com All-South Region First Team
Posted: Dec 08, 2015

From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics

Four members of the Carnegie Mellon University football team were named to the D3football.com 2015 All-South Region First Team; senior center Andrew Garibaldi (Flemington N.J./Hunterdon Central),  junior defensive end Brian Khoury (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf), sophomore running back Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) and sophomore safety Drew Fitzmorris (Omaha, Neb./Westside). The four were selected in balloting by South Region sports information directors and D3football.com staff and were chosen from 240 nominations by Division III South member schools.

Garibaldi, a first team All-PAC and All-UAA selection, fronted an offensive line that helped the Tartans reach the 500-yard mark of total offense in six games this season including two games that saw the Cardinal and Gray total more than 600 yards.  He also played an instrumental part in blocking for the nation's leading rusher in Benger.  

Benger, the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and University Athletic Association (UAA) Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for an NCAA Division III-best 2,092 yards this season to go along with 22 rushing touchdowns. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Legacy Bowl after becoming the 21st player in Division III history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau. Benger's 22 rushing touchdowns broke the school's single-season mark held by Brad Stanley in 2003 with 21. The sophomore set the school's single-game rushing mark with 303 yards against then nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson College earlier this season.  Benger also became the Tartans' all-time single-season rushing leader after surpassing the mark of 1,326 yards held by Travis Sivek during the 2006 season.

Khoury, a first team All-PAC and UAA Player of the Year, led the PAC and UAA and ranked fourth nationally with 13.5 sacks for a loss of 95 yards.  The junior set the school's single-game sack record with 4.0 against Bethany and then became the single-season Tartan leader following his 3.0 sacks at Thiel, passing the mark of 11.0 sacks held by Chris Balouris in 1989 and Anima Nwankwo in 1998.  Khoury totaled 19.0 tackles for a loss of 109 yards which was also best in the PAC and UAA.   He ended the season with 54 total tackles, 33 solo, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Fitzmorris, a first team All-PAC and second team All-UAA honoree, led Carnegie Mellon with 87 tackles which ranked second in the UAA and eighth in the PAC.  The junior led both the PAC and UAA with six interceptions.