From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to Greenville, Pennsylvania on Saturday to play the Tomcats of Thiel College and left with a 42-10 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory. Carnegie Mellon is now 7-1 and 5-1 in PAC play, as Thiel moves to 1-6 and 1-4.
Senior running back Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) led the Tartans with 204 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. It marked the second time this season that the back rushed for 200 yards in a game and eighth for his career. Junior quarterback Alex Cline(Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) passed for 84 yards and two touchdowns while senior wide receiver John Prather (Olney, Md./Our Lady Of Good Counsel) led the Tartans with seven catches for 77 yards and a score. Prather now has 11 receiving touchdowns on the season and is tied for the single-season record that Graham Schilling set in 2015.
Carnegie Mellon totaled 399 yards of total offense with 300 coming by way of the rush attack. Thiel totaled 278 yards and was led by Nick Barca with 165 yards on 36 carries. Senior outside linebacker Kyle Brittain (Largo, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) led the Tartans defense with 10 tackles and an interception. Junior cornerback Ethan Anderson (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) recovered two fumbles for the Tartans and added four tackles.
Thiel took the opening kick and put together a 13-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Chris Rosales to give the Tomcats the early 3-0 lead five minutes into the contest.
Carnegie Mellon got on the scoreboard at the 14:24 mark of the second quarter when Benger capped off a 10-play, 57-yard drive with a 5-yard scamper up the middle. Benger's touchdown run made the score 7-3.
The Tartans pushed the lead to 14-3 on an 1-yard run by junior Rory Hubbard (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) on the visitor's next possession. The score was setup with a forced fumble by sophomore Michael Lohmeier (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Hinsdale Central) which was recovered by Carnegie Mellon's Anderson on Thiel's 44-yard line nine plays prior.
Carnegie Mellon added two more scores before the end of the half to take a 28-3 lead into the locker room. Cline connected with Prather for a 12-yard score and then found Hubbard for a 5-yard strike in the closing minute of the half. The latter score was setup with an interception by Brittain that gave the Tartans the ball on the Thiel 47-yard line.
With 6:13 on the clock in the third quarter, Benger ran around the right side and darted for a 40-yard touchdown to make the score 35-3. On the ensuing possession, Thiel marched 67 yards and brought the score to 35-10 on a 1-yard run by Charles Debose.
Sophomore Chris Haas (Coronado, Calif.) closed the scoring with a 6-yard run which made the score 42-10 with 2:14 to play.