PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Carnegie Mellon University found the end zone three times in the second quarter and used a stout defensive effort to power its way to a 27-11 victory over Washington & Jefferson College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Gesling Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The loss drops the Presidents to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the PAC. Carnegie Mellon improves to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The Tartans are now in the driver's seat to claim at least a share of the PAC title and the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs with a win next week vs. Case Western Reserve. The win was the fifth straight for CMU against a Top 25 opponent.
After forcing a three-and-out defensively, Carnegie Mellon scored on its first offensive play when quarterback Ben Mills hit a streaking Kris Hughes for a 75-yard touchdown pass to give the Tartans a 6-0 lead. The CMU point after was blocked by junior Tanner Volpatti (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park).
W&J answered with a 14-play, 66-yard that spanned more than six minutes. Sophomore kicker Sean Disbrow(Sykesville, Md./Liberty) connected on a 28-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 6-3 with 7:24 to play in the first quarter. After a CMU punt, W&J put together another lengthy drive that moved in Tartans territory. The Presidents moved the chains several times on the drive before coming up short and turning the ball over on downs on a fourth down play.
The Tartans added to their lead when Tre Vasiliadis plunged in from two yards out. The Vasiliadis touchdown run and subsequent PAT extended the CMU lead to 13-3 at the 8:35 mark of the second quarter. The home team added to its lead when Thomas Coury blocked a punt and recovered it in the W&J end zone for a touchdown. The PAT swelled the CMU lead to 20-3 with 3:57 to play before the half.
CMU added a third touchdown in the second quarter when Mills found Hughes for a five-yard score to give CMU a 27-3 lead with just 29 seconds left before half.
The Tartans limited the Presidents to just 15 rushing yards on 14 carries in the first half. W&J posted just 15 yards in the second quarter after recording 134 in the first quarter.
A muffed punt by CMU gave W&J a chance to get itself back into the game in the third quarter. The Presidents took advantage with a 16-yard touchdown pass by junior quarterback Justin Heacock (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) found senior wide receiver Andrew Wolf (Ashland, Ohio/Hillsdale) in the corner of the end zone. W&J tacked on a two-point play as Heacock hit junior running back Joey Koroly (Washington, Pa./Trinity) to trim the deficit to 27-11 with 5:05 to play in the third.
The Presidents defense came up with another play on the ensuing possession, as junior defensive back Drew Ehrlich (Annapolis, Md./Gilman School) forced a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Max Garda(Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) at the CMU 20. However, W&J was intercepted two plays later.
W&J was unable to get any closer in the fourth quarter despite moving the ball inside the CMU 25-yard line twice over the final 15 minutes. Both drives ended in turnover on downs.
Sophomore quarterback Colton Jones (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) finished 19-of-33 passing with 137 yards. Heacock completed 14-of-18 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Senior wide receiver Cameron O'Brien (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) recorded seven catches for 70 yards. Wolf had seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Alex Bellinotti (Lower Burrell, Pa./Shady Side Academy) finished with eight tackles to pace the defensive effort.
W&J hosts Waynesburg (2-7, 2-6 PAC) for Senior Day in the regular season finale at Cameron Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 13. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Strong second quarter leads Carnegie Mellon past W&J, 27-11
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211106_jynn.xml
2021
Washington and Jefferson
11
Carnegie Mellon
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Jefferson (7-2) | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| Carnegie Mellon (7-2) | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
Nov 06, 2021