Tartan Football Secures Their 31st Straight Non-Losing Season With 30-15 Win At Bethany

Nov. 5 - (BETHANY, W.Va.) The Carnegie Mellon football team traveled to Bethany, W.Va. Saturday, November 5 to take on the Bison of Bethany and came away with a 30-15 victory. With the win the Tartans secure their 31st straight non-losing season. Carnegie Mellon moves to 5-4 as the Bison end their season with a 1-9 mark.

The Tartans struck first, as they took their opening drive 93 yards on 13 plays taking 6:13 off the clock. A 25-yard run by sophomore running back Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./The Benjamin School) gave Carnegie Mellon the early lead 7-0 with 6:05 to play in the first quarter.

After a 32-yard punt by Tartans punter Matt Adams (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto), pinning the Bison at their one-yard line, sophomore defensive lineman Mike Reggie (Columbus, Ohio/Charles Prep School) dropped the Bison running back in the end zone for a Tartan safety making the score 9-0 with 4:32 to play in the half.

The Tartans would strike again before the half extending their lead to 16-0. Sophomore Colby Whitman (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) find the end zone on a five-yard run capping off a four play, 27-yard drive taking 1:04 off the clock. The Bison drive at the end of the half was halted with 15 seconds left when senior linebacker Tom Pfister (Springfield, Ohio/Tecumseh) intercepted Matt Blumer deep in Tartan territory to send both teams into the locker room with a 16-0 Tartan advantage.

Sophomore fullback Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) scored a three-yard touchdown on the Tartans first possession of the second half making the score 23-0 with 9:07 to play in the third. Sivek's touchdown capped a 12-play 56-yard drive for the Tartans.

On the ensuing seven-play 67-yard drive for the Bison, Blumer connected with Milton Joyner on a 42-yard touchdown reception cutting the Tartans lead to 23-8 after converting the two-point conversion.

The Bison would draw closer to the Tartans with 6:48 left in the game, as Blumer hooked up with T.J. Parker for a 26-yard touchdown. After the nine-play drive the Bison pulled within eight, 23-15.

Sivek would clinch the victory for the Tartans, as he found the end zone for his second score, this time from two yards out with 1:08 to play making the score 30-15. Sivek finished the afternoon with 122 yards on 32 carries and two touchdowns. He moves into sixth place on the all-time rushing list with 1,671 yards. The sophomore needs just 85 yards to reach the 1,000 mark for the season.

Gimson finished the game with 110 yards and a touchdown for the Tartans. Carnegie Mellon out gained Bethany 297-166 on the ground, but the Bison had the edge in total offense 389-305. Defensively the Tartans were led by junior defensive back Aaron Lewis (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) with eight tackles. Junior defensive back Jon Menhart (Rices Landing, Pa./Carmichaels Area) recorded three pass breakups for the Tartans secondary.

Adams finished with seven punts for an average of 44.1 yards with a long of 53 yards. Five of Adams' punts were inside the 20-yard line.

The Tartans will host Thiel College Saturday, November 12 in their final game of the year. The contest is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Gesling Stadium.