Carnegie Mellon Football Loses On Last Play

Sept. 17 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) On Saturday, September 17, the Carnegie Mellon Tartans were defeated for the first time this season by the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays in a close game which resulted in a final score of 9-6. Johns Hopkins improved to 3-0 while Carnegie Mellon dropped to 2-1.

This year’s match up between the teams produced a frustrating game filled with punting and struggles to attain field position. At the end of four quarters, both teams punted for a combined total of 15 punts. The teams were closely matched in total yardage, as Carnegie Mellon ended with 276 to Johns Hopkins’ 264.

The first quarter remained scoreless, but the Blue Jays were able to put the first points on the board in the second, on a 45-yard field goal from Ben Scott (Pittsburgh, PA/Shadyside Academy) with 12:03 on the clock. The Tartans were slow to answer, but eventually came back with a 35-yard field goal from Nathaniel Greenstein (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) with ten seconds left in the third quarter to knot the score at 3-3.

With 9:50 left in the game Scott put the Blue Jays up 6-3 when he hit a career long 46-yard field goal. Carnegie Mellon would put an eight play drive together taking 3:50 off the clock, which ended on a 47-yard missed field goal, hitting the left upright, from Greenstein on the ensuing drive.

The Tartans then would hold the Blue Jays to a three in out, as Carnegie Mellon would regain position with 4:24 left in the game. The Tartans drove down the field, with a key 26-yard pass play from junior Kevin Mulkern (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) to junior Jon Kline (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), to set up yet another try for Greenstein as he booted a career-long 39-yard field goal with 1:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to once again pull the Tartans even.

The Blue Jays two-minute offense proved to be too much for the Tartans as they drove 65 yards on 11 plays to set up yet another Scott field goal, this time from 24 yards, as time expired to lift Johns Hopkins to the 9-6 victory.

Blue Jay quarterback Zach DiIonno ended the game completing 21 of 36 attempts for a total of 166 yards passing. The Tartan effort was aided a great deal by fullback Travis Sivek (Traverse City, MI/St. Francis), who rushed for a total of 117 yards on 31 carries, marking his second consecutive 100-yard outing. The Tartan defense was headed by junior Aaron Lewis (Englewood, OH/Northmont), who finished the game with a game-high 13 tackles, 10 solo.

The Tartans will be back in action Saturday, September 24 as the face off against Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. at 1:00 p.m.