Carnegie Mellon Football Wins Second Straight 28-0 over Grove City

Stats

Sept. 9 - (GROVE CITY, Pa.) – Carnegie Mellon controlled the clock and did what they pleased through four quarters of action Saturday, September 9 in a 28-0 shutout of Grove City College. The Tartans used over 37 minutes and gained 478 yards of total offense to improve to 2-0 on the early season, while the Wolverines dropped their first game of 2006.

Carnegie Mellon came out of the gates gunning when senior quarterback Kevin Mulkern (Springfield, Pa.) found fellow senior Mark Davis (Loveland, Ohio) down the middle of the field for a diving catch and a gain of 48 yards to surprise everyone but the play callers. The Tartans earned their second first down on the drive after junior RB Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./The Benjamin Scool) gained 25 yards to the Grove City 10-yard line. The tricks were all for not as the drive ended on the five-yard line for the Tartans after senior kicker Nathaniel Greenstein (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) missed the 22-yard attempt.

The Tartans stopped the Wolverines with a three-and-out and started their second drive on their own 29-yard line after a 45-yard punt by Grove City’s Henry Johnston. This drive started different for the Tartans, as they handed the ball to junior fullback Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) who busted through the Wolverine defensive line for a nine-yard gain and then came back with a four-yard gain for the first down to the Carnegie Mellon 42-yard line.

On third-and-seven, Mulkern was hurried out of the pocket but found senior receiver Jonathan Kline (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) who made a one-handed grab in the air for the first down and a 17-yard reception. After a 29-yard run by junior RB Colby Whitman (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) to the nine-yard line, the Tartans were stuffed again at the eight, but this time the 25-yard field goal attempt by Greenstein was good, giving the Tartans a 3-0 lead.

The Tartan defense did the work again, stopping the Wolverines after three plays. The punt by Johnston was caught by junior return man Jonathan Scholl (Coraopolis, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) at the Tartan 22 but Scholl was unable to gain any yards, as Adam Martin was right on cue for the Wolverine special teams unit.

Carnegie Mellon’s offense controlled the next 6:15 and scored the first touchdown of the day three minutes into the second quarter for a 10-0 lead. Sivek was the scoring recipient with a one-yard dive over the goal line. During the scoring drive, Sivek, Gimson, and Whitman rushed the ball on 12 straight plays gaining 45 yards behind a strong offensive line.

Grove City showed life on second and one from their 26-yard line when Matt Weil broke through the defense down the left sideline. Weil looked like he was free for the endzone when senior DB Jonathan Menhart (Rices Landing, Pa./Carmichaels) caused him to change his run inside where senior DB Aaron Lewis (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) was waiting for the tackle. Lewis did one better by stripping Weil at the Carnegie Mellon 30-yard line where sophomore defensive lineman Steve Curran (Somers Point, N.J./Mainland Regional) was there to pounce on the loose ball.

A pumped up Tartan offense drove 70 yards on seven rush plays, including an eight-yard pick up by Mulkern on a third-and-three play and a 31-yard scamper down the sideline by Sivek, culminating in a Gimson 13-yard touchdown. Gimson moved in motion from the left and took a quick handoff from Mulkern, eyeing a huge hole to the right of the offensive line and sprung to paydirt without a man in his way. Gimson’s third touchdown of the season gave Carnegie Mellon a 16-0 lead where it would stay for the half.

Carnegie Mellon gained a total of 330 yards on 18 first downs for the half, while holding Grove City to 89 yards on 16 plays and two first downs. Behind five of seven third down conversions, the Tartans held possession for over 21 minutes. Sivek rushed over two on the all-time career rushing list into fourth place with 102 yards in the half, after 74 yards gained in the second quarter alone.

Grove City’s second drive of the second half went 77 yards down field before another untimely turnover stopped the Wolverines short of the goal. Weil fumbled for the second time on third-and-a-half-yard to go when senior linebacker Jamie Ploetzner (Rathdrum, Idaho/Lakeland) popped him and Menhart recovered the dropped ball. The second caused fumble and recovery by the Tartan defense kept the goose egg on the board for Grove City.

On a crucial third-and-eight from the Carnegie Mellon 24-yard line, Mulkern found junior wideout Jeremy Doo (Cambridge, Mass./Phillips Exeter Academy) on an east-west pass for a gain of 10 yards. The Tartans ended up draining eight-and-a-half minutes off the clock before Mulkern completed his first touchdown of the year to a streaking Whitman across the middle of the field. Whitman received the ball and ran straight for the corner, crossing the goal line right before the defensive back could catch him.

A final punt by Grove City to the Carnegie Mellon 47-yard line was returned by Scholl for 35 yards to the Wolverine 18. The Tartans stuck to the running game with their second unit and freshman back Andrew Lovrovich (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet) scored his first career touchdown on a sideline run of four yards. Lovrovich gained six yards on a third-and-two play from the Wolverine 10 to extend the drive before the goal line run.

For the game, Gimson rushed for a career-high 140 yards and one touchdown, including a long run of 54 yards. Sivek was close behind with 127 yards for the game. Mulkern completed 10-of-13 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. Kline caught four Mulkern passes for 32 yards, while Davis finished with 57 yards on two receptions.

Defensively for the Tartans, junior Jonathan Bodnar (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes) and Lewis made eight tackles and five solo stops apiece. Sophomore Clay Crites (Tuscarawas, Ohio/Indian Valley) broke through the line for a 14-yard sack late in the fourth quarter and the entire defensive unit held the Wolverines to 157 yards.

"I am very please in the way the kids played this afternoon," said Head Coach Rich Lackner. "Offensivley, we played a well balanced game. It takes a great defensive team affort to shutout a very well coached program."

Carnegie Mellon is next in action when it opens a three game home stand on September 16 when Westminster College visits Gesling Stadium for a 12:00 p.m. kick off.