Tartan Football Opens Season on Road vs. Hiram

Game Notes - pdf
Depth Chart - pdf

Aug. 30 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The 2006 Carnegie Mellon football season gets started on Saturday, September 2 at Hiram College. A senior class of 19 strong and experienced athletes will look to repeat last year’s 45-0 shutout performance against the Terriers and start the Tartans on the path to a winning season.

Carnegie Mellon has 15 starters returning from last year’s 5-5 squad, including All-America senior defensive back Aaron Lewis (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) and two-time ECAC First Team junior fullback Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis). Returning to the field after an injury is senior running back Jon Cakert (Ventnor, N.J./Atlantic City), who will provide a steady backfield for senior quarterback Kevin Mulkern (Springfield, Pa.). Traditionally a running team, the Tartans averaged 219.8 yards on the ground last season, ranking them 26th nationally, and scored 27 rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, the Tartans gave up just three rushing touchdowns, lowest allowed among their 2006 opponents and return an experienced defensive back core led by seniors Lewis, Jonathan Menhart (Rices Landing, Pa./Carmichaels), Nat Scarmazzi (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) and Mark Stefanski (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny). Lewis led the team in tackles for the third season, breaking the century mark with 155, and picked off a team-high six passes. Menhart wasn’t far behind intercepting five. Seniors Jamie Ploetzner (Rathdrum, Idaho/Lakeland) and James Rogers (Battle Ground, Wash./Skyview) will once again lead the linebacking core, as they finished second (58) and third (53 ) in total tackles last season, respectively.

“The majority of our defense is veteran players, but we lost our three down men up front. They’ve come together in camp, so we expect to match our success against the rush this season,” commented Head Coach Rich Lackner, who enters his 21st season as head coach with a record of 138-59-2.

With Sivek’s 16 rushing touchdowns and 996 rushing yards combined with the experience of Cakert and juniors Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./The Benjamin School) and Colby Whitman (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney), the running game should be stacked once again. Gimson and Whitman each scored four rushing TD’s in 2005 and combined for 1,165 all purpose yards. The receiving core is led by senior Jonathan Kline (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), who has led the team the last two seasons in yards and scored two touchdowns in 2005. Senior Mark Davis (Loveland, Ohio), who scored two touchdowns in 2004, joins Kline as a split end in the Tartans Wing-T offense.

Mulkern, who saw the majority of his time towards the end of last season, is the newest player in the Tartan starting offense. “We’re looking to be more balanced with Mulkern under center this year,” said Lackner. The 6-1 first year starter completed 49.2 percent of his attempts last season totaling 377 yards in the air.

Lackner also added, “With our experienced backfield, we should be able to move the ball well and score from many options. The majority of our offensive line is back and we’re expecting big things from them and our experienced skill position players.”

Also returning for the Tartans is senior place kicker Nathaniel Greenstein (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) and junior punter Matt Adams (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto). Greenstein finished 7-of-11 in field goal attempts last season and 30-of-31 on PATs. Adams averaged 39.4 yards per punt and placed 15 inside the 20-yard line in 2005.

Hiram, a passing team, returns sophomore quarterback Trevor Henderson, who completed 50.5 percent of his passes for 1,625 yards and eight touchdowns. The offense will start a freshman running back and two senior wideouts, with an additional senior to see time at wide receiver. Jason Exline is the top target back after totaling 243 yards and three touchdowns, while Nic Borling and Greg Kibler both garnered over 100 yards receiving.

The Terrier defense will have some youth, as two out of five freshmen starters are on the line. Junior linebacker Tom Canitia will lead the attack, as he finished fifth on the team with 52 tackles last season. The secondary has senior Geoff Kibler and junior Frank Liscio returning who combined for four interceptions.

Kickoff of the season opener for both teams is set for 1:00 p.m. at Charles A. Henry Field in Hiram, Ohio.