Tartans Fall to Talented Wesley Wolverines

Nov. 25 - (DOVER, Del.) – Carnegie Mellon fell for the first time in 2006 after a 37-0 victory by Wesley College, the number one seed in the south bracket of the NCAA Division III tournament. The Tartans finish the year with an 11-1 record, setting a school-record with 11 wins on the year. Wesley improves to 12-0 and will continue their path to the Stagg Bowl.

The Wesley Wolverines opened the scoring and held a 21-0 halftime lead against the visiting Carnegie Mellon Tartans. A 59-yard rush for a TD by Alpha Koroma started the day for Wesley on their opening drive. After punting on their second possession, quarterback Chris Warrick found Michael Clarke for a 46-yard strike to lengthen their lead to 14-0 with 8:57 to go in the half.

The Tartans, who had eight first downs in the half, tried a fake punt on fourth-and-two at their own 43-yardline with five minutes to go. Senior James Rogers (Battle Ground, Wash./Skyview) could only gain one-yard turning the ball over on downs. The result was an eight play, 44-yard touchdown drive culminating with a 17-yard TD pass to Jon Lanouette in the left corner of the endzone for the 21-0 advantage.

Carnegie Mellon had a chance to score on their first possession moving 60 yards on 14 plays. A field goal attempt by senior Nat Greenstein (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) from 30 yards was blocked by Justin Strickland.

The second half started with a 63-yard TD pass from Warrick to Clarke making the score 28-0 in favor of the home squad.

Carnegie Mellon marched 77 yards to reach a fourth-and-goal from the nine but Tartans quarterback, senior Kevin Mulkern (Springfield, Pa.), was intercepted by Jeremiah Santiago at the six-yardline. During the drive senior wideout Jonathan Kline (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) found senior wideout Mark Davis (Loveland, Ohio) for a 31-yard gain.

Junior Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./The Benjamin School) led the rushing attack with 55 yards, while junior back Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) totaled 46 yards.

Warrick and Clarke were responsible for most of the Wolverines 502 yards of offense with 299 passing yards from Warrick and 178 reception yards and two touchdowns from Clarke. Koroma finished with 128 yards rushing and one score, while Aaron Jackson totaled 61 yards and one score during the second half of play.

"We lost to a real talented team today," commented Tartans Head Coach Rich Lackner. "They're quick, they're athletic, and they come at you from different angles. However, we had a fantastic season and I'm going to miss coaching this group of kids."