Football Outlasted in Overtime by Case Western Reserve

Oct. 13 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team opened up their 2007 University Athletic Association (UAA) season Saturday, October 13, with a 20-17 overtime loss to Case Western Reserve at Gesling Stadium in the 22nd Annual Academic Bowl. Freshman place kicker Sam Coffey propelled Case to the victory converting on a 30-yard field goal in overtime. The loss drops the Tartans record to 2-4, 0-1, as the Spartans continue to have a perfect season with a 6-0 mark and are 1-0 in UAA play.

Case Western Reverse wasted little time, taking the first possession of the contest 87 yards on ten plays to take the early 7-0 lead just 4:28 into the first quarter. The Spartan drive was capped off when sophomore quarterback Dan Whalen found freshman wide out Brian Webster for the touchdown completion. The Spartans extended their lead to 10-0 following a Tartan fumble. This time, the Spartans scored on a 37-yard field goal off the foot of Coffey at the 13:29 mark in the second quarter.

Carnegie Mellon answered Case Western Reserve’s score with one of their own. Tartan junior place kicker Colin Marks (Washington Crossing, Pa./Council Rock North) ended a 12-play, 51-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal cutting the Spartans lead back to seven with 8:06 left in the half.

The Tartans came out of the locker room hungry, as they turned two Spartan turnovers into 14 points within a span of 2:06. The first score come on a 71-yard interception return by sophomore Josh Kresge (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkiomen). After a missed extra point, Case still hung on to the lead 10-9. On the Spartans ensuing drive, a muffed handoff allowed Carnegie Mellon’s senior defensive lineman Michael Reggie (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) to recover a fumble leading to a Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) two-yard touchdown run. A converted two-point conversion gave the Tartans a 17-10 lead with 9:23 to play in the third quarter.

The score remained 17-10 until late in the fourth quarter, as the Spartans used 4:13 on 11 plays to knot the score at 17-17. Case Western’s score came on an 11-yard run by sophomore Greg Myer with 5:26 to play in regulation and stayed that way heading into overtime.

Case Western Reserve won the toss and elected to go on defense first in overtime. The Spartan defense forced the Tartans to attempt a 40-yard field goal and Marks’ kick sailed wide left. The Spartans then took over on offense and moved the ball to the 13-yard line setting up the game winning 30-yard field goal by Coffey.

The Tartans out gained the Spartans 205-112 on the ground, but Case held the advantage in total yards 303-241. Sivek finished the game with 141 yards on 37 carries. Whalen completed 23 of 40 passes for 191 yards. Defensively, Spartans senior linebacker Tom Brew recorded a career-high 21 tackles, seven solo. For the Tartans, seniors Jon Scholl (Coraopolis, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and Jonathan Bodnar (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes) each recorded 11 tackles, for Bodnar it marked a career-high.

The Tartans will continue UAA play next week, as they travel to Chicago, Ill. to play the University of Chicago. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. Central Time at Stagg Field.