Football Outlasts Grove City 16-6

Sept. 8 - (PITTSBURGH, PA.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team’s late surge lifts them to a 16-6 victory over Grove City Saturday, September 8 at Gesling Stadium. The win extends the Tartans regular season winning streak to twelve. Carnegie Mellon improves to 2-0 on the young season, as Grove City drops to 0-2.

Carnegie Mellon took the early lead, as sophomore Devin Murray (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) broke through the middle of the line and blocked Chris Haley’s punt through the back of the end zone for a safety. On the Wolverines next possession senior running back Matt Weil capped off an 80-yard, nine play drive with a two-yard touchdown run. A failed two-point conversion by the Wolverines left the score at 6-2 with 7:47 showing in the first quarter.

“We didn’t come off the football well in the first half,” said Head Coach Rich Lackner. “We didn’t play our best offense in the first half. In the second I thought our kids showed some guts and came out to play.”

The score stayed 6-2 in favor of the Wolverines until senior fullback Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) gave the Tartans the lead, 9-6, with 8:25 left in the third quarter on a one-yard run. Sivek’s touchdown drive was setup by sophomore Josh Kresge’s (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) 15-yard interception return giving the Tartans the ball on the Grove City 44. Grove City’s quarterback Andrew DiDonato’s pass was tipped by Tartans junior inside linebacker Jim Sands (Windham, Ohio) right into the hands of Kresge.

Sophomore David Babcock’s (Coudersport, Pa.) 13-yard touchdown run with 5:11 to play in the game sealed the win for the Tartans. The score was Babcock’s first for his career. On the 61-yard five-play drive, junior fullback Ryan Phillips (Seville, Ohio/Cloverleaf) accounted for 43 yards including a career-long 35-yard scamper.

“Phillips was a set of fresh legs for us. The confidence level we have in Ryan is big. He is a good football player, added Lackner.”

Phillips led a core of Tartan rushers with a career-high 69 yards. Carnegie Mellon rushed for 210 yards, as they held Grove City to five from the ground. The Wolverines out gained the Tartans 243-214 in total offense. Wolverine senior running back Ian Tobin finished with a school tying record 13 receptions for 73 yards. DiDonato finished 25-of-40 for 238 yards.

The Tartan defense sacked DiDonato seven times, while senior Richard Hauffe (Manassas, Va./Osbourn) recorded 3.5 of them. Hauffe finished the game with nine tackles with five going for a loss. Sands led the Tartans with a career-high 13 tackles, six solo and senior Jonathan Bodnar (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes) had ten tackles and a forced fumble.

“I want to give a lot of credit to Coach Smith and Grove City. I thought they played their tails off today,” comments Lackner.

The Tartans will travel to Geneva, N.Y., Saturday, September 15 to play Hobart. Kick is slated for 1:00 pm.