Football Ends Regular Season with a 39-21 Victory Over Washington & Lee

Nov. 10 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Senior running backs Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis) and Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens., Fla./The Benjamin School) each eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the second consecutive year in Carnegie Mellon University’s 39-21 win over visiting Washington & Lee University. Sivek also reached the 4,000 yard plateau for his career in the Tartans win. The Tartans end their regular season with a 6-4 record, as the Generals fall to 6-3.

Gimson opened the games scoring with a three-yard touchdown run on the Tartans second possession of the game after senior linebacker Dan Shamash (New York, N.Y./Riverdale Country Day) intercepted R.J. Varner’s pass at the Washington & Lee 31 yardline. The score stayed 6-0 when Carnegie Mellon could not convert the point after attempt when the snap was too high for holder Gabe Gerson (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) to place down.

The Generals took a 7-6 lead with 5:37 to go in the half when Patrick Rouse completed a 26-yard pass to Jack Martin in the endzone. Rouse completed four passes for 60 of the 70 yards on the 12-play drive.

Gimson would score again with 2:19 in the half to give the Tartans a 12-7 lead. The Tartans two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 12-7. On the drive, sophomore quarterback Phil Pantalone (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff) completed a 31-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jeremy Doo (Cambridge, Mass. Phillips Exeter Academy) at the W&L four yardline that set up Gimson’s four-yard TD.

On the Tartans second possession of the second half junior place kicker Colin Marks (Washington Crossing, Pa./Council Rock North) hit a 25-yard field goal to give the Cardinal and Gray a 15-7 lead with 5:52 to play in third quarter.

Three plays later Carnegie Mellon’s Steve McGovern (Sunnyvale, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) intercepted Rouse, returning it 26 yards setting the Tartans up at the Generals eight-yard line. Pantalone extended the Tartans lead to 22-7 three plays later, as he ran it in from four yards out.

On the ensuing kickoff junior Clay Crites (Tuscarawas, Ohio/Indian Valley) recovered a fumble on the W&L 35 setting up a Sivek touchdown run four plays later giving the Tartans a 22-point lead with just under three minutes to play in the third.

W&L wasted little time answering the Tartans score. Sophomore tailback Stuart Sitterson cut the Generals deficit to 29-13 heading into the fourth quarter following a missed extra point. Sitterson’s score ended a six play 67 yard drive spanning 2:38.

The Generals pulled with in eight points, 29-21, following a 35-yard fumble recovery by Britt Jamison for a touchdown two plays into the fourth quarter. Jamison stripped the ball away from Sivek and took it in untouched for the score. Sivek’s fumbled marked his first in 783 carries dating back to his freshman season.

That is as close as W&L would pull to, as Carnegie Mellon put together a 15-play, 62-yard drive that took 8:22 off the clock ending with Marks' second field goal of the game. Marks' 27-yard field goal gave the Tartans a 32-21 lead with 6:25 showing in regulation. Gimson added his third touchdown on a 35-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Tartans.

The Cardinal and Gray out gained the Generals 401-263 in total offense, as 315 yards came on the ground for the Tartans. Carnegie Mellon’s defense forced six turnovers compared to W&L’s one.

For the fifth time this season and second straight game, Gimson and Sivek finished the game both over 100 yards. Gimson led the way with 161 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns, as Sivek had 125 yards on 34 carries and one score. Sivek’s lone score moved him into 18th place on the NCAA Division III scoring list with 354 points for his career. The two backs both reached the 1,000 yard mark for a season for the second straight year. Sivek has 1,033 while Gimson has racked up 1,007 this season. Sivek also reached the 4,000 yard mark for his career now having 4,101 career rushing yards.

Pantalone completed 5-of-8 passes for 85 yards. Senior Colby Whitman (Sarasota, Fla. Cardinal Mooney) was on the end of three Pantalone completions for 41 yards.

Defensively the Tartans were led senior corner Jon Scholl (Coraopolis, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and junior linebacker Dan Falkenstein (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina) with nine tackles apiece. Crites and McGovern were the next highest tacklers for the Tartans with seven each. Crites finished the game with a fumble recovery and a half sack while McGovern had one interception along with a pass breakup.

Sitterson led the way for the Generals finishing with 144 yards on the ground on 28 carries. Rouse completed 13-of-29 passes for 117 yards and a score. Senior Kyle Harvey and junior Scott Russell were a force on defense recording 14 tackles each.

Carnegie Mellon will now wait to see if they earn a berth to an ECAC Bowl. Bids are announced Monday, November 12.