14 Football Players Garner All-UAA Selections

Nov. 23 – (ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 14 players honored when the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) football team was announced Monday, November 23 by the league coaches.  The Tartans completed the 2009 season with a record of 5-5 and recorded their 35th season of playing .500 football or better.

Of the 14 Tartans, five of them were honored last season as second team or honorable mention honorees and junior punter Richard Pattison (Rocky River, Ohio) was the lone Tartan to repeat as a first team honoree.  This season five Cardinal and Gray players garnered first team honors, four second team and five received honorable mention accolades. Along with Pattison, senior captains Brendan Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich. Grosse Point South) and Socrates Zacharias (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) headed the squad with first team honors.  Howe was selected at wide receiver and Zacharias at outside linebacker.  Joining the captains and Pattison on the first team were junior inside linebacker Mike Shedlosky (Bridgewater, N.J.) and sophomore kick returner Dan Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair).  

Pattison, who ranked nationally all season in punt average, ended the season with an average of 40.5 yards per punt on 48 punts, ranking fifth in the nation. He placed 15 punts inside the opponents 20 and had nine of 50 yards or more with a career-long of 68 yards at Kenyon.  Miller, the other Tartan special teams player honored, had a season-long return of 26 yards this season against Ohio Wesleyan.

Howe set a single-season school record with 50 receptions.  Four of his record breaking receptions went for touchdowns as he finished the season with 679 yards.  Howe went over the century mark three times this season with career-high numbers against UAA champion Case, as he hauled in 10 receptions for 128 yards.

Carnegie Mellon’s backfield had two honored as second team selections.  Junior full back Justin Pratt (Bethel Park, Pa.) and sophomore running back Chris Garcia (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) rushed for 1,200 of the Tartans 1,769 yards on the ground.  Pratt finished the season with a team leading 11 rushing touchdowns, while Garcia found the end zone three times on the ground and another three by pass completions.  Garcia was the team’s second leading receiver behind Howe with 18 receptions for 268 yards.

Getting Howe and Garcia the ball was senior signal-caller Phil Pantalone (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff), who garnered honorable mention accolades.  Pantalone set a single-season Tartan record with a completion percentage of 62.0% (85-137) for 985 yards and eight touchdown tosses.

Senior offensive tackle Christopher Donlon (Olmstead Falls, Ohio/Holy Name) was named to the second team after helping the running game lead the UAA for the 12th straight season and for the 15th season in the 20-year history. Senior guard Ryan Chehanske (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) also played a part in blocking for the rushing attack, as he was selected honorable mention.  

On the defensive side of the ball, Zacharias was fourth on the team with 50 tackles, while recording four tackles for a loss of 17 yards.  Shedlosky led the Tartans with 68 tackles and was fourth in the UAA.  The junior had six tackles for a loss of 22 yards tying him for the team lead.

Joining the two linebackers is senior defensive back Joshua Kresge (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkiomen), as he received second team honors.  Kresge tied for second in the UAA with three fumble recoveries.  The senior also recorded two interceptions to finish his career with 11, ranking fourth all-time in the program’s 103 year history.

The entire Carnegie Mellon defensive line received honorable mention status. Senior Sean Kennedy (Loveland, Ohio) along with juniors Jason Stearns (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) and David O’Connor (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) combined for five of the Tartans 13 sacks.  Kennedy also tied for second in the UAA with three fumble recoveries.  Stearns and Kennedy both had six tackles for a loss, while O’Connor tallied 3.5.