(BETHANY, W.Va.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team traveled to Bethany, West Virgina on Saturday afternoon to play the Bison of Bethany College. The Tartans left Bethany with a 41-7 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 41, Bethany 7
Records: Carnegie Mellon (6-1, 6-1 PAC), Bethany (0-6, 0-6 PAC)
Location: Bethany, W.Va. (Bison Stadium)

How it Happened

• At the 5:23 mark of the first quarter, senior Tre Vasiliadis gave the Tartans a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown plunge over the offensive line. The score capped off a 14-play, 55-yard drive in which Vasiliadis accounted for 35 yards of.
• Following a bad snap on a Bison punt where the Tartans took over at the Bethany 15-yard line, the visitors' lead doubled three plays later. Sophomore Joey McGinnis IV had a 2-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter.  
• Bethany's signal caller Miles Goffe cut the score to 14-7 with nine minutes to play in the first half on a 1-yard push run, as the score finished off a 10-play, 82-yard drive.
• The Tartans responded with a nine-play drive that resulted in a 35-yard field goal off the foot of sophomore Justin Caputo that made the score 17-7.
• Carnegie Mellon opened the second half on a 13-play drive with the outcome a 19-yard touchdown pass from junior Brady Hess to classmate Dominic Voiland pushing the score to 24-7.
• On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hess kept the ball and took it into the endzone on a 13-yard run extending the Cardinal and Gray lead to 31-7.
• A sack along with a forced and recovered fumble by Zach Sabin led to an 18-yard field goal by Caputo to make the score 34-7.
• In the closing minute of the game a bad snap on a Bethany punt was recovered in the end zone by sophomore Cortland Mitchell for a Tartan touchdown to end the scoring at 41-7.

Stats

• The Tartans totaled 324 yards of offense to Bethany's 176. For the Tartans, 229 yards came by way of the ground with the Cardinal and Gray holding the Bison to 25 yards rushing.
• Vasiliadis led the Tartans rushing attack with a season-high 135 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown.
• Defensively, the Tartans forced six turnovers, four interceptions and two fumbles.
• Junior Nolan Pitsenberger led the Tartans with a career-high 11 tackles, seven solo, 2.0 tackles for a loss and a blocked punt.
• Senior Robert Coury had 10 tackles, five solo, and had a sack while junior Mitchell Stokey finished with nine tackles, eight solo, and added a sack.
• Bethany's Devaughn McWhorter ended the game with 41 yards rushing.
• Goffe threw for 143 yards for the Bison.

Game Notes

• Carnegie Mellon leads the all-time series 39-8.
• The Tartans have won 34 straight games when leading after three quarters of play.
• Carnegie Mellon has won 18 straight games when scoring a special teams or defensive touchdown.
• Carnegie Mellon now has seven blocked punts which leads the nation.
• It was Robert Coury's 12th career game recording double digit tackles.
• Robert Coury now ranks fourth in program history with 255 tackles for his career and needs eight more to move into third.
• It marked Vasiliadis' 10th career game rushing for 100 yards and second this season.
• McGinnis now has eight touchdowns this season and leads the PAC in rushing touchdowns.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen

• "In a really wet and wild game, I was really proud to see our guys control what they could control and play a great game in all three phases. To come out of the game with zero turnovers and forcing six was definitely the highlight of the game! Also our special teams were able to create some big plays again, and even the final touchdown on Punt Return shows how hard our guys played for 60 mins!"

Up Next

• The Tartans return home on Saturday, October 21 to play Washington & Jefferson College. Kick is set for 7:00 p.m. on the turf at Gesling Stadium.