Gators Top Tartans 24-21

Sep 22, 2007

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Allegheny College Gators were able to force five second-half turnovers, leading the way for the team to the 24-21 victory over the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday evening.

Allegheny forced four fumbles and an interception, out-scoring the hosts 10-7 in the second half to earn the victory, their sixth straight in the series.

Carnegie Mellon took the opening kickoff 80 yards on 13 plays, scoring when Travis Sivek rushed in from one yard away, giving the hosts a 7-0 advantage.

The Blue and Gold answered with a scoring drive of their own, using a 46-yard kickoff return by Jim Lieb (Carrolltown, Pa./Northern Cambria) to start the momentum, with the scoring drive being capped off by Devin Raynor (Bemus Points, N.Y./Maple Grove), who plunged in from two yards out, knotting the score at seven apiece.

A T.J. Salopek (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin)-to-James Jones (Ellington, N.Y./Falconer Central) 20-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter gave the visitors a 14-7 lead, one that was countered by the Tartans when quarterback Doug Facemeyer found Brendan Howe open in the end zone, sending the game into halftime with a 14-14 tie.

The Gators forced an interception early in the third quarter, and was turned into a Salopek-to-Jake Vite (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) five-yard touchdown pass, pushing the Allegheny advantage to 21-14. Three fumbles in the next four possessions kept the Tartans off the scoreboard, before the Gators added the eventual game-winning points with a Josh Whiteside (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) 31-yard field goal.

The hosts rallied back, scoring a touchdown, capping an 80-yard, 14-play drive with a Robert Gimson 2-yard pass from Facemeyer with 1:02 to play in the game, however, the onside kick was recovered by Allegheny, sealing the win for the Blue and Gold.

Salopek passed for a career-high 196 yards on 17-of-30 attempts with a pair of touchdowns, as his counterpart was 12-of-23 with 153 yards and the two scores.

Fullback Matt Cellini (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) rushed for career highs with 54 yards and 12 carries while Rodney Still (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) rushed five times for 46 yards.

Four Tartans had double figure attempts on the rushing end, led by Gimson’s 73 yards on 17 carries with Facemeyer and Sivek rushing 14 and 15 times for 57 and 52 yards, respectively.

Lieb led the receiving corps with seven catches for 100 yards, with Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) and Jones each hauling in four passes for 42 yards. Howe led the way for CMU with seven catches for 96 yards, while Gimson had three catches for 38 total yards.

Defensively the team was led by safety Andy Toner (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) who had a career-high 20 tackles, while Mateo Villa (Windsor, Ohio/Middlefield Cardinal) and Ross Simcoe (Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport) each picking up 11 stops. Craig Lawrence (Fairview, Pa./Fairview) picked up a pair of quarterback sacks in addition to jumping on two fumbles.

The Gators stay at home for back-to-back home games over the next two weeks, hosting Denison University on September 29 on Community Day for the College, and then bringing Wabash College to town on October 6 for homecoming.

Printable Version