Carnegie Mellon 35, Ohio Wesleyan 7

Sept. 6, 2008

Freshman quarterback Keegan Varner (Westerville/Central) scored on a 12-yard run to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 14-7 early in the second quarter, but Carnegie Mellon responded a touchdown with a touchdown later in the period, then held the Bishops scoreless during the second half to take a non-conference win in the season opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.

The Tartans took a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game. Carnegie Mellon drove to a first down at the Bishop 30-yard line, but the Ohio Wesleyan defense stiffened there, with senior linebacker Matt Weisman (Solon/Gilmour Academy) tripping up Tartan running back Anthony Ruzga for a loss of 1, then senior linebacker Matt Nasif (Brookline, Mass.) bringing down David Babcock for no gain and sacking Tartan quarterback Phil Pantalone for a loss of 3.

Facing a fourth-and-14 from the Bishop 34, the Tartans elected to go for the first down rather than the coffin corner punt, and the strategy paid off when Brendan Howe got behind the defense and hauled in a strike from Pantalone for a 34-yard scoring play.

Carnegie Mellon extended its lead to 14-0 later in the first quarter when Josh Kresge jumped a sideline route, picked off a pass from freshman quarterback R.J. Marsilio (Westport, Conn./Staples) and returned it 23 yards up the right sideline for a touchdown with 3:50 left in the period.

Ohio Wesleyan got the ball back early in the second quarter when Pantalone's fumble was recovered by junior safety Daniel DeLay (Pine, Colo./Conifer) on the Tartan 44-yard line. The Bishops went 3-and-out, but Carnegie Mellon was flagged for roughing senior punter Chris Kras (Aurora), keeping the drive alive. Senior running back Jerell Cephas (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) promptly reeled off a 15-yard gain for a first down, and after a short gain by Cephas, Varner scored on a 12-yard scramble to put the Bishops on the scoreboard. Kras followed with the point after to bring the Bishops within 14-7.

Carnegie Mellon took advantage of a Bishop turnover for a score later in the quarter, as Kresge recovered a fumble by junior split end Steven Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) and returned it to the Ohio Wesleyan 5-yard line, and two plays later, Ryan Phillips went over from 3 yards out for a 21-7 Tartan lead.

The Bishops threatened late in the half, driving to a first down at the Carnegie Mellon 31, but the drive stalled and Marsilio's fourth-down pass was incomplete in the end zone.

The Tartans put together a long drive late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, with Ruzga scoring from 2 yards out to cap an 14-play march, and finished off the day's scoring when Jon Scholl intercepted a Marsilio pass and returned it 26 yards for a score.

Cephas led Bishop rushers with 31 yards on 8 carries. Varner completed 7 of 11 passes for 30 yards, while Marsilio completed 4 of 13 passes for 37 yards. Senior split end Nathan Osborn (Edgerton) caught a team-high 3 passes for 14 yards.

Senior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) and junior safety Rylan Mitter-Burke (Marlborough, Mass./Marlboro) led the Bishops with 11 tackles apiece, while DeLay finished with 9 stops and recovered a Tartan fumble.

Ruzga led the Tartans with 69 yards on 12 carries. Pantalone completed 5 of 7 passes for 59 yards and a TD, and Howe finished with a team-high 4 receptions for 56 yards.

Socrates Zacharias and Aleksey Tigay collected 10 tackles apiece for Carnegie Mellon, with Zacharias compiling 1 1/2 tackles for loss.

Box Score