CMU scores on second play from scrimmage and never looks back

Local Sports

Discussion

October 11, 2008

By Pete Chiodo The Meadville Tribune Sat Oct 11, 2008, 11:42 PM EDT

As the old saying goes; sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you.

Last season, the Allegheny football team feasted on five second-half turnovers to come from behind and post a 24-21 win over Carnegie Mellon.

On Saturday, the two teams met up again. And this time Allegheny forked over four of its possessions, and didn’t have much else go its way as CMU rolled to a 41-14 win over the Gators in front of 2,106 fans at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

Carnegie Mellon (4-2) came into the game boasting one of the best rushing offenses in Division III. And that was no hollow boast. The Tartans rushed the ball 63 times for 359 yards and four touchdowns yesterday.

“We didn’t have an answer for the outside running game, didn’t have an answer for the trap,” said Allegheny coach Mark Matlak, whose team is now 2-3. “They pretty much ran over us.”

Running back Chris Garcia and fullback Anthony Ruzga both had career games against the Gators.

Garcia, thriving on CMU’s outside sweep, racked up 135 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, averaging 10.4 yards a take.

Early in the forth quarter Garcia scored on a 23-yard run up the sideline, giving the Tartans a 31-14 lead.

Meanwhile, Ruzga — a 6-foot-2, 230-pound freight train — broke tackle after tackle during his 22 carries to produce 125 yards and two touchdowns. He scored from one-yard out and 10-yards out all in the second quarter, which amassed a 21-7 Carnegie Mellon lead before the half.

“Ruzga is a man,” said Carnegie coach Rich Lackner. “I mean, he is just a possessed football player. He’s a big, strong, tough young man and we are blessed to have him.”

Even with CMU’s rushing prowess, it was actually a trick pass play that got the Tartans on the scoreboard.

On the visitors’ second play of the game, Tartans quarterback Phil Pantalone handed the ball off to Ruzga. Ruzga flicked it back to Pantalone who found Brendan Howe alone downfield. Pantalone’s pass met Howe around the Gators’ 30, and Howe legged out the remaining turf to finish off the 70-yard play.

“Right off the bat we got the ball thrown over our heads,” said Matlak. “We gave them seven (points) right off the bat.”

Carnegie Mellon also got a pair of field goals from kicker Colin Marks. He knocked through a 25-yarder late in the third quarter and added a 27-yarder halfway through the fourth.

Allegheny, meanwhile, struggled to get going on offense except from a couple nice scoring drives.

After CMU’s first touchdown, the Gators answered with a six-play, 65-yard possession that found paydirt on a 16-yard touchdown haul by freshman tailback Eric Mastrogiacomo.

However, the Gators’ next four possessions netted a total of zero yards (one went for negative 10) and featured one turnover — a fumble by quarterback T.J. Salopek that CMU cornerback Aleksey Tigay returned 55 yards to the Allegheny 14.

Later in the fourth quarter, Salopek would fumble again and get picked off twice.

“The turnovers were a big part of the football game,” said Lackner. “And they were tough turnovers for them. We returned one to their (14) in the first half. And we returned an interception into the red zone in the second half. The turnovers were killers for Allegheny.”

Yet, in the third quarter the junior Salopek would orchestrate another scoring drive. This one went 41 yards on eight plays and ended when Salopek pushed the ball across the plane from one yard away. That close the gap on CMU to 24-14 for CMU. But it would end up being the last time the Gators found the end zone.

Salopek ended the game going 8-for-13 for 137 yards in the air. Matt Giffith had three catches for 34 yards while Bobby Burkes caught two passes for 82 yards.

Burkes also had a couple nice kickoff returns for the Gators. Both times, Jeremy Walker received the kick and handed it off to Burkes.

In the second quarter, Burkes took the switch and went 58 yards to set Allegheny up on CMU’s 33. In the third quarter, Burkes added a 46-yard return to the Tartans’ 46.

“The only thing that was disappointing was our kickoff coverage,” said coach Lackner. “It wasn’t where it needed to be at times. But give Allegheny credit, the kids blocked it well and their return people did a nice job.”

Rushing for Allegheny, Mastrogiacomo had 52 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. David Tate had six carries for 40 yards.

Pete Chiodo can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 275 or by e-mail at pchiodo@meadvilletribune.com.

Text Only

Local Sports

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Indians notch win despite shooting, rebounding woes
CONNEAUTVILLE — Many believe strange things happen when there’s a full moon in the sky. Perhaps they happen even a few days later.
Conneaut Valley shot under 24 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 32-20 on Thursday night. But the Indians found a way as they wrapped up at least a share of the Region 3 girls basketball title with a 36-23 win over Cochranton.

February 10, 2012
WRESTLING: Close decisions push Bears past Blue Devils
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — Non-region wrestling foes Union City and Cambridge Springs seemed to want to savor nearly every second of their respective regular season finales.
Going head-to-head Thursday night, eight of the 12 contested bouts went the distance; seven of them were won by decision; and five of those seven were decided by two points or less.

February 10, 2012
Maplewood could be getting a Little Gridders program
It’s still in the early stages, but Maplewood football could be welcoming a new team into its community come August.

February 8, 2012
Lady Scots roar back vs. Knights
Edinboro had trailed just once at halftime heading into Wednesday night’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women’s basketball showdown with Gannon.

February 8, 2012
Lancers roll through MASH wrestlers
It was the Meadville seniors’ party, but they were the only ones that really got to enjoy it, as the Bulldogs’ two 12th-graders were MASH’s only winners on the mat during a 56-15 loss to a talented General McLane squad on Wednesday at the House of Thrills.

February 8, 2012
Farell beats Meadville
The Meadville boys basketball team hits the road on Friday, traveling to Grove City.

February 7, 2012
Panthers earn huge win
ne of the perks of playing boys basketball in Region 4 is that what you do during the first month and a half of the season can, if you’re lucky, be forgotten. It’s those games within the region that matter the most.

February 7, 2012
MASH swimming falls to Lakers
The Meadville swim team faced one of its last big challenges of the season against Mercyhurst Prep at the Meadville Recreation Complex on Monday and, early on, both the boys and the girls were up to the challenge. After the diving break, however, the Lakers put the meet away.

February 6, 2012
Meadville downs rival Prep
Facing its private-school rival from up north, the Meadville Bulldogs hockey team put together one of its best performances of the season, sending Cathedral Prep back to Erie with a 4-1 defeat on Monday at the DeArment Ice Arena.

February 6, 2012
D-10 CLASS AA DUALS: Bison win title, snap Reynolds’ streak of seven straight
EDINBORO — As if it was destiny, wrestling powerhouses Fort LeBoeuf and Reynolds met in the District 10 Class AA Team Dual final on Saturday at Edinboro University’s McComb Fieldhouse.
After Fort LeBoeuf earned a paper-thin 28-27 win over Reynolds on Jan. 21 that came down to the tiebreaker, the Bison once again came out on top. The Bison made up for last year’s loss to the Raiders in the final by earning a 31-28 victory on Saturday.

February 5, 2012
More Local Sports Headlines

Mitt Romney has surged to major campaign wins in recent weeks. If he is the GOP candidate for president:

Local Sports

Search Results

Discussion

CMU scores on second play from scrimmage and never looks back

Mitt Romney has surged to major campaign wins in recent weeks. If he is the GOP candidate for president:

Site Map

Contact Us