MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Allegheny College football put an early scare into No. 24 Carnegie Mellon University, but the Tartans earned a 19-3 Presidents' Athletic Conference victory over the Gators in front of 4,834 fans at Frank B. Fuhrer Field on Saturday.

Playing under the lights as part of Allegheny's Blue and Gold Weekend, the Gators (2-3, 2-3 PAC) were looking to upset the Tartans (4-1, 4-1 PAC) for the second week in a row. The game plan on the defensive side of the ball worked well, as the Gators allowed a season-low 19 points. Alas, the Allegheny offense was unable to find a rhythm against the nationally-ranked Tartans.

Each of Carnegie Mellon's first two offensive drives ended with interceptions. On the Tartans' first pass attempt of the game, defensive tackle Nigel Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) pulled down a deflected throw at the line of scrimmage. Vital Joseph II (Humble, Texas/Summer Creek) then picked off a 3rd-and-10 play to set up Allegheny with excellent field position at the CMU 37.

A 17-yard pass to Ian Durci (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) and a facemask penalty brought the Gators down to the 3-yard line. But the drive stalled there, and Garrett Paxton (Freedom, Pa./Freedom Area) put Allegheny ahead, 3-0, with a 21-yard field goal 11 seconds into the second quarter. 

Unfortunately, the Allegheny offense was forced to punt on seven of its next 10 drives, which included four three-and-outs.

Carnegie Mellon scored 16 points in the second quarter to take a 16-3 lead into the break. The only blemish for the Tartans in the period was a blocked extra point by Williams. CMU added one fourth-quarter field goal to cap a 10-minute, 15-play drive to seal the victory.

Inside the Box Score

• The Gators compiled 147 yards of offense, with 115 yards through the air and 32 on the ground.
• The Tartans found the most success running the ball, finishing with 142 rushing yards.
• Jack Johnson was 15-of-33 (45.5%) for 115 passing yards.
• CMU quarterback Ben Mills completed only 50.0% of his attempts (17-of-34) for 162 yards and was intercepted twice.
• Tartan running back Tre Vasiliadis gained 101 rushing yards on 26 carries.
• Tre Worship (East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) and Kyrie Miller (Bolivar, Pa./Ligonier Valley) had 44 and 34 rushing yards, respectively, but both averaged more yards per carry than Vasiliadis.
• Declan O'Brien (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) hauled in six catches for 50 yards.
• Ethan Reifer paced the Tartans with 112 yards on nine receptions.
• Azary Matsuda (Roseville, Calif./Granite Bay) was busy on defense, as the third-year linebacker collected a team-high 13 tackles.
• Isaiah Romain (Newark, N.J./Great Oaks Charter School) and Malcolm Denomme (Edgewood, N.M./Moriarty) each had 10 tackles.
• Joseph and Williams each intercepted one pass, while David Babb (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) and David Williams (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) combined for seven pass breakups.

News and Notes

• Saturday's meeting between Allegheny and Carnegie Mellon was the first since 2013.
• Matsuda and Romain each set single-game career-highs for tackles.
• The Allegheny defense has picked off multiple passes in three of five games this season.
• With six receptions, O'Brien ranks fourth all-time in team history with 139 career catches.

Up Next
Allegheny travels to Washington, Pennsylvania, for a PAC showdown against Washington and Jefferson College on Saturday, October 7. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.