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Carnegie Mellon University defeated the Saint Vincent football team by a score of 42-27 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup.

CMU led 21-14 at the half, then returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and never looked back, despite a 339-yard passing performance by Bearcat quarterback Zavion Thompson.  

The game remained scoreless until past the halfway point of the first quarter, when the Tartans put together an 8-play, 48-yard scoring drive, that was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Alex Cline to Karl Kumm.  
 
Down 7-0, the Bearcats were able to answer right back on the next drive.  On the second play of the drive, Thompson connected with Keith Kalp on a 28-yard pass that moved the ball just past midfield.  Later in the drive, Thompson hit Sam Nowicki for 11 yards to the 26, but the result of the play left the Bearcats with a fourth-and-two.  The Bearcats stacked the line, but Thompson stepped back and found Kalp in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown pass.  Sam Elliott's point after tied the game at 7-7 with just over 2 minutes left in the first quarter.
 
However, the Tartans retook the lead early in the second, with an 8-play scoring drive that made it 14-7. After a Bearcat punt and holding penalty, CMU took over on their own 30 and wasted no time getting to the end zone. Cline's first-down pass to Willie Richter was caught near midfield, and Richter did the rest, breaking free down the sideline and going the distance, as the hosts increased their lead to 21-7.
 
Nowicki then returned the kickoff 26 yards to the 29 yard line, and the offense went back to work. Thompson completed passes to Shaquille Edmond and Nowicki for 10 and 12 yards, respectively, then found running back Mike Stasko downfield for a 22-yard grab.  The drive ended when Thompson hit Ariel Martinez from 15 yards out with a touchdown pass.  The teams went into the locker room with CMU in front, 21-14.
 
To start the second half, CMU's Rory Hubbard took Elliott's kickoff at the 5-yard line, and eluded all 11 Bearcats, going 95 yards for the touchdown, to put the hosts up 28-14.

After the Bearcats were forced to punt on the next drive, the SVC defense held the Tartans, and the defense blocked a punt that was picked up by Cameron Mack and returned 10 yards into the end zone for the score.  Elliott's extra point made it a 7-point game, 28-21.

On the next drive, it was more of the same, as the defense forced a punt, and Mack came up with a block.  However, the Bearcats were unable to convert a fourth down play, turning the ball over to the Tartans.  

Late in the third quarter, Carnegie Mellon added to its lead, as a 27-yard punt return was turned into a bigger gain by a face mask penalty, giving the hosts the ball on the Bearcat 42.  Six plays later, Carnegie Mellon scored on a 6-yard run by Hubbard to make the score 35-21.

In the fourth, a fumble by Thompson near midfield led to a CMU touchdown, as Chris Haas ran for a 31-yard score to make it a 21-point game.

The Bearcats added a late touchdown, as Thompson hit Martinez for a pair of receptions, including a scoring strike from three yards out.  The extra point was blocked, leaving the score at 42-27.

On the day, SVC had 401 yards of offense, while CMU tallied 369.  Both teams recorded 19 first downs.

Thompson was 21 of 38 through the air for 339 yards and three touchdowns.  Martinez had six receptions for 83 yards, while Kalp had 5 catches for a team-high 102 yards.  Stasko caught 4 balls for 99 yards.  Nowicki and Edmond each recorded three catches.

Defensively, SVC was led by Caleb Collins with 11 tackles, while Zack Altieri and Mike Turner Jr each had 7.

Saint Vincent is now 0-4 on the season, while CMU is 2-1 on the season.  The Bearcats have a bye week coming up, and will return to action for Homecoming against Thiel College.  Kickoff at Chuck Noll Field will be 1PM.