PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- No. 16/13 Washington & Jefferson held off a late fourth quarter rally by host Carnegie Mellon to remain undefeated after a 27-20 Presidents' Athletic Conference win at Gesling Stadium.

Senior wide receiver Cody Hearst (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and senior linebacker Nick Murgo (Warren, R.I./Mount Hope) returned an interception for a 51-yard touchdown to put the Presidents ahead 14-0 two-thirds of the way through the second quarter. The scores marked the first of two touchdowns by the Presidents off of CMU turnovers, as Hearst's catch-and-run was set up thanks to an interception by junior linebacker Zac Quattrone (White Oak, Pa./Serra Catholic).
 
A big reason why W&J (5-0, 3-0 PAC) was able to build that 14-0 lead was a goal-line stand early in the second quarter. CMU had the ball first-and-goal at the seven and gained six yards on the first play to bring up second-and-goal from the one. Senior defensive back Luke Merhaut (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) made stops on consecutive plays and then on fourth-and-goal from the one, senior defensive lineman Matt Girting (Midland, Pa./Western Beaver) stuffed the Tartans running back at the line of scrimmage.
 
CMU (5-1, 3-1 PAC) got on the board with under one minute remaining in the first half on a 23-yard TD reception by John Prather, which came three plays after a Presidents' interception, the only turnover for the Red & Black on the day. The point after failed so W&J took a 14-6 lead into intermission.
 
The Tartans got the ball to start the second half and marched 46 yards before missing a 44-yard field goal attempt. CMU's next drive ended with a short punt which W&J was able to turn into points in just four plays. Senior quarterback Alex Rowse (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) hit Hearst for 32 yards and senior running back Justin Vickless (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) carried for seven yards before freshman running back EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) capped the drive with a 19-yard scoring rush, the first of his career, on his first carry of the game. The PAT failed and W&J boasted a 20-6 lead.
 
CMU struck back on the ensuing possession, marching 52 yards on eight plays. The drive was set up by a 40-yard kickoff return in which the Tartans' return man fielded the ball just inside the sideline and dodged a few tacklers. Prather again found pay dirt, this time from 17 yards out to bring the game within 20-13 at 1:02 of the third quarter.
 
The first play from scrimmage of the fourth quarter for Carnegie Mellon came at 12:47 and saw All-American Sam Benger rush for 14 yards before being stripped by senior cornerback O'Shea Anderson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester), which was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Jeffrey Oxner (Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School). It marked the first lost fumble of the senior's career -- on his 809th carry. W&J again capitalized on the turnover, going 57 yards in nine plays, which ended with a two-yard scoring rush by Vickless at 9:27 of the fourth quarter, 27-13.
 
W&J held CMU to a three-and-out, but was forced to punt on its next possession as well. With, 2:49 to play, quarterback Alex Cline ran in from six yards out to cut the margin to 27-20. The onside kick was recovered by the Carnegie Mellon kicker after deflecting off of a President. The Red & Black defense turned up the pressure on the Tartans after that, as Murgo sacked Cline for a nine-yard loss on the first play and then pressure forced a pair of incompletions on the next two plays. After a CMU time out before fourth down, Cline fumbled the snap, which was picked up by Benger, who flipped the ball back to Cline which ended with a 48-yard completion to Tommy Mansfield at the W&J 15-yard line. However, the officials threw a flag on the play and determined that Cline's pass was an illegal forward pass because Benger's toss went forward, making Cline's throw the second forward pass on the play. The result was a loss of down and turnover on downs, giving W&J the ball back with 1:44 to play. Vickless carried three times and W&J took a time out with three seconds remaining and Rowse took the snap, ran backwards for the final ticks and slid down when the clock hit 0:00.
 
On the day, the Tartans slightly outgained the Presidents, 381-361, but W&J chalked up 197 yards on the ground to CMU's 113. Vickless led the way with a career day of 27 rushes for 158 yards and a score, all game highs. Thompson added 47 yards on five carries. Junior wide receiver Brandon Barnes (Hagerstown, Md./St. Johns) led the team with five catches that totaled 42 yards and Hearst's 87 yards on three grabs were a team-high.
 
Ty Mitchell (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bentworth) also played a big role in field position on the day, averaging 43.3 yards per punt, including a career-long kick of 59 yards and another of 57 yards.
 
Murgo turned in his 21st career double-digit tackle game, leading the team with 11 tackles, including a sack and his team-leading third interception of the year, which went for a score. Merhaut hit double digits for the fourth time, making 10 stops (nine solo), plus a TFL and two pass break-ups. Anderson was third on the team with seven tackles, plus a forced fumble and three pass break-ups. Tom Marra (Cranberry Township, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) posted a game-high 2.5 TFLs, while Freddie McKissick (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton) (2.0 TFL) and Girting (1.5 TFL) each recorded sacks.
 
W&J will hit the road again next weekend, Saturday, Oct. 14, traveling to Bethany for a 1 p.m. PAC kickoff.


Video of Murgo's INT for a TD:

@murgo51 @WJFootball @wjathletics here ya go pic.twitter.com/PkPMBzsYFG

— CSev32 (@ctslax) October 7, 2017