Westminster, MD.-Oct. 3– A weekend filled with excitement and school pride; homecoming always puts a good mood on campus. In a game with much anticipation to highlight the festivities, McDaniel was defeated 52-14 against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans.
Coming into the game, the Green Terror was on a two-game losing streak. The bye week gave them a chance to rest before they entered conference play. McDaniel won the coin toss and elected to defer the ball until the second half.
The Tartans went four-and-out on their first drive, putting McDaniel on offense quickly. They also went four-and-out, and first-year kicker Jacob Bone punted it a way before sophomore wide receiver Nick McCullough blocked, recovered and took the ball back for a nine-yard touchdown.
Immediately facing a 7-0 deficit, the McDaniel offense got back on the field. Sophomore quarterback Caleb Wray rushed twice before he was intercepted by senior defensive back Tai Mann in McDaniel territory. One minute later, Tartans’ junior quarterback Jackson Salters found senior wide receiver Brendan McCollough for an 11-yard touchdown, making it 14-0.
Bone would then see déjà vu all over again, getting blocked this time by freshman running back Mike Iuzzolino and junior defensive lineman Eric Loureiro cashing in a third touchdown, putting Carnegie Mellon up 21-0.
McDaniel scored their first points on a sophomore running back Jason St. Leger’s second touchdown this fall that went 11 yards. They closed out the first quarter by setting themselves up on the one-yard line going into quarter two.
Sophomore running back Cordae James was able to punch it through to make it a one-possession game at 21-14. The score held serve for 14 minutes before John Norell’s 22-yard field goal stretched the Tartans’ lead to 24-14.
With the game being in arm’s reach for McDaniel, Carnegie Mellon notched two touchdowns in the final two quarters to seal the deal. Jackson Salters and Brendan McCollough connected for 56-and 38-yard touchdowns in the third quarter, creating serious score separation at 38-14 in favor of the Tartans.
Carnegie Mellon senior wide receiver Reece Kolke got in on the fourth quarter action with an eight-yard touchdown, further cementing the Tartans’ lead.
Four minutes later, junior linebacker Cody Schuberg was then able to sack and force a fumble on McDaniel’s junior quarterback Mick Johnston, who had subbed into the game with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Senior linebacker Archie Lawlar took the fumble into the endzone, completing the 52-14 final score.
Despite the running backs getting a total of 134 yards in 27 carries, McDaniel couldn’t overcome mistakes in other areas. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Lincoln Wendel shattered his previous single-game total tackle record with eight on the day, double the amount his previous best was against Muhlenberg on Oct. 18, 2025.
For the Tartans, quarterback Jackson Salters went 21/30 on pass attempts and recorded 237 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in his second start of the season.
Carnegie Mellon improved to 2-0 in the all-time matchup, scoring 50+ points almost exactly one year later as they won 56-7 at home on Oct. 4, 2025. Both teams will continue conference play, and the next matchup for McDaniel is Ursinus College at home on Oct. 10.