WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A 42-yard interception return for touchdown by Logan Young at the 7:59 mark of the fourth quarter gave Carnegie Mellon the lead for good as they edged the W&J football team by a 12-7 score Saturday afternoon in a Presidents' Athletic Conference showdown at Cameron Stadium. The Tartans, who entered the game ranked No. 20 in the D3football.com poll, scored all 12 of its points after halftime to collect its school-record 14th straight victory.
The win keeps CMU unbeaten as they move to 5-0 in the PAC and 7-0 overall. W&J falls to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in PAC games.
Carnegie Mellon's Vincent Ceci intercepted another W&J pass with 16 seconds remaining to seal the victory. The win for the Tartans is the first at W&J since 1982 when the Tartans won 15-12.
W&J scored its only points of the game late in the first half. Faced with a 4th-and-1 play from the Tartan's 41-ayard line, Jacob Pugh (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) faked a quarterback draw, stepped back and found Keaton Hall (Dover, Ohio / Dover) in the flat. Hall then sprinted down the sideline untouched for the touchdown. Deven Wyandt(Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) added the point after to give W&J a 7-0 lead with three minutes remaining in the half.
CMU cut into the deficit with a pair of Cole Hanna field goals. Hanna drilled a 33-yard field goal with 6:56 to play in the third quarter before knocking home a 29-yard field goal at the 9:45 mark of the fourth quarter.
Young's pick six marked the fourth for Carnegie Mellon this season. Young intercepted Colton Jones (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), who had entered the game because Pugh's helmet was ripped off on the previous play and he was forced to sit out the ensuing play. The pass, which came on a 2nd-and-13 play, was the only one thrown by Jones in the second half.
After just six plays on the ensuing drive, W&J punted the ball back to Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans were unable to add to its lead but were able to hold possession for 5:23 of game time with a 10-play, 51-yard drive. The possession ended when Hanna's 51-yard attempt came up short. Dillon Rebuck (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) received the field goal attempt and raced 36 yards up the far sideline to give W&J decent field position with 1:08 to play.
W&J picked up back-to-back first downs before the late interception by Ceci ended W&J's chances of victory.
Pugh finished 21-of-40 with 179 yards passing. Pugh had one touchdown and one interception. Ian Hansen (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) finished with season highs in receptions (11) and receiving yards (95). W&J finished with just 42 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Alex Keith (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) provided the biggest play for W&J in the second half when he recorded his first collegiate interception in the third quarter. Keith also finished with five tackles and a sack. Dawson Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) and Zach Valentine (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler) led W&J with eight tackles apiece.
NOTES: W&J and the National Football Foundation (NFF) honored former head coach John Luckhardt at halftime. Luckhardt is one of 21 individuals set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December. Luckhardt coached the Presidents from 1982-98 and left as the winningest coach in school history at 137-37-0. Luckhardt led the Presidents to two NCAA Division III championship games, 13 PAC titles, and 11 appearance in the NCAA playoffs. Luckhardt then went on to a distinguished career at California University.