Ryan Larsen had clear intentions for his defense.
In his first two seasons at Carnegie Mellon, Larsen built his program’s success around a defensive unit, which was one of the stingiest in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Returning nearly every starter from a veteran defense from a season ago, Larsen entered the 2024 campaign expecting more of the same this fall.
“We have a really high standard for our defense,” Larsen said. “Our defensive staff does a really, really good job of preparing our players each week and I think our players do a really good job of not only taking what they’re being taught, but playing with a really high effort level.
“I do think they’ve exceeded expectation, but at the same time we have pretty high standards. They’ve been holding that standard high.”
In fact, the Tartans’ standard has been higher than anyone in the country.
Carnegie Mellon entered its critical late-season PAC contest against Westminster Saturday at Gesling Stadium in Oakland leading NCAA Division III football in total defense.
Through seven games, the Tartans conceded just 1,197 yards, good for an average of 171 yards per game, and a paltry 2.96 yards per play.
“Everyone is so committed to doing their job,” senior Carnegie Mellon linebacker Evan Roper said. “You can trust the other 10 guys around you to do what they’re supposed to do. You know where they’re going to be on any given play. Really, we just play off each other. Whenever all 11 are doing their job it’s pretty tough to move the ball on us.”
Westminster found that out first hand Saturday.
No. 17-ranked Carnegie Mellon conceded the visiting Titans just 230 yards of total offense, while running back Tre Vasiliadis rushed for 187 yards on 18 carries en route to a 45-20 victory.
The Tartans (7-1) had not allowed a second-half touchdown this season until Westminster (6-2) found pay dirt twice in the second half with both teams’ reserves in the game.
Carnegie Mellon’s offense yielded a touchdown on a fumble near the goal line that was recovered by Grove City in a 17-10 loss two weeks ago. The Tartans also conceded a field goal in overtime against Washington & Jefferson before earning a 30-27 victory in Week 4.
“Anyone on our defense will tell you whether you’re a D-lineman, linebacker or DB, they all have to work together, and particularly with the way we play defense,” Larsen said. “We’re not a big four-down, pass rush with the D-ends-type of team.”
Westminster quarterback Ty McGowan, a Moon High School product, managed 89 yards through the air before backup Billy Levak added 89 yards passing and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Jalen Washington caught five passes for 54 yards and Ethan Bufford chipped in with 22 receiving yards and a score to lead the Titans offensive attack against the Tartans.
Short-yardage back Willem Bouma rushed for two touchdowns on four carries for the Carnegie Mellon offense, while quarterback Ben Mills threw for 165 yards and three scores.
For Larsen, though, all of his team’s success this season has been predicated upon the play of its defense — particularly its linebackers.
Carnegie Mellon has leaned upon its four returning all-conference linebackers in twin brothers Robert and Thomas Coury along with Roper and Moon product Logan Young.
Robert Coury has accumulated a team-high 53 tackles this season with four sacks, while Thomas Coury has 51 tackles, Roper has 40 and Young 39.
Roper leads the Tartans — who came into Saturday fifth in D-III in tackles for a loss — with 13½ tackles for a loss. Robert Coury also has 12½ tackles for a loss and Thomas Coury has 10½.
“We’ve got three fifth-year seniors and then you’ve got Evan who is a senior, who has played a lot of ball for us as a three-year starter,” Larsen said. “All four of them are returning all-conference players from last year. I think that’s naturally where your eyes go.”
And with its defense leading the way, Larsen is hoping Carnegie Mellon soon will be going on its third trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs in four seasons.
Regardless of which team wins the PAC championship and earns an automatic bid to the postseason, Larsen said he believes his team is in a strong position to make the field if it can win its final regular-season contests against Allegheny and rival Case Western Reserve.
The NCAA Division III playoffs were expanded this season from 32 to 40 teams. The postseason field will include 28 conference champions, along with 12 at-large bids, which will be determined using the NCAA Power Index.
“We’ve got no control,” Larsen said. “We talked about this after Grove City, we have to take it one week at a time and that’s all we can control. We feel very confident that if we go 1-0 each week and keep our focus there and end up at 9-1, we have a great shot to be in the playoffs whether that’s with the automatic bid or as an at-large.
“We’ve said it, ‘We are kind of in playoff football already.’”
After the Tartans did not receive an at-large NCAA playoff bid a season ago in the wake of a one-loss campaign, Roper said he and his teammates are hungry to get back and fight for a chance to win a national championship this time around.
“It would be huge,” said Roper, who had eight tackles and a sack against Westminster. “Obviously for us last year, feeling like we kind of got left out, we felt like there was some meat left on the bone with that season. It’s really just about fighting for another week to stay out on that practice field and getting to go out to battle with your brothers.”
No. 19 W&J uses balanced offensive attack to get past Case Western
Quarterback Jacob Pugh, a Thomas Jefferson product, threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Kobe Derosa, a Laurel graduate, added 89 yards and two scores on the ground to lead No. 19 Washington & Jefferson to a critical 34-21 PAC victory over Case Western Reserve Saturday afternoon at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.
Presidents (8-1) tight end Zach Cernuto, a Southmoreland product, caught a team-high 14 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown against the Spartans (6-2). Anthony Rosati and Raymond Holmes also caught touchdown passes for W&J.
Senior defensive lineman Dawson Dietz, a Hampton graduate, had seven tackles and three sacks to pace the Presidents defensive effort. He now has 58 tackles on the season and leads the PAC with 21½ tackles for a loss and 12 sacks.
No. 13 Grove City blanks Waynesburg
Scott Fraser of Knoch High School caught TD passes of 8, 2 and 9 yards as No. 13-ranked Grove City (7-1, 7-1) pounded host Waynesburg, 51-0, in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Fraser had 10 catches for 108 yards. Waynesburg, which got seven tackles from Vinnie Heller of Thomas Jefferson, fell to 3-5, 3-5.
IUP rolls past host Gannon
Crimson Hawks quarterback Karst Hunter threw for a season-high 303 yards and three touchdowns as IUP (6-3, 3-3) overcame an early deficit to defeat Gannon, 35-7, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Maurice Massey caught all three TD passes from Hunter (38, 52 and 38 yards). Hunter also had 24 yards rushing on six carries. Gannon (2-6, 2-3) got a 13-yard TD run from Jayden Whitaker with 9:39 in the first quarter.
Robert Morris slips past Merrimack
Shawn Charles caught an 82-yard touchdown pass with 4:53 left in the third quarter as the Colonials (6-3) escaped with a narrow 6-0 victory against visiting Merrimack (4-5). Robert Morris, which missed the extra point, won its fourth in a row. RMU quarterback Anthony Chiccitt of Bethel Park went 23-of-32 passing for 236 yards and Charles had five catches for 139 yards.
Duquesne edges Mercyhurst
JaMario Clements had two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, the second for 86 yards with 4:16 left in the game, as host Duquesne (6-2, 4-0) held off Mercyhurst, 31-24, in the Northeast Conference. Mercyhurst (2-7, 0-3) had a 10-7 lead at halftime. Clements finished with 177 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Thursday
No. 14 Slippery Rock surges in second half to knock off Clarion
Quarterback Brayden Long threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, as No. 14-ranked Slippery Rock outscored host Clarion by 13 points in the second half to emerge with a 38-22 PSAC West victory Halloween night at Golden Eagles Memorial Stadium.
Sophomore wide receiver Kylon Wilson caught 7 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Rock (7-1, 4-1) against Clarion (3-6, 1-4). Mike Solomon also caught four passes for 85 yards and a score for Slippery Rock, while West Allegheny product Kam Kruze hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Chris D’Or led the Rock rushing attack with 61 yards on 10 carries and Idris Lawrence added 34 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Kanye Thompson, a McKeesport product, registered a game-high 10 tackles, one for a loss, for Slippery Rock. Steel Valley graduate Todd Hill, who transferred to the Rock after playing at Pitt and Duquesne, also had 6 tackles, 1½ for a loss, with a half-sack.
Randy Stoernell of the Pittsburgh Union Progress contributed to this roundup.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.