Football Places 16 on All-Centennial Team
(LANCASTER, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 16 players receive All-Centennial Conference (CC) distinction, announced by the conference office following voting by the league coaches. The Tartans placed five on the first team, six on the second team and four were named honorable mention and one was honored to the sportsmanship team.
Three of the first team honorees are on the defensive side of the ball with two on the offensive side. Graduate student defensive lineman Mitchell Stokey, junior defensive back Ethan Ming and sophomore linebacker Jack Lawson were honored on the defense while senior offensive lineman Sam Alligood and junior wide receiver Brendan McCullough were honored on the offense.
Two additional Tartan linebackers were honored on the second team in seniors Leighton Tarke and Bennett Grace. Joining them on the second team were three offensive players: senior tight end Danny Moynihan, junior offensive lineman Charlie Katarincic and junior wide receiver Reece Kolke. On the special teams second team was senior placekicker Justin Caputo.
Stokey ended the regular season with a Centennial best 7.0 sacks and tabbed 11.5 tackles for a loss of 48 yards, 39 total tackles, had seven pass breakups and blocked three kick which ranked tops in the league and fourth in the nation. His 11.5 tackles for a loss rank third in the league. Stokey has 19.0 sacks for his career and ranks seventh all-time on program history.
Ming ended the regular season leading the Tartans with 37 solo tackles and was second with 63 total stops. His 37 solo tackles ranked ninth in the Centennial while ranking 11th in total tackles. The junior recorded four pass breakups, had two interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered another.
Lawson tied Ming for the team lead with two interceptions. He also totaled 61 stops, third most on the team while he tabbed 31 solo stops, the second most on the team. Lawson also ranked fifth for the Tartans with 4.5 tackles for a loss.
Tarke led Cardinal and Gray with 64 tackles and was fourth on the team with 6.0 tackles for a loss. His 64 stops ranked eighth in the Centennial Conference. The senior also record an interception and had two pass breakups. Grace was second on the Tartans with 10.5 tackles for a loss which ranked fourth in the league. He finished with 2.0 sacks and 48 tackles.
Alligood and Katarincic were the anchors of the Tartans offensive line. Alligood started all 10 games this season at left tackle while Katarincic started in nine games at right tackle. The two helped pass protect for an offense that ranked first in the Centennial in passing offense.
McCullough finished top on the Tartans and third in the league with 846 yards receiving and 55 receptions in nine games played. His nine receiving touchdowns were also tops for Carnegie Mellon and ranked fourth in the Centennial Conference. The junior currently has 150 career receptions, 1,848 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns for his career ranking second, fourth and fourth all-time in program history.
Kolke ended the regular season with 728 receiving yards on 42 receptions, ranking second on the Tartans in both while ranking fourth in the league yards. The junior also hauled down four touchdowns this season. Moynihan ended the regular season with a career-best 17 receptions for career-most 178 yards, as he averaged 17.8 yards per reception.
Caputo led the Centennial league with 11 field goals made including a career-long 45-yard field goal. He ranked second in scoring for kickers with 69 points. Caputo holds the school record for most field goals in a career with 35 and most PATs for a career with 129 made on 137 attempts for a 94%.
The Tartans Honorable Mention Honorees:
Offense:
Junior running back Giacomo Valente
Defense:
Senior defensive back Jacob Franze
Junior defensive lineman Amani Tchamwa
Special Teams:
Freshman kick returner Nick McCullough
The Tartans Sportsmanship Honoree:
Senior linebacker Connor Warren