[Careless Whisper]

Terrapins Top Tartans with Second-Half Rout
Carnegie Mellon couldn’t stop Maryland tailback Da’Rel Scott, who rushed for 255 yards and four touchdowns



CMU runningback Jim Manning extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to four in the loss. (Mark Frazier / Getty Images)

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Despite a valiant first-half effort, Carnegie Mellon was outclassed in the second half in its non-conference finale, as Maryland scored 30 unanswered points to come away with a 43-14 win this evening at Gesling Stadium.

Carnegie Mellon (5-5) held a 14-13 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, but Maryland (5-5) answered with a touchdown on the ensuing drive to take all the momentum into the locker room. The Tartans committed four turnovers to the Terrapins’ zero, and were outgained offensively 484 to 262 yards, including a 281-150 difference on the ground.

“That touchdown at the end of the first half was a backbreaker,” said CMU fourth-year head coach John Elliott. “We didn’t outplay (Maryland) at the start, but we were holding our ground and would have really benefited by leading at halftime. There’s still clearly a gap between us and the Maryland-level schools, which is expected. But we would have liked to perform better over the 60-minute period, especially when we had a couple of leads in the first half.”

The hosts had no answer for Maryland tailback Da’Rel Scott, who rushed for 255 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries. However, it was quarterback Chris Turner who would open the scoring with 9:26 to go in the first quarter, as he hooked up with Haroon Brown on a flat route for a 12-yard touchdown. Matt Johnson managed to force an aborted extra point and dragged down the holder, keeping the score at 6-0.

After a couple of empty drives on both sides, CMU broke through with 12:58 remaining in the half as Jim Manning scored on a 10-yard scamper. The extra point was tried and true to put the hosts ahead 7-6, but the Terrapins answered on the legs of Scott, as he ran in untouched from 22 yards out to make it 13-7.

The Tartans answered Scott’s call on the next drive, as Justin Keyes evaded the pass rush to hit Kevin Cousins in the corner of the end zone from 18 yards out. That made the score 14-13 in favor of CMU, a score that nearly held at the break before Scott ripped off a 46-yard run to move Maryland into the red zone. Two plays later, Turner found Torrey Smith from six yards out to make it 19-14 at the break.

A long drive to begin the second half ended in a Kurt Thompson fumble, ending the Tartans’ chance at retaking the lead. The Terrapins then rattled off an extended drive of their own and cashed in with a Scott two-yard plunge to extend the gap to 26-14. Keyes overthrew Cousins on a deep post and Carlos Arnold snagged his first of two interceptions, and another long drive ended in a payoff as Scott dove in from a yard out to make it 33-14 in the fourth quarter, ultimately sealing the game.

Keyes threw for 112 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-20 passing, but was hampered with three interceptions. Manning continued his streak of 100-yard games, netting 119 on 18 carries and the second-quarter trip to paydirt.

Carnegie Mellon returns to Mid-American Conference (MAC) play next week at home when it hosts Kent State on Saturday, November 21.

Maryland Terrapins at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Nov 14, 2009	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Maryland Terrapins (5-5)	6	13	7	17	43
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (5-5)	0	14	0	0	14

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MD	CMU
9:26	(MD) Chris Turner 12-yard pass to Haroon Brown (run failed)	6	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MD	CMU
12:58	(CMU) Jim Manning 10-yard run (Jon Foster kick)	6	7
6:33	(MD) Da’Rel Scott 22-yard run (Patrick Clay kick)	13	7
2:51	(CMU) Justin Keyes 18-yard pass to Kevin Cousins (Jon Foster kick)	13	14
0:17	(MD) Chris Turner 6-yard pass to Torrey Smith (pass failed)	19	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MD	CMU
7:42	(MD) Da’Rel Scott 2-yard run (Patrick Clay kick)	26	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MD	CMU
12:56	(MD) Da’Rel Scott 1-yard run (Patrick Clay kick)	33	14
5:49	(MD) Patrick Clay 26-yard field goal	36	14
2:16	(MD) Da'Rel Scott 1-yard run (Patrick Clay kick)	43	14

Maryland Terrapins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chris Turner 19/33 203 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Da'Rel Scott 30 255 8.5 4 Andre Ellington 2 14 7.0 0 Haroon Brown 2 13 6.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tony Logan 6 37 6.2 0 Torrey Smith 4 80 20.0 1 Orson Charles 2 27 13.5 0 Quinton McCree 2 22 11.0 0 Devonte Campbell 2 9 4.5 0 Haroon Brown 1 12 12.0 1 Isaiah Pead 1 10 10.0 0 Da'Rel Scott 1 6 6.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Tyrone Jackson 6 0 0 0 Courtney Upshaw 4 0 1 0 Deege Galt 4 0 0 0 Hakeem Sule 4 0 0 0 Carlos Arnold 0 0 2 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Patrick Clay 1/1 4/4 7 26 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Ted Townsley 2 111 55.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Anthony Wiseman 2 31 15.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Da'Rel Scott 1 9 9.0 0

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 15/20 112 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jim Manning 18 119 6.6 1 Justin Keyes 5 30 6.0 0 Korey Harper 1 7 7.0 0 Nate Satele 1 6 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kevin Cousins 6 51 8.5 1 Kurt Thompson 4 26 6.5 0 David Young 2 9 4.5 0 Jim Manning 1 20 20.0 0 Issac Schroeder 1 -1 -1.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Matt Burnsides 6 0 0 0 Mark Toth 6 0 0 0 Chris Hill 4 0 0 0 Elvis Washington 4 0 0 0 David Brown 3 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jon Foster 0/0 2/2 2 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Andy Fitzhugh 2 102 51.0 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Calvin Burton 6 149 24.8 0 Stephen Carter 1 20 20.0 0