GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College football team dropped a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, 58-0, Saturday afternoon to open the season at Alumni Stadium.

Thiel got the ball first to begin the game, but Carnegie Mellon was able to force a quick 3-and-out.

A bad snap on the ensuing punt set the Tartans up inside the Tomcats' 13 yard-line. The Thiel defense was able to hold the Carnegie Mellon offense to a field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, a fumble on the kickoff return was recovered by Carnegie Mellon inside the Thiel seven-yard-line. Two plays later, Carnegie Mellon punched it in from four yards out to give the Tartans a 10-0 lead.

On the next offensive possession for the Tomcats, a pair of penalties halted the drive, forcing a punt.

Carnegie Mellon reeled off three straight touchdown drives, through the same connection. Carnegie Mellon quarterback Ben Mills found Brendan McCullough for 33-yard, 34-yard and 21-yard touchdowns.

Coming out of halftime, Thiel recovered a fumble on the kickoff, giving them good field position, inside the Carnegie Mellon 41 yard-line. However, the Tomcats would be forced to punt.

With Carnegie Mellon driving down the field late in the third quarter, linebacker Jeffrey Badger (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area) intercepted a pass at the six yard-line to stop the drive.

After a botched snap early in the fourth quarter by Carnegie Mellon, Thiel started the drive at their own 46 yard-line.

Thiel was able to drive down the field, earning a first down and goal from the four yard-line. However, the Tartans would stuff the Tomcats on a fourth-and-one play from the one yard-line to force a turnover on downs. That would be Thiel's best scoring chance of the day.

For Thiel, Daniel Rennie (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis) went 19-for-26 for 73 yards passing. Deon Logan (Richmond, Va./James River) rushed for 48 yards on 11 attempts. Blake Joseph (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) caught five passes for 23 yards, while Jason Stone (Chester, Pa./Chester) caught six passes for 21 yards.

Defensively, Matt Jordan (New Castle, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) had seven tackles, including one tackle-for-loss. Jaellen Rose (Midlothian, Va./James River) and Tim Hill (Claymont, Del./Howard) both had five tackles, while Badger recorded four tackles and an interception.

For Carnegie Mellon, Mills went 9-for-14 for 159 yards and four touchdowns. Tre Vasiliadis had 41 yards on nine rushes with two touchdowns. McCullough had five catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively for the Tartans, Thomas Coury recorded eight tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and combined with Robert Coury for a sack. Robert Coury also forced a fumble.

The Tomcats will host the Washington & Jefferson Presidents next Saturday. The conference game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.