Call for backup [The Meadville Tribune, Pa.]

Sept. 12--MEADVILLE -- Allegheny coach Mark Matlak wanted to get David Strawser on the field.

The problem was Strawser's path to playing time was blocked by record-setting quarterback T.J. Salopek, so Matlak turned to some outside-the-tackle-box thinking.

"He is such a great athlete we had to find a way to get him on the field," Matlak said. " We decided to turn him loose."

Strawser, who was moved from quarterback to wide receiver this season, responded by scoring three touchdowns in a game for the first time in his life and had six catches for 127 yards as Allegheny erased a seven-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Carnegie Mellon, 34-27, in non-conference action at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

"Being T.J.'s backup was great, but it's always better to get in the game," Strawser said. "I'm just glad I can help out."

Salopek passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns for his second straight game. The senior passed Bubba Smith, a 2003 graduate, as the school's career passing yardage leader with 6,093 career yards. Salopek passed the mark in the second quarter on a 9-yard swing pass to Terry Hartford with 10:23 before halftime.

"(The record) is special. It means a lot to me," Salopek said.

The next pass he hit a wide-open Nick Griffin over the middle for a 34-yard gain. But after that Salopek struggled, connecting on two of his next eight attempts for six yards and was sacked once.

"The defense made some adjustments," Salopek said.

Allegheny (2-0) led 13-10 at halftime on a Salopek pass to Strawser and a 35-yard and a career-best 48-yard field goal by Ryan Zipf.

"The coaches made some good adjustments, and we really brought it in the second half," Salopek said.

Not that the Gators got much opportunity in the third quarter. Led by freshman quarterback Rob Kalkstein, who finished 10-of-18 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, Carnegie Mellon (1-1) ran 22 plays in the third quarter compared to three for the Gators and the Tartans took a 20-13 lead.

"I thought our quarterback did a nice job making some good decisions," Lackner said.

Salopek missed his first attempt of the second half, but on the Gators' second drive at the start of the fourth quarter, Salopek reconnected with Strawser. On first down, he found Strawser for a 46-yard gain that took the Gators from their own 21 to the Carnegie Mellon 33.

One play later, the two combined again for a 21-yard gain. The next play was a 6-yard gain on a direct snap to Strawser, who lined up in the quarterback slot with Salopek lined up as a wideout. Then Salopek found Strawser on a 3-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 20 with .2 seconds left in the third quarter.

To start the fourth quarter, Allegheny ended one CMU drive with a fantastic Sid Facaros interception.

He made an acrobatic one-handed grab for an interception early in the fourth quarter, but as graceful as the catch was, Facaros said he was frustrated when he was brought down by an offensive lineman after an 18-yard return.

"I've got to work on my moves," Facaros said.

The Gators stumbled on offense, punting after three plays. Allegheny's defense stiffened and forced the Tartans to punt.

The Gators took over at their own 36 and after a 10-yard gain, Salopek hit Terry Hartford in stride for a 54-yard touchdown and a 27-20 lead with 9:42 left in the game.

The next Tartan possession ended when Colin Hartford picked off a pass at the Allegheny 10-yard line with 8:47 left in the game.

In a game full of big pass plays, it was a grind-it-out 15-play drive, 6-minute, 29-second drive that iced the game for the Gators.

The critical play came with Allegheny facing a third-and-11 on its own 41 with about 5:00 left in the game and the Gators clinging to a 27-20 lead. The Tartans were tagged with a 15-yard face mask penalty on 5-yard pass play from Salopek to Robert Carlisle, which gave the Gators a first down on the CMU 39.

"That's a game-changing play. Allegheny probably would have punted there," Carnegie Mellon coach Rich Lackner said. "I want to see the tape because I don't think anybody in America saw a facemask on that play. One guy did."

Six plays later Salopek found Strawser for a 16-yard score with 2:18 left in the game.

"We knew it was going to be hard to shut these guys down," Allegheny safety Sid Facaros said. "It's the Wing-T (offense). You have to be really disciplined. Sometimes we did make some mistakes, but overall coming out with the win is the most important thing."

Carnegie Mellon bounced back to score a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game, but couldn't recover the onside kick.

The win sets up the Gators for a showdown with 2-0 Wittenberg, which is ranked eighth by d3football.com.

Notes: Strawser's three-score game marked the first time Allegheny had a receiver with three touchdowns in one game since Dallas Robinson hauled in three against Oberlin in 2006. ... Andrew DeJong continued his strong play, averaging 53.5 yards on his three punts. ... David Tate returned to the lineup after missing four games last year with a shoulder injury. He ran six times for 25 yards. ... Salopek threw an interception on the first play of the game. ... While the run game wasn't outstanding Saturday, the Gators averaged 3.2 yards per rush. "It was enough," Matlak said.

Dominick DiRienzo can be reached at 724-6370, ext. 274 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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