NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College football team won 26-16 over Carnegie Mellon University in its homecoming game in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action on Saturday.

Titan sophomore Dominique McKinley (Greensburg, PA / Greensburg-Salem) and classmate Paul Columbo (Boca Raton, FL / West Boca Raton Community) rushed for 113 and 110 yards, respectively. Sophomore Kimu Kim (Canfield, OH / Canfield) scored a game-high two touchdowns on the ground, while tallying 53 yards off 13 carries.

The Titan defense held Carnegie Mellon running back Sam Benger to 83 yards on the ground. Coming into today's game, Benger led the nation in all divisions in rushing with 233.7 yards per contest. Junior Mac Quinn (Pittsburgh, PA / Northgate) led the Titan defense with a career- and game-high 16 tackles (10 solo), to go along with one tackle for a loss and one forced fumble. Westminster senior Rich Ellebie (Farrell, PA / Kennedy Christian) registered a game-high two sacks and now has a team-best four on the season.

For the game, Westminster out-gained Carnegie Mellon 486 yards (289 rushing/197 passing) to 197 yards (64 rushing/133 passing).

Westminster drove the ball down the field 86 yards on 11 plays on its first drive of the game for its first score. Kim rushed it in the end zone from one yard out. The Titans converted on a two-point conversion as Columbo found senior tight end Michael Frankowski (Imperial, PA / West Allegheny) for the score, putting Westminster up 8-0 with 9:19 on the clock.

Carnegie Mellon cut into Westminster's lead with a 32-yard field goal by Gabe Renna with 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Westminster took a 10-3 lead after a high snap went over Carnegie Mellon quarterback Andrew Hearon's head outside the back of the end zone for a safety.

Titan junior Justin Dahl (Cochranton, PA / Maplewood) extended the Titans' lead with 37-yard field goal with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter.

The Tartans scored late in the second quarter after Hearon found Graham Schilling for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Carnegie Mellon's drive included nine plays, 77 yards and time of possession of 4:05. Westminster blocked the extra-point attempt and led 13-9 with 1:38 remaining in the first half.

In the second half, Carnegie Mellon capitalized from a Titan fumble during a punt return at Westminster's nine-yard line. One play later, the Tartans scored from a nine-yard rush by Benger, taking their first lead of the game. The Tartans closed the Titans' lead to 16-13 following an extra point by Renna with 13:01 on the clock.

Westminster regained the lead after Columbo found freshman Lareese Jackson (West Palm Beach, FL / American Heritage) for a 33-yard touchdown pass. After a missed extra point attempt, the Titans led 19-16 with 14:45 remaining in the game.

The Titan defense stopped Carnegie Mellon on fourth-and-two at the Tartans' 38-yard line with under four minutes to go. Seven plays later, Kim added insurance for Westminster with his second touchdown run on the day, this time from four yards out. A Dahl extra point put Westminster in front 26-16 with 1:39 on the clock.

The Titans improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the PAC, while the Tartans dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

The Titans will next play at Thiel College next Saturday with a 3 p.m. start time.