NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster football team clinched a spot for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship game with a 32-22 win over Carnegie Mellon to finish out the regular season undefeated.
 
Westminster (4-0, 3-0 PAC) broke a 15-15 third-quarter tie when junior quarterback Cole Konieczka (Coraopolis, PA / Moon Area) found first-year Tylon Eilam (Sharon, PA / Sharon Area) for a 30-yard touchdown pass, putting the Titans up 22-15 - capping off an 8-play, 69-yard drive with 2:20 left in the third. Senior kicker Dylan Kidder (East Liverpool, OH / East Liverpool) extended the Titans' lead to 25-15 with a 29-yard field goal with 11:42 left in the game. Westminster's defense forced a three-and-out and four plays later, Konieczka found senior Ian Valente (Johnstown, PA / Westmont Hilltop) for an electrifying touchdown as Valente caught the ball at Westminster's 45-yard line and outran Carnegie Mellon's defense for 71 yards to pay dirt– the first touchdown of Valente's career and a career-long throw for Konieczka. Carnegie Mellon (2-2, 1-2 PAC) scored with two minutes left to bring the final score to 32-22.


 
Konieczka threw for a career-high 344 yards, the first 300-yard game of his career, including a season-high three touchdown tosses, and added a 20-yard touchdown run. Westminster had a pair of 100-yard receivers as Eilam and Valente both eclipsed the century mark with both career-highs of 125 and 123, respectively – the first time Westminster had two 100-yard receivers in a game since Collin Wallace and Toby Bonitz in 2013 and only the third time it has happened in the past 15 years. Eilam also finished with his first career game with two receiving touchdowns. Additionally, Valente totaled a career-high six catches and registered a game-high 80 yards-after-the-catch.
 
Titan sophomore Ryan Gomes (Tampa, FL / Walter L. Sickles) ran for a game- and career-high 97 yards, his second-straight 90-yard performance on the ground. Titan junior Ian Barr (State College, PA / State College Area) tied a game-high with a team-high eight tackles (including 1.5 sacks), while classmate Brayden Thimons (Natrona Heights, PA / Highlands) had a game-high 2.5 sacks. Senior Frank Antuono (New Castle, PA / Neshannock) also had a sack. Sophomore Luca Botti (Ellwood City, PA / Ellwood City) snagged his first career interception.
 
Westminster scored the first points of the game with a safety when Barr and Thimons sacked Carnegie Mellon's JD Dayhuff in the end zone, the Titans' first safety since 2011 (vs. Saint Vincent). The Titans were behind for the first time all season, down early 3-2, before regaining the lead and not trailing again.
 
The Titans will host Washington & Jefferson (3-0, 2-0), the winners of the PAC South, for the PAC Title next Friday, April 23 at 7 p.m.