Gameday Central | Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME: The Crimson Hawks advance to the second round of the 2012 NCAA Division II Football Championships as they travel to face New Haven on Saturday afternoon. IUP moves on after a 27-17 victory over Shepherd at home in the first round while the Chargers received a bye last week due to their No. 2 seeding. IUP enters as the No. 3 seed.

ON THE AIR: The game will air live on WQMU-FM 92.5 with Jack Benedict serving as the play-by-play announcer and John Flickinger at his side as the color analyst. The two will be joined by sideline reporter Greg Drahuschak. The pregame show begins at 11:30 a.m.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) has IUP back into the playoffs in just his second year of a rebuilding plan. After going 7-3 and finishing second in the PSAC West with a 5-2 record in 2011, Cignetti led the Crimson Hawks to a 11-1 mark and a conference championship in 2012. This is Cignetti's 30th year of coaching, with previous stops at Alabama (07-10), NC State (00-06), Pittsburgh (83-84, 93-99) Temple (89-92), Rice (86-88) and Davidson (85). Two of his most notable pupils have been WR Julio Jones at Alabama and QB Philip Rivers at NC State.

THE SERIES: This will be the ninth meeting between the two schools with IUP holding a 5-3 series lead. The first meeting came in the second round of the 1993 NCAA playoffs in one of IUP's most exciting victories, winning 38-35 in Conn.

RANKINGS: The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season ranked 11th in the AFCA coaches poll and 12th by the D2Football.com media poll. New Haven is 3rd and 4th, respectively in those polls. IUP will be the first ranked team the Chargers have faced all season.

PLAYOFFS: IUP is back to the NCAA postseason for the 15th time in program history and first in five years. IUP has an all-time record of 16-14 in those 14 previous trips, advancing to the national championship game in both 1990 and 1993. With six national semifinal appearances, IUP has a road playoff record of 7-11.

PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP: For the first time since 1987 (the title game was suspended from 1988-2007), IUP won the PSAC championship with a 41-10 blowout of Shippensburg two weeks ago. IUP has 3 title game wins and 17 PSAC West titles.

HAWK TALK

PLAYOFFS: WHAT'S NEXT... With a win over New Haven, IUP would advance to play either at No. 1 seed Winston-Salem or at home against No. 4 seed Shippensburg on Saturday, December 1.  play at No. 2 seed New Haven on Saturday, November 24. IUP has not reached the third round of the NCAA posteason since 1999.

GROUND AND POUND... The Crimson Hawks have one of the best running games in the nation, averaging 278.5 yards per game, good for 9th in the nation. Facing DII's top run defense in Shepherd last week, IUP ran for 202 yards, 162 more than the Rams average given up during the year.

DYNAMIC DUO... IUP boasts arguably the top running tandem in the region, with Sr. RBs Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and De'Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge). Both have gone over the 1000-yard mark with Tuck rushing for 1612 yards and 15 TDs this season while Williams has 1090 yards and 9 TDs.

TUCK'S TRUCKIN'... Easily one of the best backs in the nation, Tuck is 10th in Division II with 134.4 rushing yds/game even though he's battled an injury for the past 3 contests. Averaging an impressive 6.3 yds/carry, he's surpassed 200 yards in a game 4 times and was one of 24 original candidates for the Harlon Hill Award.

THE ROCKET... Williams has filled in admirably for Tuck, averaging 135.7 yards with 3 TDs in the last 3 games. “The Rocket” has hit the 100-yard mark 4 times this year, including a career-high 158 against Slippery Rock.

OUT OF THE BOX... Taking over behind center against Cal, Jr. QB Mike Box (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) is 8-0 as the starter, throwing for 11 TDs and 2 picks since. He's had a very productive 5-game stretch, completing 59 pct of his passes (45-78) for 776 yards, while throwing 9 TDs with just one pick.

WHEN IT COUNTS... Jr. WR Terrill Barnes (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) has gotten hot at the right time, catching 10 passes for 179 yards and 4 TDs in the last 2 games. He had 7 for 124 and 3 scores against Shippensburg while also rushing twice for 53 yards on reverses.

BEST DEFENSE IN THE NATION... IUP boasts arguably the top defense in the nation this year, ranking near the top of Division II in several categories including total defense (1st - 243.3); scoring defense (2nd - 11.7 ppg); rushing defense (4th - 76.3 ypg); and passing defense (t-10th - 167.0 ypg). The Crimson Hawks limited Shippensburg, the nation's No. 1 offense, to just 272 yards and 10 points, 452 yards and 43 points below its season averages.

IUP is also 1st in the nation in first downs allowed (14.00/game), 9th in pass efficiency (97.35 rating), and 16th in third down efficiency (50/157; 31.85%).

SUFFOCATING... That IUP run defense has been practically suffocating this season, allowing an average of 76.3 rushing yards per game. The Crimson Hawks have allowed 100 yards 4 times and have given up just 8 TDs on the ground this year. Opponents are averaging a paltry 2.5 yards on 373 attempts.

MAKING PLAYS... Jr. LB Carl Fleming (Reisterstown, MD/Franklin) has been on a tear in the last 2 games, racking up 25 tackles and returning 2 interceptions for a total of 117 yards and 2 TDs. He was named the PSAC championship game MVP with 12 tackles and a 40 yard interception return for a score and added a 77-yard return for TD against Shepherd last week. 

NO PLAYS FOR YOU... IUP is 2nd in the nation by allowing its opponents to run just 58.8 plays per game. Just three times this year IUP opponents have run more than 65 plays, with the most being Shippensburg with 71.

WINNING THE BATTLE... One reason for IUP's success is winning the turnover battle, as the Crimson Hawks are tied for 3rd in the nation with a turnover margin of +20. Forcing 32 turnovers this year (19 int, 13 fum), IUP has forced 3+ turnovers in a game 8 times, including each of the past 4 contests.

TACKLE MACHINE... Jr. LB Alexander Berdahl (Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell) leads the team in tackles with 84, including 40 solo stops. He can make plays all over the field, posting 7.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, and 3 interceptions, including 2 in the last 2 weeks.

GETTING TO THE QB... The Crimson Hawks are 4th in the PSAC and tied for 33rd in the nation in sacks, getting to the quarterback 30 times this season. Sr. DT Carl Thornton (Beaver Falls/Beaver Falls) leads the way with 7.0 sacks while So. DE Shane Meisner (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield ) has 5.5.

BLOCK THAT KICK... IUP has blocked three FGs and PATs this year, with Thornton getting his hands on 2 and Jr. DB Terrell Holloway (Penn Hills/Penn Hills) blocking another. 

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS

OVERALL.. The Northeast-10 Conference champions for the third consecutive year, New Haven finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and earned the No. 2 seed in Super Region One.

OFFENSE... The Chargers bring in a balanced attack as they average 235.2 passing yards and 193.5 rushing yards per game. They're 40.7 points per game is 16th in the nation, going for 40-plus six different times. A pair of QBs have seen time behind center and have each flourished, as Ryan Osiecki averages 226.0 yards per game with 14 TDs in 6 starts while Ronnie Nelson averages 109.7 yards per game with 18 TDs in 9 games. WR Jason Thompson is a game changer, averaging 19.3 yards per catch with 14 TDs. Three different backs get carries, with Mike DeCaro leading the way with 562 yards and 7 TDs.

DEFENSE... The Chargers give up just 74 yards per game on the ground and 202 through the air, as they're ranked 6th in the nation in total defense. They've been consistent for the most part, giving up 21 or more points twice, including 41 in a win over Stonehill on a nationally televised Thursday night game. DE Tom Herd is been dominant with 10.0 sacks while FS Bernard Risco leads the team with 4 picks. The New Haven defense has produced 14 turnovers this season, including 7 fumble recoveries and 7 interceptions.

SPECIAL TEAMS... Chris Scifo has been nearly perfect, converting 47-48 XPs and 8-10 FGs with a long of 45 yards. DeCaro is the main returner, averaging 27.5 yards on kickoffs with a 97 yard TD.