INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks totaled 497 yards, including 273 on the ground, but missed extra points doomed IUP in a 34-33 loss to Kutztown in the 2015 season opener on Saturday afternoon at George P. Miller Stadium.
 
Sophomore running back Chris Temple (Malvern, Pa. /Great Valley) finished with 195 rushing yards and a touchdown, while redshirt freshman quarterback Lenny Williams (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) had 215 yards of total offense and two scores in the loss.
 
The Crimson Hawks had six offensive plays of at least 20 yards, including four rushes, and intercepted three passes on Saturday.
 
Temple had three of those long runs, with runs of 43 and 37 yards and a touchdown jaunt of 23 yards. Williams had a 33-yard touchdown run and also connected with CJ Jackson (Gibsonia, Pa. /Pine-Richland) for a 23-yard pass play and Walt Pegues (Philadelphia, Pa. /Central) for a 63-yard touchdown.
 
Pegues finished with seven catches for 115 yards and a score, while Swahneek Brown (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) had seven receptions for 59 yards.
 
Brown had the first score of the game, has Chase Haslett (Clayton, Mo./Clayton) found the redshirt freshman on a back-shoulder fade for a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Kutztown evened things at 7-7 in the second quarter before Temple's run put IUP on top 14-6.
 
Defensive end Matt Mowad (Easton, Pa. /Easton) gave IUP momentum heading into halftime, intercepting a Chad Barton pass on the ensuing possession and racing 23 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to give the Crimson Hawks a 21-6 lead heading to the break.
 
Williams had the first score of the second half, racing to a 33-yard score. The Golden Bears (1-1) narrowed the gap to 27-20 with a pair of short touchdown runs in the third quarter.
 
The Crimson Hawks seemed to find the energy they needed early in the fourth, with Williams finding Pegues on a seam route for a 63-yard touchdown early on as IUP took a 33-20 lead after the second failed extra point attempt of the game.
 
Kutztown scored with 7:26 left to narrow the gap to 33-27 before going on top 34-33 with 5:18 to go.
 
The Crimson Hawks took over and Williams led the team down to the Kutztown 33-yard line, but a holding penalty negated a first down pass play and would eventually lead to a turnover on downs as the Golden Bears took possession. IUP had one last chance, but a fourth down pass from Williams to Pegues fell incomplete as Kutztown came away with the comeback win.
 
Williams finished 12-of-24 for 163 yards and a score. Haslett started the game and went 8-of-12 for 61 yards and a touchdown. Temple's 195 yards came on 18 carries, averaging 10.4 yards per carry. Williams had 13 carries for 52 yards, while Luigi Lista-Brinza (McKees Rocks, Pa. /Central Catholic) finished with 26 yards on the ground.
 
Jordan Brown (Chambersburg, Pa. /Chambersburg Area) finished with 144 all-purpose yards, including 124 on five kickoff returns.
 
Karon Gibson (Sicklerville, N.J./Woodbury) had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks defensively for IUP. Kevin Clarke (West Mifflin, Pa. /West Mifflin) also had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Mowad, Jay Watkins (Chester, Pa. /Hyde School) and Jordan Batts (Homestead, Pa. /Jeannette) all had interceptions, while Mowad and Clarke combined for 1.5 sacks.
 
The Crimson Hawks will host Lock Haven next Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
For up-to-datefi game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.