INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks rushed for 372 yards while the defense allowed 285 total yards and scored a touchdown of its own as IUP defeated Lock Haven 38-13 at George P. Miller Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The running game was led by sophomore back
Drew Harris (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), who ran for a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Sophomore
Luigi Lista-Brinza (McKees Rocks, Pa. /Central Catholic) added 84 yards on 14 carries while freshman
Shannon Jackson (Fairview, Pa. /Fairview) had 68 yards on just four carries, including a 61-yarder in the fourth. Freshman quarterback
Lenny Williams (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) carried it 10 times for 65 yards.
Lista-Brinza, Jackson, and Williams each ran for a touchdown, as IUP totaled four scores on the ground.
The Crimson Hawks improved to 1-1, rebounding from a season-opening loss to Kutztown last weekend. Lock Haven remains winless at 0-3.
The 372 rushing yards are the most for IUP since the Crimson Hawks ran for 388 yards against Slippery Rock in 2012.
Also adding to the rushing total today was graduate quarterback
Chase Haslett (Clayton, Mo./Clayton) with 18, sophomore receiver
Walt Pegues (Philadelphia, Pa. /Central) with 12, sophomore running back
Chris Temple (Malvern, Pa. /Great Valley) with 11, and freshman receiver
Isiah Mims (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) with five. On 53 total rushes, the Crimson Hawks lost a total of six yards and averaged 7.0 yards per carry.
The IUP defense limited Lock Haven to 120 yards on the ground and 165 yards in the air. The Crimson Hawks picked off two passes, with senior linebacker
Dorian Lane (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Woodland Hills) returning a third quarter interception 19 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore cornerback
Allen Wright (McKeesport, Pa. /McKeesport Area) ended another Lock Haven third quarter drive with his first interception of the year.
The Crimson Hawks totaled nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, with senior defensive end
Karon Gibson (Sicklerville, N.J./Woodbury) totaling three. Gibson finished with eight total tackles and combined with sophomore interior lineman
Jemal Averette (Upper Marlboro, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) for a third quarter sack. Freshman end
Deandre Easterling (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga) tallied his first career sack to go along with five total tackles and two-for-loss.
Junior linebacker
Kevin Clarke (West Mifflin, Pa. /West Mifflin) finished with a game-high 14 tackles, including one behind the line and also broke up a pass. Lane had seven tackles while junior
Ackeno Robertson (Philadelphia, Pa. /Parkway Northwest) and sophomore
Jay Watkins (Chester, Pa. /Hyde School) each had five tackles. Watkins also broke up four passes on the day.
It was a slow start for both teams, as Lock Haven got a 34-yard field goal by Alex Boumerhi to end the first quarter and take a 3-0 lead. IUP tied things up with a 22-yard field goal with 4:31 to play in the second and took a 10-3 lead after a 22-yard run by Harris with 1:33 to go before the half.
Williams scored from seven yards out to start the second half scoring at the 11:10 mark, followed by Lane's touchdown return just one minute later. The Crimson Hawks then added two-yard scores by Lista-Brinza and Jackson in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.
The game featured several turnovers and penalties. IUP lost three fumbles and Williams threw an interception, in addition to Lock Haven's pair of turnovers. The teams combined for 19 total penalties for 223 yards, including an illegal block that wiped out a 56-yard punt return for a score by
Walt Pegues (Philadelphia, Pa. /Central).
The Crimson Hawks will look for their second win of the year when they head to Erie next Saturday to face the 3-0 Mercyhurst Lakers on their Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
