INDIANA, Pa. – Senior linebacker Kevin Clarke (West Mifflin, Pa. /West Mifflin) returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to ice the game with 2:35 left, helping 11th-ranked IUP football hold on for a 31-20 win over visiting Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon at Miller Stadium.
 
Clarke finished with 14 tackles, including one for loss, and broke up another pass in addition to that game-clinching interception. The Crimson Hawks improved to 8-1 overall on the year and finishes with a 6-1 mark in the Western Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
The pick was one of two in the final minutes for the Crimson Hawks, as junior corner Jay Watkins (Chester, Pa. /Hyde School) grabbed another interception on the sideline on Mercyhurst's very next offensive play with 2:23 left.
 
Those plays secured a victory for IUP in a game which it lost starting quarterback Lenny Williams, Jr. (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) due to injury. Williams went down on the Crimson Hawks' second drive with the game tied at 7-7. He had opened IUP's scoring with a 69-yard scoring toss to junior wideout Walt Pegues (Philadelphia, Pa. /Central) the previous possession.
 
Backup quarterback Mike Pietropola (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro) played the rest of the way, going 6-of-16 for 138 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
 
That touchdown came on his first drive, finding Pegues for another deep score, this one 84 yards down the seam. The Pietropola-to-Pegues hookup tied the game at 14-14.
 
Pegues had three catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
 
Mercyhurst (2-8, 1-6) played inspired for all four quarters, outgaining IUP 392-to-367 on the day. Running back Richie Sanders was a consistent ground gainer for the Lakers, totaling 135 rushing yards on 25 carries. He also had four receptions for 25 yards, returned two kickoffs for 59 yards, and had 13 yards on a pair of punt returns.
 
Lakers quarterback Doug Altavilla went 22-for-37 for 243 yards and a touchdown, getting sacked twice while tossing the two fourth quarter picks.
 
Mercyhurst also held a big advantage in time of possession, holding onto the ball for 37:41 compared to just 22:19 for the Crimson Hawks. That edge was even bigger in the first half, with the Lakers owning a 21:37 to 8:23 advantage.
 
The Crimson Hawks took a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter on a 39-yard touchdown run by junior running back Chris Temple (Malvern, Pa. /Great Valley). The score came right after a roughing the punter penalty extended IUP's drive.
 
Even though Temple didn't see extended playing time, he did finish with 127 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, an average of 10.6 yards per rush.
 
Mercyhurst kept the game close at halftime with a 36 yard field goal by Dylan Klondis midway through the third. Klondis made just 2-of-5 of his field goal attempts on the day.
 
IUP's Ryan Stewart (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), Klondis' counterpart, extended the lead to 24-17 on the first drive of the second half. That was the only score of the third quarter, with Klondis' attempt later on getting blocked by Ronald Womack to keep the Crimson Hawks' lead at seven. It was the Crimson Hawks' seventh blocked kick of the year.
 
The Lakers threatened at the beginning of the fourth, using a mix of runs and passes to work their way down to the IUP four. The defensive line didn't give up any ground as Jordan Diven (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny), Jemal Averette (Upper Marlboro, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) and Diamond Jones (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) came up with big stops to force a third-and-goal. Altavilla was then flushed from the pocket and threw an incomplete pass on third down, with Klondis connecting from 21 yards out to make it a 24-20 ballgame.
 
Each team had the ball twice more in the fourth quarter before Clarke's big play, as the linebacker dropped back into open space and read Altavilla's eyes for the interceptions, racing down the left sideline for the score. It was Clarke's third interception of the year.
 
Averette finished with nine total tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and a sack. Linebacker Myles Catlin (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Obama) also had nine tackles, and senior safety Steve Franco (Tyrone, Pa. /Tyrone ) had seven tackles and two pass breakups. Diven added a sack and had two tackles-for-loss.
 
It was the final divisional game for the Crimson Hawks, who will finish the regular season next weekend with a Senior Day matchup against Bloomsburg (6-4, 4-3). Kickoff next week is at 1 p.m. at Miller Stadium.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.