WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks' defense picked off four passes and redshirt junior quarterback
Lenny Williams, Jr. (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) threw three touchdown passes to lead IUP to the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship with a 24-7 win at West Chester on Saturday.
It's the fourth PSAC Championship game win in IUP history as first year head coach
Paul Tortorella has led the Crimson Hawks to the program's third ever 11-0 record.
The win guarantees IUP a spot in the upcoming NCAA Division II Championships, something the Crimson Hawks have nearly had a strangle hold of as they've been No. 1 in the Super Region One rankings each of the last three weeks.
It is very likely that IUP will remain at the top of those rankings, which means home field advantage throughout the regional bracket, and a first round bye they start on Saturday, Nov. 18. IUP will then host the winner of the 4/5 game on Saturday, Nov. 25.
The conference title is the first for the Crimson Hawks since 2012, a 41-7 win over Shippensburg at George P. Miller Stadium. It's also the third over West Chester, as IUP defeated the Golden Rams to capture titles in 1986 and 1987.
Williams earned Most Valuable Player honors, completing 10-of-15 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 36 rushing yards on nine carries.
All three touchdown passes came in the opening half, as the Crimson Hawks used a bruising running game and big play throws from Williams to his deep and talented group of receivers. IUP's opening drive of the game ended in a 15-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore
Dom McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa./Martin Luther King), followed by a 7-yard scoring pass to graduate
Chris Wuestner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) less than six minutes later.
That second scoring catch was set up by a 52-yard play from Williams to Wuestner down to the West Chester 6-yard line.
West Chester (8-3, 6-1 PSAC East) fought back to make it a 14-7 game to start the second quarter, taking advantage of broken coverage in the IUP secondary for a 36-yard scoring toss. IUP answered that score with a spectacular 40-yard catch and run from Williams to redshirt sophomore Kolbe Hughes to make it a 21-7 game midway through the second quarter.
The Crimson Hawks' defense dominated after West Chester's touchdown, limiting the Golden Rams to a combined 94 yards on its remaining nine offensive drives. All four IUP interceptions came in the fourth quarter, and came from junior safety
Mike Pietropola (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro), redshirt sophomore cornerback
JR Stevens (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy), junior safety
Mikale Makle (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglas), and senior safety Max Redfield.
Pietropola's came minutes after his 56-yard punt return for a touchdown was brought back after a block in the back penalty.
The IUP defensive line was also a massive problem for West Chester, as junior
Deandre Easterling (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga) had two sacks and sophomore
Dondrea Tillman (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) added another. Senior
Justin Weldon (Easton, Pa. /Easton Area) made plays on the interior, finishing with two tackles-for-loss.
West Chester managed a season-low 197 total yards against the IUP defense, converting just 1-of-10 third down chances. IUP limited 1,000-yard rusher Jarel Elder to just 49 yards on 12 carries as the Golden Rams totaled just 30 yards on the ground.
More proof of IUP's defensive dominance: The seven points and 197 total yards by West Chester are the lowest totals since managing seven points and 193 yards in its 2011 season finale in a loss to … IUP.
Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 3 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 and No. 1 in the D2Football.com Media Top 25 … This is IUP's third ever 11-0 start, with the other two coming in the program's national finalist seasons of 1991 and 1993 … Coach Tortorella is the only IUP first year coach to start his career with an 11-0 record … IUP was making its seventh appearance in a PSAC title game and West Chester its 16th … In the first quarter, sophomore running back
Samir Bullock (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) hit the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his career … Lenny Williams moved into second all-time at IUP in career total offense with 7,856 yards and total touchdowns with 73 … He also moved into sixth place with 5,747 career passing yards … The IUP defense continued its second half dominance, limiting West Chester to just 79 yards in the final 30 minutes.
Up next
IUP will await official word from the NCAA on its playoff seeding as the brackets will be released on Sunday at 5 p.m. Check out IUPAthletics.com and NCAA.com for more information.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
