INDIANA, Pa. – Redshirt junior quarterback
Lenny Williams, Jr. (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) totaled 275 yards and four touchdowns to help lead top-seeded IUP football to a 44-10 blowout win over West Chester in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday afternoon.
Williams finished 13-of-22 through the air for 234 yards and three scores, adding 41 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
With the victory, the Crimson Hawks (12-0) advance to the Super Region One Championship game next weekend. They'll host third seed Assumption (11-1) on Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium. Assumption, which is out of the Northeast-10 Conference, defeated Findlay 45-26 to advance.
Williams led an IUP offense that totaled 558 yards on the afternoon, including 324 on the ground and 234 via the pass. The Crimson Hawks averaged 8.5 yards per play, with seven plays of 20-plus yards, including three touchdowns of 49 yards or more.
IUP scored on six of its eight first half possessions, opening up the game with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Williams to redshirt sophomore
Dom McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa./Martin Luther King). He was one of five players with a reception on Saturday, with senior
Allen Wright (McKeesport, Pa. /McKeesport Area) catching seven balls for 76 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that gave IUP a 24-0 lead.
Williams also ran for a touchdown in the first half, plunging in from one yard out on third down.
Redshirt sophomore place kicker
Dillon Sarka (Lebanon, Ohio/Waynesville) put together a strong first half, converting three field goal attempts from 37, 38 and 43 yards. His longest came on an untimed down at the end of the second quarter to give IUP a 30-0 lead heading into halftime.
That score was set up by a 53-yard run down the left side by freshman running back
Justice Evans (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), opening up a drive that started at the IUP six.
Evans showed more of his game-breaking ability in the third quarter, sprinting 68 yards for a touchdown with just under six minutes to go. Evans finished with a career-high 133 rushing yards on just five carries.
The last big play came courtesy of Williams and senior receiver
Walt Pegues (Philadelphia, Pa. /Central), who hooked up for a 62-yard touchdown near the end of the third quarter.
The IUP defense was as equally dominant, limiting the Golden Rams (9-4) to 232 yards of total offense. West Chester quarterbacks Paul Dooley and AJ Long combined to go 9-of-28 for 111 yards and a touchdown, with IUP defenders totaling five sacks.
Senior safety
Max Redfield (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) was one of several standouts in the defensive backfield, finishing with six tackles, two pass breakups, and forced a fumble.
The defense, led by the stout line, finished with 14 tackles-for-loss with three coming from junior end
Deandre Easterling (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga). Those 14 TFLs are a single-game high for arguably the best defense in the country.
Highlighted by Sarka's field goals, IUP also excelled on special teams. Redshirt sophomore
Zac Kelly (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville North) went airborne to block a West Chester punt, which led to Sarka's second field goal of the game and a 27-0 lead. Solo tackles on kickoffs by McNeil,
Chris Wuestner (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle),
John McDonald-Horner (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) and
Shelby Wilkerson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) limited West Chester game-breaker Jarel Elder on return attempts.
Notes
The playoff game was the first of this postseason for the Crimson Hawks, who earned a first round bye as the top seed in the region … IUP also owns home field advantage throughout the regional bracket … IUP is one of two No. 1 regional seeds left heading into the eight-team quarterfinal round … This is the second time since 2012 that IUP will play for a regional title, falling to Winston Salem State 21-17 on the road that season … Williams broke IUP's career total offense record on Saturday, moving past Andrew Krewatch (8,043) with 8,131 yards in 33 career games … He also has 29 passing touchdowns and 2,600 passing yards this year, numbers that rank second and fifth, respectively, in single-season history at IUP … Pegues played in just his fourth game of the year, but extended his consecutive catch streak to 37 games with two receptions for 69 yards … Wright's 68 catches this year are the second most in IUP single season history, behind only Len Pesotini (74, 1975) … Easterling has 14.0 tackles-for-loss this year, the most since Mike Gee had 19.0 in 2010 … Kelly's punt block was IUP's six blocked kick of the season … Evans now has five rushes of 50 or more yards this season, including a long of 72.
Up next
The Super Region One Championship game between IUP and Assumption will kick off at noon on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Miller Stadium.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
