INDIANA, Pa. – The sixth-ranked IUP defense intercepted five passes and gave up just 287 total yards as the Crimson Hawks blew past Edinboro for a 38-7 victory in the 2017 division opener on Saturday afternoon at George P. Miller Stadium.
Sophomore linebacker
Damon Lloyd (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) had two of those five interceptions, while also breaking up a pass and tallying six total tackles for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.
The other interceptions came from senior safety
Max Redfield (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo), redshirt sophomore cornerback
Anthony Davis (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), and graduate defensive end
Matt Mowad (Easton, Pa. /Easton).
The swarming IUP defense limited Edinboro to just 287 yards of total offense. The Fighting Scots (2-2, 0-1) came into the weekend averaging nearly 400 yards and 26 points. Edinboro also converted just five of 14 third down chances and gained 66 rushing yards on the afternoon. Sophomore linebacker
Nick Amendola (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) led the defense with 14 tackles, including 10 solo.
The Crimson Hawks used another strong offensive output to overcome 11 penalties called against them totaling 104 yards.
Redshirt junior quarterback
Lenny Williams, Jr. (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) led the offensive attack, finishing with 334 total yards and four touchdowns. All four scores came through the air, as he finishing 18-of-27 passing for 274 yards. The four touchdowns are a career-high for Williams, who also rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries.
Three of Williams' touchdown tosses went to redshirt sophomore receiver
JoJo Gause (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), who finished with 84 yards on six catches. Gause's first touchdown came in the opening quarter, tiptoeing down the sideline for 25 yards. He also caught a pair of 12-yarders to bookend the scoring in the third quarter.
Williams also found redshirt junior receiver
Swahneek Brown (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) for a 20-yard touchdown to open the day's scoring. Sophomore back
Samir Bullock (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) had a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and redshirt sophomore kicker
Dillon Sarka (Lebanon, Ohio/Waynesville) connected on a 34-yard field goal in the third.
Bullock finished with 70 rushing yards on 11 carries. Redshirt sophomore receiver
Dom McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa./Martin Luther King) was the biggest gainer of the day, catching four passes for a season-high 121 yards.
Notes
IUP came into today ranked sixth in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' poll and fourth in the D2Football.com Media top 25 … With today's win, IUP head coach
Paul Tortorella starts his head coaching career with a 4-0 record, tying Chuck Klausing (1964) for the best start by a head coach in program history … Five different coaches, including Klausing, started their IUP careers with 4-1 records, the best five-game start in program history … Williams jumped two spots to fourth place in IUP history with 6,255 career total yards, passing Scott Woods (6,105) and Rich Ingold (6,145) … Williams also tied Kevin Weidl for fourth in program history with 57 touchdowns responsible for … Redfield made his second interception in as many games … Senior receiver
Allen Wright (McKeesport, Pa. /McKeesport Area) returned a kickoff 75 yards, his only kick return of the season.
Up next
After four straight home games to open the season, IUP will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Greensburg to take on Seton Hill (0-4, 0-1). Kickoff next Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
