INDIANA, Pa. – Fourth-ranked IUP football picked up big plays in all three phases as the Crimson Hawks rolled up a 41-7 win over Millersville Thursday night at George P. Miller Stadium.
 
IUP did all its damage in the first half, scoring three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to grab a 41-0 lead at halftime. The win gives IUP a 2-0 record on the season.
 
The scoring came quick as senior running back Chris Temple banged up the middle from 1-yard out just 23 seconds into the game. His scoring run followed an 89-yard kickoff return by freshman Qashah Carter, who was pushed out of bounds before breaking the plane of the end zone. He finished with 133 yards on just two returns.
 
A 3-and-out by Millersville was followed by a 60-yard scoring pass from senior QB Lenny Williams Jr. to junior receiver Dom McNeil on the Crimson Hawks' first play of their second drive.
 
Williams finished his short evening 9-of-13 passing for 120 yards and three touchdowns, adding 29 more yards on the ground. He also connected with receivers JoJo Gause and Miles Williamson from 14 and 8 yards out, respectively, in the first half. Both TD grabs came on jump balls near the corner of the end zone.
 
Sophomore back Justice Evans scored IUP's fourth touchdown, a 2-yard plunge with just under 10 minutes on the clock in the second. The score capped the Crimson Hawks' longest drive of the night, an 11-play 66-yard possession that took 3:44 off the clock.
 
The defense chipped in with several big plays in the opening half, highlighted by an 80-yard interception return for a score by junior corner JR Stevens. The All-American broke up a short route, tapped it to himself, and was off down the right sideline to give IUP a 34-0 lead midway through the second.
 
Stevens picked off another pass early in the third quarter for his third two-interception game of his career.
 
IUP defenders forced three Millersville fumbles, with Will Mayr, Mike Pietropola, and John McDonald-Horner all ripping the ball out of Marauders grasps. Mayr's came on a sack, one of four on the night for the Crimson Hawks, who pressured Millersville QB Collin Shank all night long. Also posting sacks were linebacker Damon Lloyd, end Dondrea Tillman, and tackle Dajour Fisher.
 
Lloyd finished with a team-high nine tackles.
 
Punter Nico Ruiz also had a standout night as he averaged 47.2 yards on five punts.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks hit the road next week to square off against Lock Haven (0-1) Saturday. Kickoff is 12 p.m.
 
Notes
The rushing touchdown from Temple was the 36th of his career and his first since 2016 after sitting out all of last year with an injury … He's now 12 shy of tying Michael Mann (48) for the most in IUP history … This was Williams' second straight 3-touchdown game and the 10th of his career … With 60 passing touchdowns, he's now five shy of tying Tony Aliucci for third all-time … Williams also has 85 total touchdowns, three shy of tying Bryan Eyerman for the IUP record … The 89-yard return by Carter is IUP's longest kick return since Pat Brewer scored a 92-yard touchdown in 2012 … The IUP defense now has nine sacks in its first two games … Coach Paul Tortorella is now 15-1 as IUP's head coach.