SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Quarterback Quinton Maxwell threw for four touchdowns and running back Samir Bullock ran for two more to help 18th-ranked IUP football wrap up its regular season with a blowout 54-24 win over Shippensburg at Seth Grove Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
The win was the 10th of the season for the Crimson Hawks (10-1) as they wrapped up the program's fourth NCAA Division II playoff berth in the last five seasons.
 
The IUP offense posted another standout performance with 580 yards, rushing for 316 and four touchdowns while passing for 264 and four more scores. The Crimson Hawks averaged 9.8 yards per play and had 10 plays of 20 yards or more.
 
The Crimson Hawks used big plays to score two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to take a 27-10 lead into halftime. Running back Justice Evans opened the scoring with a 48-yard catch-and-run on IUP's second possession and less than two minutes later Bullock burst for a 58-yard touchdown run as IUP took a 13-0 lead with five minutes to play in the first quarter.
 
Maxwell connected with JoJo Gause on a 46-yard touchdown pass at the start of the second quarter as the receiver made an improbable catch in traffic and ran the rest of the way for the score. Evans added his second score of the day on IUP's next possession, this time running it in from 10 yards out.
 
Three players finished with 100-plus all-purpose yards Saturday: Gause with 130, Bullock with 120 and Evans with 119.
 
It didn't take long for the Crimson Hawks to put the game out of reach in the second half, scoring three touchdowns on 17 plays spanning four drives in the third quarter. The first score was Maxwell and Gause's second touchdown hookup of the day, a 9-yard scoring toss to the back corner of the end zone.
 
The score wouldn't have happened if not for a fake punt, as linebacker Branden Myers took a direct snap and ran off-tackle left for 27 yards.
 
IUP followed with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Maxwell to receiver Dom McNeil and a 37-yard rushing sore by Bullock.
 
IUP capped the scoring with a 64-yard run by freshman back Adam Houser, who was making his homecoming after attending Shippensburg High School.
 
Bullock, Houser and Evans combined for 277 of IUP's 316 rushing yards, averaging 11.1 yards per carry with four touchdowns. Bullock rushed for 120 yards on 11 carries, his first 100-yard game of the season and the 10th of his career.
 
Maxwell finished 14-of-24 for 264 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his third 4-touchdown game of the season.
 
Defensively, the Crimson Hawks gave up 364 yards to a team that averaged 512 over the last two games. Despite over 33 minutes of possession time, Shippensburg was limited to 4-of-14 on third down conversions as the Crimson Hawks forced six punts and one turnover.
 
That turnover was caused by junior cornerback Nazir Streater, who picked off his PSAC-leading sixth pass of the season.
 
Senior linebacker Damon Lloyd had a game-high 13 total tackles and had one of IUP's three pass breakups. Senior end Dondrea Tillman and senior linebacker Nick Amendola each had a sack.
 
Postseason information
The Crimson Hawks will await official word from the NCAA on its playoff seeding as the complete 28-team Division II field will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. IUP held onto the No. 4 ranking in Super Region One in each of the three preceding regular season rankings.
 
Seven teams from each of Division II's four regions are selected to the NCAA championships. The top seed will receive a first round bye with Nos. 2-4 earning a first round home game Saturday, November 23.
 
The Crimson Hawks are on the verge of the program's 19th all-time Division II playoff appearance, including its fourth in the last five years and fifth since 2012.
 
Check out IUPAthletics.com and NCAA.com for more information.
 
Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 18 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 and No. 17 in the D2Football.com Media Top 25 … The win clinched IUP's 13th season of 10-plus victories, all since 1987, and the fourth since 2012 … Maxwell made major moves in the IUP single season record books as he's now second with 32 touchdown passes and 36 touchdowns responsible for, and third with 2,817 passing yards and fourth with 2,797 yards of total offense … He's in striking distance of breaking each of those records heading into the playoffs … Lloyd went over 100 tackles for the season, hitting the milestone for the third straight year … Tillman's sack gave him 30.0 for his career as he moved into sole possession of fourth in IUP annals … Bullock now has 31 career rushing touchdowns, tied for eighth all-time at IUP … The Crimson Hawks extended their program record to six 50-point games this season … IUP also went over 500 points on the year and with 503 is 53 points away from the program's single season record of 555 set in 2016.
 
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