CALIFORNIA, Pa. –   The 18th-ranked IUP football team scored the final two touchdowns of the contest and fended off a potential go-ahead drive from California (Pa.) in a 22-21 victory on Saturday in the 13th Annual Coal Bowl at Adamson Stadium.
 
IUP (5-0, 3-0) remains unbeaten on the season, battling back from a 21-10 deficit through three quarters for its first victory at Adamson Stadium since 2006. Cal U (3-3, 2-1) began the final drive of the contest with 1:21 left on the clock, marching the ball down the field inside the IUP 20 in the closing seconds of the contest.
 
In rushing to the line with time ticking away, the Vulcans were whistled for a procedure penalty that enacted a 10-second runoff and ended the game.
 
Dayjure Stewart's one-yard touchdown run with 1:27 remaining held up as the game-winning score for the Crimson Hawks, who trailed the most of the day until late in the fourth quarter. Hilton Ridley made eight catches for 161 yards, earning Coal Bowl MVP honors, while Stewart added 77 yards on the ground.
 
Defensively, Connor Kelly racked up a game-high 13 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Darius Bruce added eight stops and a leaping one-handed interception to close out the first quarter. Naszhir Taylor and Drew DiNunzio-Biss posted seven stops each for the Crimson Hawks.
 
IUP converted on a third-and-long with a 22 yard connection from Mak Sexton to Stewart that brought the ball near midfield. Two plays later, Sexton laid out a ball for Ridley, who made a full-extension grab for 34 yards down to the Vulcan three. The Crimson Hawks settled for a field goal with Nick Andrasi opening the scoring for a 3-0 advantage.
 
Sexton went over 300 yards passing for the third time this season, going 18-of-39 through the air for 305 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Noah Mitchell went 23-of-34 for 249 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The IUP defense collected three sacks on the day in addition to the interception.
 
Cal churned over seven minutes off the clock in their first possession of the afternoon, moving ahead 7-3 on a two-yard pass from Mitchell to Junior McConahy. IUP turned the ball over on downs after seven plays before Cal U promptly turned the ball over with Bruce plucking the ball out of the air.
 
Neither side could get much going for the remainder of the half, trading punts with the Vulcans forcing an IUP fumble in the second quarter. Eric McKan opened the second-half scoring with a three-yard rush for a 14-3 Vulcan advantage. IUP got back into a groove on its second drive of the third quarter, moving 88 yards in six plays.
 
Sexton opened the drive with a 34-yard completion to Ridley before the duo connected again for 14 yards just three plays later. For the third time in the series, Sexton found Ridley, this time for a 19 yard gain just shy of the endzone. Parker Gregg closed out the impressive drive with a one-yard score up the middle, bringing the Crimson Hawks to within 14-10 in the third.
 
The Vulcans responded with a 10-play drive of their own, capped with a nine-yard scoring run from Mylique McGriff, extending the hosts lead to 21-10. The Crimson Hawks needed less than a minute to answer back with identical 27-yard completions, one to Duane Brown and the other a touchdown over the seam to Isaiah Houser early in the fourth quarter.
 
The IUP defense locked in from there, forcing Cal into consecutive punts in the fourth quarter. Maurice Feazell, Raunya Mitchell, Will Mayr, Vaughn Wallace and the rest of the front seven took control in helping the Crimson Hawks get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
 
IUP used 13 plays on the game-winning drive, which included a 17-yard scamper for Brown. Sexton also found Brown for 16 yards before Ridley grabbed passes of 11 and eight yards. Stewart closed out the drive from one yard, providing IUP its first lead at 22-21 since the opening drive of the game.
 
The Vulcans used chunk pass plays to march down the field in hurry-up mode. Working the sidelines, the Vulcans brought the ball inside the IUP 20. Kelly and DiNunzio-Biss combined to tackle McGriff inbounds before the penalty on the next play ran the clock down and gave IUP the victory.
 
Notes
The victory came on the birthday of the late Frank Cignetti Sr... The last two meetings between Cal U and IUP have been decided by a combined five points… Cal is now 8-5 in the Coal Bowl series… IUP has secured three interceptions defensively over the last two games… Stewart went over 500 yards rushing on the season with 77 more yards against the Vulcans; he entered the game as the league's leading rusher… Ridley hauled in 67 of his 161 receiving yards on the IUP third quarter drive that brought the score to within 14-10… Ridley had three catches over 20 yards on the day… IUP held standout Cal receiver JaQuae Jackson to three receptions for 38 yards… IUP and Gannon are the lone unbeaten teams in conference play in the PSAC West.
 
Up Next
IUP is back on the road, visiting Edinboro on Saturday, October 15 for a noon kickoff.
  
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