INDIANA, Pa. – IUP held Edinboro scoreless in the second half and rode 13 unanswered points to a hard–fought 20-10 win in rainy conditions at Miller Stadium on Saturday.
IUP (4-3, 2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday and began asserting itself on both sides of the ball in the second half.
Dayjure Stewart opened the scoring with a 78-yard jaunt down the right sideline and closed the scoring with a 19-yard reception from
Nico Marchitelli in the fourth quarter.
IUP ended up holding a 353-331 edge in total offense with some sustained possession in the second half. Edinboro (2-5, 1-3) held a 10-7 advantage at the half and received a strong effort from QB Matt Carlise, who posted 269 of total offense on the day.
Stewart averaged nearly 10 yards per carry, racking up 162 rushing yards on 17 carries. Elsewhere in the backfield,
Adam Houser went over 1,000 yards for his career with 46 yards on hard-nosed runs in the second half. The Hawks finished with 277 yards on the ground in the contest.
IUP ran just 17 plays in the first half and lost two fumbles before flipping the script with a physical run game over the final two quarters. On defense,
Drew DiNunzio-Biss had nine tackles, while
Tyrone Fowler Jr. and
Logan Danielson added seven stops apiece.
IUP threw an interception on its opening drive of the second half, getting a key stop on the ensuing Edinboro possession, capped by a sack from DiNunzio-Biss and Fowler.
IUP went ahead for good on the next series, which spanned 70 yards over nine plays in the third quarter. Marchitelli found
Quinn Zinobile on a wheel route from 21 yards out, the first of two touchdown passes for Marchitelli in his first collegiate start. IUP led 13-10 following a missed extra point late in the third quarter.
Marchitelli finished 5-of-12 through the air for 76 yards passing.
The IUP defense made another third-down stop in the fourth quarter and got great starting field position after a nine-yard punt by Reed Martin into the wind. The Hawks put the finishing touches on from there offensively, churning nearly five minutes of clock and scoring on a nine-play drive that concluded with the aforementioned Stewart reception.
Edinboro picked up two first downs on its final drive of the game before things derailed on a face mask penalty. From there, IUP converted three first downs, highlited by a 12-yard surge from Houser on a fourth and short.
Up Next
IUP travels to Seton Hill next week for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff on October 21.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP football program, follow the Crimson Hawks on Twitter and Instagram @IUPfootball and online at IUPAthletics.com.
