ERIE, Pa. – Continuing its success in divisional openers, the IUP football program built an early lead and used stout defense as part of a 30-13 victory against Mercyhurst on Saturday at Saxon Stadium.
IUP (3-1, 1-0) has now won 11 consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) west openers and 38 of the last 40 division openers since 1983. The Crimson Hawks continued their success against Mercyhurst (1-3, 0-1), now 7-1 against the Lakers in Erie all-time.
Karst Hunter accounted for three total touchdowns and 222 yards of total offense, including a pair of rushing scores. Meanwhile, the IUP defense was strong again after surrendering just 13 points and two Mercyhurst first downs in the second half. Mercyhurst mustered just 61 rushing yards on the day and 217 yards of total offense.
IUP held the ball for just over 36 minutes, racking up a season-high 228 yards on the ground. Defensively,
Darius Bruce logged a team-high six tackles (four solo), one sack and three pass breakups, part of 10 total pass breakups on the day for the IUP defense.
Naszhir Taylor posted a pair of pass breakups and a sack of his own to go along with five tackles.
IUP built a 16-point lead into the midway point of the second quarter.
Nick Andrasi opened the scoring with a 23-yard field goal before Hunter delivered a touchdown strike to
Hilton Ridley later in the opening stanza. Hunter capped off a five-play drive in the second quarter with an 18-yard scamper for a 16-0 edge.
Mercyhurst trimmed the halftime deficit to 16-7 after a 24-yard touchdown completion from Adam Urena to Rylan Davison in the second quarter. A diverse rushing attack carried IUP in the second half, including a 32-yard touchdown run for Hunter in the third quarter and a 21-yard scamper from
Adam Houser early in the fourth. Hunter finished with 80 yards on the ground, averaging about nine yards per carry against the Lakers.
Mercyhurst capped off the scoring with a 39-yard pitch and catch down the left side from Urena to Davison, accounting for the 30-13 final after a missed extra point.
IUP spread the wealth in the passing game with Ridley posted five catches for 28 yards and his third touchdown of the season. Meanwhile,
Cyair Clark grabbed a pair of receptions for 46 yards.
NOTES
IUP is receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 Poll, entering the week 19th in the D2Football.com Poll… Saturday was the first road contest in the last seven games for IUP, dating back to last October… IUP improves its record to 24-3 in road games under head coach
Paul Tortorella… Tortorella moves into sole possession of fourth place on the IUP all-time wins list (51), passing Bill Neal… IUP has 17 pass breakups over the past two games… Tortorella moves to 30-6 against PSAC West teams since 2017… IUP has won 11 consecutive games in the head-to-head series with Mercyhurst… IUP is now 7-1 against Mercyhurst in Erie… Through four games, the IUP defense is allowing an average of 14 points/game… IUP ran 61 offensive plays compared to 49 for Mercyhurst… The IUP punting game, led by
Aiden Spitler, placed two of five punts inside the 20-yard line… The Crimson Hawks racked up four total sacks in the game, matching a season-high output from September 9 against East Stroudsburg…
Tyrone Fowler Jr. collected his first sack of the season against the Lakers, pushing his total to 10.5 sacks in 18 games.
Up Next
IUP hits the road for a highly anticipated matchup at No. 12 Slippery Rock next week on Saturday, September 30 for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.
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