WEST CHESTER, Pa. --The Crimson Hawks enter their second road game of the season after defeating No. 12 Ashland 34-24 on Sept. 3. Following the ranked victory, IUP climbed to No. 14 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the D2Football Top 25.
IUP and West Chester have not met since 2021, with the Crimson Hawks going 2-0 against the Golden Rams under head coach
Paul Tortorella. Overall, IUP is 19-4 against PSAC East opponents in regular-season play during Tortorella's tenure.
The Crimson Hawks have already logged more travel in 2026 than they did during the entire 2025 regular season. IUP did not travel more than an hour from Indiana until its final game of last season. This year, the Crimson Hawks open with three consecutive road games and play four of their first five away from home.
THE MATCHUP
September 12, 2026 | 6:00 PM | Tomlinson-Fillippo Field at Farrell Stadium
#14/19 IUP Crimson Hawks (1-0, 0-0 PSAC West)
NR/NR West Chester Golden Rams (1-0, 0-0 PSAC East)Â
GAME DAY LINKS
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TICKET INFORMATION
General Admission: $10Â
Seniors, Students (K-12): $5
Children under five: FREE
Tickets are available for purchase in advance online. While tickets will be available to purchase at the door if needed (subject to availability), we strongly encourage purchasing tickets in advance.
  WCUPATIX.com is the official ticket website of Golden Ram Athletics and the only website to purchase your regular season tickets. Tickets sold by third-party vendors will not be accepted.
Please note: West Chester University Football Games are cashless. Tap-to-pay options are available, including debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
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QUICK NOTES
• The Crimson Hawks open the 2026 season with three consecutive road games and play four of their first five away from home. IUP played just four road games during the entire 2025 season, posting a 2-2 record away from George P. Miller Stadium.
• The Crimson Hawks return 12 starters, including 2025 All-Region tight end and 2026 D2Football Elite 100 Watch List selection
Connor Shamany.
• Of IUP's 12 returning starters, three earned All-PSAC West honors in 2025.
Connor Shamany earned first-team honors at tight end, Tai-Don Strickland was a second-team selection at linebacker and
Noah Johnston earned third-team honors at safety.
• IIUP welcomes back former player
Marco Pecora as its new offensive coordinator for the 2026 season. Pecora previously served as the offensive coordinator at Saint Francis, calling plays in the program's only victory over an FBS opponent when the Red Flash defeated Kent State in September 2024.
•The Crimson Hawks will continue to look to establish the run after carrying the ball 35 times for 114 yards last week. Both totals would have ranked among IUP's top two single-game marks during the 2025 season.
Eric Doerue led the Crimson Hawks with 52 rushing yards, while
Leon Parson added 44 yards despite missing most of the second half due to cramping.
• IUP was picked to finish first in the PSAC West in 2026, with the Crimson Hawks projected to defend their 2025 division title and host the PSAC Championship Game on Nov. 14.
• The Golden Rams were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC East in 2026 after posting a 4-7 record last season. West Chester opened the season with a 21-13 victory over Lincoln in Week 1.
West Chester is led by third-year head coach Duke Greco, who enters the matchup with a 9-13 record through his first 22 games with the Golden Rams. Before arriving at West Chester, Greco spent nine seasons as the head coach at Delaware Valley, where his teams lost just 15 games during his tenure.
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STORY LINES
NEW OFFENSE, FAMILIAR FACE
IUP welcomes back former player
Marco Pecora to guide the Crimson Hawks' offense in 2026. Pecora, a former safety at Pitt who finished his playing career at IUP, served as the offensive coordinator at Saint Francis before returning to Indiana.
Pecora, along with IUP graduate quarterback
Jeff Hoenstine, helped lead Saint Francis to its lone victory over an FBS opponent, a 23-21 win over Kent State in September 2024. In his collegiate debut, Hoenstine completed 11 of 22 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown while adding 50 yards and another score on 10 carries.
Hoenstine enters the 2026 season listed third on the IUP quarterback depth chart.
ESTABLISH THE RUN
The Crimson Hawks rushed for 114 yards on 35 attempts against Ashland in their first game under new offensive coordinator and playcaller
Marco Pecora. IUP surpassed 100 rushing yards just twice last season, with the most recent occurrence coming in a loss at Slippery Rock on Oct. 18.
The 35 rushing attempts against Ashland would have been a season high in 2025, when the Crimson Hawks surpassed 30 rushing attempts just once.
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Mason Maggs made his first collegiate start in Week 1, becoming the third different starting quarterback for the Crimson Hawks in the past three seasons. Maggs completed 25 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. His longest completion went for 40 yards on a screen pass to sophomore running back
Leon Parson, who took it to the end zone for a touchdown.Â
IUP earned its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating Ashland 24-17 in the 2024 season opener. That matchup also marked the last time IUP and Ashland entered the season opener as ranked teams.Â
DOMINATE THE STATE
IUP is 19-4 against PSAC East opponents in regular-season play under head coach
Paul Tortorella. The Crimson Hawks are 2-0 against West Chester under Tortorella, earning victories over the Golden Rams in 2017 and 2021. IUP's last postseason meeting with a PSAC East opponent came in the 2022 Super Region One final, a 48-13 loss to Shepherd.
YOUNG AND HUNGRY
IUP graduated more than 20 players following last season, one of the program's largest senior classes in recent years. As a result, the Crimson Hawks enter 2026 with a young roster, with nearly half of the team made up of freshmen or redshirt freshmen.
Offensively, IUP will lean on young playmakers
Jeremiah Coleman and
Leon Parson. Against Ashland, Parson finished second on the team with 44 rushing yards despite missing most of the second half due to cramping. He also turned a screen pass into a 40-yard touchdown reception.
Coleman recorded one reception for 9 yards, while redshirt freshman
JC Wilson led the Crimson Hawks with six receptions for 69 yards.
EXPERIENCE IN THE TRENCHES
The IUP offensive line returns three key contributors from 2025 while adding two experienced transfers up front.
Wyatt Kovell,
Anthony Shovlin and Tann Fuchs were mainstays along the offensive line last season and provide continuity for a unit replacing two starters.
All-PSAC selection
Chance Battle and center
Matthew Nelson have departed, with Saint Francis transfer
Joe Enick and Arkansas-Monticello transfer
Derius Franklin joining the group. With another year of experience, the offensive line will look to make a greater impact in the running game while providing improved protection for the quarterback.
IUP allowed 3.36 sacks per game last season, while Ashland averaged nearly four sacks per game defensively, setting up an early test for the Crimson Hawks up front.
A WHOLE NEW LINE
The defensive line entered the season as a question mark for IUP, but the new-look group under coach
Demetreius Wilson answered the call in the season opener. The unit recorded a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a game-sealing pass breakup.
Wilson was tasked with replacing IUP's entire defensive front from 2025, and his group helped the Crimson Hawks hold Ashland to fewer than 70 rushing yards. The Eagles entered the season after averaging more than 180 rushing yards per game in 2025.
EXPECTATIONS APLENTY
IUP enters the 2026 season picked to finish first in the PSAC West and defend its 2025 division title. A second consecutive PSAC West crown would mark the first time the Crimson Hawks have won back-to-back division titles since the Frank Cignetti Sr. era.
The Crimson Hawks were one of two PSAC West team ranked in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll fopr week two, one spot behind No. 13 Slippery Rock. Defending PSAC champion Kutztown was the lone representative from the Eastern Division, entering the season ranked inside the top five nationally.
East Stroudsburg and California (Pa.) are two other PSAC Teams that recieved voted from the AFCA voters.
WELCOME TO IUP
Graduate transfer wide receiver
D'Avay Johnson made his presence felt in his Crimson Hawk debut, hauling in four passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. Johnson found the end zone on a contested catch over an Ashland defender, extending IUP's lead to 28-10.
Johnson began his collegiate career at PSAC West rival California (Pa.) before transferring to IUP for the 2026 season.
BACK IN THE TOP 15
The Crimson Hawks enter Week 2 of the 2026 season with their highest national ranking since Week 2 of the 2023 season. IUP is ranked No. 19 in the D2Football Top 25 and climbed to No. 14 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll.
The Crimson Hawks reached as high as No. 12 nationally during the 2023 season.
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