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Oct. 17, 2009
IUP put a resounding end to its longest losing streak in 27 years and broke into the win column in the PSAC West with a 45-0 rout of Lock Haven Saturday at Hubert Jack Stadium. The Crimson Hawks snapped a four-game skid, all in the PSAC West, and evened their overall record at 4-4 with their 28th consecutive win over Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles remained winless at 0-7 and 0-5 in the division. IUP needs to win two of its final three games to avoid its first losing season since going 4-6 in 1982. IUP has not lost to Lock Haven since 1981 and has shut out the Bald Eagles eight times during the winning streak. The shutout was the first for IUP since a 41-0 win over C.W. Post in the 2008 season opener and fourth in the past three seasons overall. The Crimson Hawks limited a woeful Lock Haven offense to just one yard of total offense, including minus 32 on the ground, six first downs and 1 of 14 in third down conversions. The Bald Eagles entered the game averaging 9.2 rushing yards and 157.0 total yards and have scored only five offensive touchdowns all season. The one yard is easily the fewest allowed in a game by the IUP defense, a total aided in large part by five sacks for 27 lost yards. Carliss Jeter, Nate George, James Carson, Cosie Spigelmeyer and Nick Bojalad each had one sack, and Jeter led the Crimson Hawks with seven tackles and three tackles for loss. The previous record for fewest yards allowed in a game were the 30 yards that Edinboro managed in a 1968 game, a contest that also produced minus 52 rushing yards for the Fighting Scots, the only game in school history in which IUP allowed fewer yards on the ground than Saturday. The Bald Eagles had only 80 total yards in a 45-7 loss to the Crimson Hawks a year ago. Harvie Tuck carried 32 times for 218 yards, the most by an IUP running back this season, eclipsing the 169 yards Tobias Robinson had versus Millersville, the 10th-highest total in school history and the most ever by an IUP freshman. Tuck had 136 yards in the first half, a 30-minute stretch in which the Crimson Hawks outgained the Bald Eagles 220 yards to four and limited Lock Haven to one first down. After Pat Smith was intercepted on IUP's first possession, the Crimson Hawks ripped off 35 points in a span of 13:24 to put the game out of reach before halftime. Tuck scored from one yard out, and Javon Rowan recovered a Tuck fumble in the end zone to give IUP a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Special teams got into the act after Lock Haven went three-and-out for the third straight time. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah fielded a Paul Causey punt at the IUP 45, broke tackles by most of the Bald Eagle coverage team and raced 55 yards for a touchdown that upped the Crimson Hawk advantage to 21-0. Owusu-Ansah has scored five touchdowns on returns this season and four in the past three weeks. He has nine touchdowns in his career, including four punt returns, three kickoff returns and one interception and one fumble return. Tuck scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run, and Smith connected on a eight-yard touchdown pass to Rowan with 5:40 left in the half to round out a 21-point second quarter and give the Crimson Hawks their highest point total of the season with still the second half remaining to be played. Robinson did not play after the first quarter and finished with eight carries for 33 yards, leaving him three yards shy of becoming the 11th player in IUP history to rush for 2,000 career yards. Jovan Martinez contributed 78 yards on only six carries as the Crimson Hawks rushed for a season-high 328 yards. Smith completed 8 of 16 passes for 62 yards. Craig Burgess kicked a 43-yard field goal and Manny Cutlip scored from the one in the fourth quarter for the only 10 points of the second half. Burgess increased his career field goal total to 28 and is one behind Josh Telenko and two shy of John Sandstrom for the most in IUP history. Burgess also connected on six extra points, extending his streak to 83 in a row and making him 100 of 101 in his career. IUP plays its second straight road game next Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Clarion. The Crimson Hawks return to Miller Stadium for their home finale October 31 versus Gannon. |
