(Photo courtesy of IUP Athletics. Photo by Eric Elliott)

The 601 total yards and 59 points were the second-highest outputs of the season for the Crimson Hawks, who averaged 7.6 yards per play and had 30 first downs.

IUP recovered four fumbles and picked off three passes with the seven takeaways the most for the program since forcing Gannon into nine turnovers back on November 1, 2008.

The Crimson Hawks improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. It was a bounce-back victory for IUP after suffering a 45-42 loss at rival Slippery Rock a week ago.

The offense was powered by a run game that totaled season-bests 54 carries for 370 yards and five touchdowns. Six different backs saw time for IUP, led by a pair of 100-yard rushers in junior Justice Evans and freshman Adam Houser.

Evans ran for a season-high 142 yards on just 14 carries while Houser posted his first career 100-yard game with 103 yards and a score on nine carries. Junior Malik Anderson added 76 yards and two scores on 12 runs.

Six different defenders had a hand in IUP’s seven takeaways, including linebacker Nike Amendola who had an interception and fumble recovery to go along with 10 tackles.

Defensive end Dondrea Tillman forced a pair of fumbles and recovered one, while linebackers Damon Lloyd and Branden Myers each had fumble recoveries. Joining Amendola with picks were corner Nazir Streater and safety Zayaan Cobb.

For Clarion, Quarterback Jeff Clemens went 20-of-37 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, with receiver Terrell Ford his favorite target on the day. Ford finished with eight catches for 86 yards, and also added 144 kick return yards for 230 all-purpose yards on the day. Quinn Zinobile and Dana Jackson, Jr. both recorded touchdown receptions, with Zinobile scoring on a 59-yard catch and run and Jackson on a short lob into the end zone.

Chris Gildea had a career-high 16 tackles and also recorded an interception late in the game, picking off IUP two yards deep in his own end zone and returning it 70-plus yards to the opposing 30-yard line. Sam Fareri finished with 15 tackles and a pass break-up. Vaughn Wallace had the lone sack on Crimson Hawk quarterbacks on Saturday, inducing an intentional grounding penalty in the process.

For the first time in three games, the Crimson Hawks came out of the gates strong with four touchdowns on their first five offensive drives.

Samir Bullock capped a game-opening 89-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge, which set the stage for touchdowns by Duane Brown (18-yard pass), Ryan Langdon (2-yard run) and Malik Anderson (4-yard run). Two of those touchdowns came on short fields as IUP capitalized on early Clarion turnovers.

A 23-yard field goal by Dillon Sarka before the half gave the Crimson Hawks a 31-7 lead going into the locker room.

Anderson scored his second touchdown with a 13-yard jaunt in the third quarter, which came sandwiched around a pair of Clarion scores as the Golden Eagles cut IUP’s lead to 17 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Crimson Hawks left no doubt as they put the game away in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter with three long touchdown plays.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Quinton Maxwell found Brown on a seam down the middle of the field for 53 yards. A Clarion turnover on the ensuing kickoff led to a Maxwell-to-Zac Kelly 31-yard touchdown on the very next play. Following an IUP interception, Houser sprinted down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown, breaking tackles to get into the end zone.

The Crimson Hawks finished the quarter with a 12:44 time of possession and held onto the ball for 38:16 for the game (Clarion 21:44).

Penalties seemed to be the only thing to hold back IUP as the Crimson Hawks were flagged 19 times for 200 yards.
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 22 in the AFCA Coaches’ and No. 25 in the D2Football Media Top 25 polls … Brown extended his touchdown streak to seven games with two more today … He now has 15 total touchdowns (12 receiving, 3 rush) on 32 offensive touches this year … The 370 rushing yards is the most by an IUP team since rushing for 384 against Slippery Rock in 2017 … The 100-yard games by Evans and Houser are the first by an IUP player this season … IUP improved to 52-9 since 2011 when a player runs for 100 yards … It was the fourth 50-point game of the year, tying the 2016 team that holds the IUP scoring record with 46.2 points per game … Maxwell finished 15-of-21 for 219 yards, three touchdowns and one interception … His 15 completions were spread out to nine different receivers … Lloyd had his third straight game, and fourth overall, of double-digit tackles with a team-high 13.