Edinboro Uses Defense, Special Teams to Down IUP

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The Edinboro defense picked off four passes while the special teams produced a touchdown on a blocked punt as the Fighting Scots downed IUP, 20-10, Saturday afternoon at Miller Stadium.

Edinboro improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC West and moved into a tie for first place in the division standings with California.  IUP (3-4, 2-1), the only undefeated team in conference play entering the weekend, fell into a third place tie with Slippery Rock.

The Fighting Scots became only the second team to win three in a row over IUP in the 20-year tenure of head coach Frank Cignetti.  The Indians lost to Slippery Rock each season from 1997-99.

Edinboro held IUP to just 52 yards on ground and limited Andrew Krewatch to 15-of-36 completions with the four interceptions and three sacks.  Krewatch did pass for 242 yards and the only IUP touchdown of the game, a 56-yarder to Anthony Cellitti with 6:51 left in the game and the Indians already behind by 17 points.

Kelvin Collins came off the bench to lead Edinboro in rushing with 19 attempts for 74 yards.  Justin Bouch gained 56 yards on six carries while also completing 9-of-20 passes for 90 yards and a score.  Bouch was intercepted twice but was not sacked by the IUP defense.

IUP held a 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Brad Whitacre with 10:56 remaining in the second quarter before Edinboro ran off 20 unanswered points.  A Damion Mallott interception thwarted an IUP drive at the Fighting Scot 35, and Edinboro went 65 yards on four plays, including a 36-yard touchdown from Bouch to Ryan Valasek, to take a 7-3 lead with 4:37 left in the first half.

Edinboro surprised IUP with an onside kick which James English recovered at midfield.  But a Victor Callahan interception in the end zone kept it a four-point Fighting Scot lead at halftime.

The narrow Edinboro lead ballooned to a 17-point advantage after the Fighting Scots scored the first two times they touched the ball in the third quarter.  Collins rushed for 49 yards in a 62-yard drive that ended with his seven-yard run that made it 14-3 with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

A low snap on an IUP punt attempt resulted in a block by Chris Avery, who fell on the loose ball in the end zone to expand the Edinboro cushion to 20-3 at the 6:57 mark of the period.  The Kody Robertson extra point hit the upright.

Edinboro got interceptions from Dave Jazenski and Avery on IUP’s next two possessions as the Fighting Scots kept the Indians out of the end zone.  The pickoff by Avery was his sixth of the season and 19^th of his career, tying him with Steve Russell for the top spot in Edinboro history.

After the Krewatch-to-Cellitti touchdown made it 20-10, Rodney Stevenson registered the fourth Fighting Scot interception of the game on IUP’s final drive.

Chris Morgan carried 21 times for 49 yards for IUP.  He had been averaging 131 yards per game on the ground, the 12^th highest figure in the nation.  Ben Stroup led the Edinboro defensive attack with 11 tackles, including three for losses and one sack.  Chris Damico had two sacks for 19 lost yards. 

Andre Henderson had a career-high 17 tackles for IUP.  Jerrell Jackson added an interception.

IUP is on the road next week for a PSAC West game at Lock Haven while Edinboro plays host to Slippery Rock.

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