IUP 28, Clarion 14
October 5, 2002
Miller Stadium ** Indiana, Pa.
Brian Eyerman threw three touchdown passes, including two in the second half,
as IUP broke away from a 14-14 halftime tie for a 28-14 victory over Clarion
in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener for
both teams.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Indians (5-1, 1-0 PSAC West) after
dropping their season opener to Findlay. Clarion saw its three-game winning
streak come to an end and fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC West. The
game was the IUP homecoming contest, and the Indians are now 41-13-4 on the
occasion.
IUP entered the game ranked 13th in the latest American Football Coaches
Association national poll. The first Northeast Region rankings are slated
to come out on Monday.
Clarion has been one of IUP's toughest opponents in recent years. In fact,
the Golden Eagles have won three of the past six meetings against IUP and
have handed the Indians one of only three losses at Miller Stadium over the
past five years with their 21-13 victory two seasons ago.
Eyerman completed 12 of 19 passes for 197 yards and broke the tie with a
38-yard touchdown pass to Carmelo Ocasio just 1:52 into the third quarter.
His 29-yard hookup with LeRon McCoy with 4:50 left in the game put the
finishing touches on the mistake-filled victory for IUP.
Eyerman also threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Dave Davis in the second
quarter to give him an NCAA Division II leading 21 scoring aerials on the
season. The senior signal caller now has at least two touchdown passes in
12 straight games dating back to last season.
IUP also had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the game, with Elice Parker
gaining 129 yards on 18 carries, and Aaron Cochran picking up another 110
on 11 attempts. That marked the first time IUP has had two running backs
gain 100 yards in a game since Tink Stennett (186) and Henry Lane (101)
did so against Edinboro in 2000.
Brandon Sweeney led the Clarion ground attack with 83 yards on 10 carries,
but had 64 of those yards on two attempts during the first Golden Eagle
drive of the game that ended in a three-yard touchdown run by Robert Walker
and a quick 7-0 Clarion lead with 12:15 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Eagle option attack stormed through the IUP defense on the
opening drive, gaining 80 yards on only seven plays, including gallops of
23 and 41 yards by Sweeney. But the Indians held Clarion in check after
that point, limiting the nation’s third ranked rushing offense (298.8 yards
per game entering the contest) to only 154 yards on the ground following the
opening drive.
IUP finished the game with 427 yards of total offense and Clarion had 281.
The Golden Eagle defense did sack Eyerman five times, including three by
Jabari Weatherspoon, who also had a game-high 14 tackles, forced two fumbles
and intercepted a pass on IUP’s first play from scrimmage on the day that
set Clarion up at the IUP 20. But the Indian defense held on downs, keeping
it just a seven-point game.
IUP tied the game 34 seconds after the start of the second quarter when
defensive end Andrew Battle scooped up a Walker fumble that was forced by
Kris Griffin and raced 16 yards to the end zone to make it 7-7.
On Clarion’s next possession, Ken Crawford, the nation’s seventh leading
punter, boomed a 68-yarder that took a great roll and was downed at the IUP
one-yard line. But the Indians then embarked on their second 99-yard scoring
drive in the past three weeks, overcoming a 1st and 28 from the Clarion 30
and tying the game on the Eyerman-to-Davis connection for a 14-7 IUP lead.
Backup quarterback Frantz Charles, who saw the majority of the playing time
in relief of starter Adam Almashy, carried 13 times for 64 yards. His
five-yard touchdown run with 1:24 left in the first half tied the game at
intermission.
Cochran took the opening kickoff of the second half 50 yards to the Clarion
43, and Eyerman hit Ocasio from the 38 three plays later to give IUP the lead
for good. Ocasio now has at least one touchdown reception in each of the
past 10 games.
The game was marred by a combined 13 fumbles, including five that were lost,
and 19 penalties. The most costly fumbles for Clarion came on its first two
possessions of the fourth quarter, with both recovered by IUP linebacker Walt
Mosteller. Walker lost the ball at the IUP five just 30 seconds into the
final period, and Mosteller then forced and recovered a Charles miscue at the
IUP 24 with 12:02 left in the contest.
Two drives later, IUP marched 66 yards on nine plays and added an insurance
touchdown on the Eyerman pass to McCoy from the Clarion 29.
Eyerman pushed his career passing yardage total to 7,077, becoming just the
second quarterback in IUP history to eclipse the 7,000-yard mark. Eyerman
needs only 256 yards to pass Tony Aliucci (1988-91) for the all-time IUP
lead in that category.
The four-year starter already broke the career record for touchdown passes
last week at Millersville and now has 69. His 21 scoring tosses this season
is already good for a tie for fifth, and he is just six behind the record of
27 thrown by Aliucci in 1990.