On the heels of its 23-20 overtime victory
over Edinboro on Saturday, a pair of IUP players have been named PSAC West
Players of the Week. Senior tailback Chris Morgan was selected on the
offensive side for the second time this season while junior safety Mike Reid
shared the defensive award with Clarion’s Kevin Rigby.
Morgan
(Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) carried 24 times for 116 yards and a touchdown
against an Edinboro defense that was surrendering just 51.2 yards per game
entering the contest, the seventh best figure in Division II. The Fighting
Scots had not allowed an opposing running back to have a 100-yard game since
John Kuhn of Shippensburg did so early in the 2004 season.
Morgan (right) had struggled against Edinboro,
gaining a total of only 89 yards the previous two seasons. Included in his
116-yard day was a four-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7-7 in the
first quarter and a 25-yard scamper on a 3rd and 24 play that
kept a long third quarter drive alive.
Morgan has rushed for over 100 yards in all
four games this season, including a school record 286 against East
Stroudsburg, and 18 times in 22 games as the starting tailback dating back
to the final two games of the 2003 campaign. This season, he is averaging
170.8 yards per game and has scored eight touchdowns and stands in third
place on the all-time IUP rushing chart with 3,182 yards.
Reid
(Pittsburgh/Perry) accounted for three turnovers to spearhead an IUP
defensive effort that controlled the Edinboro offense for most of the game.
He recovered two fumbles, with one going for a touchdown, made an
interception and had a total of six tackles, including four solo stops and
three behind the line of scrimmage.
Reid (right) had his first fumble recovery at
the Edinboro 40 to set up a field goal that gave IUP a 10-7 lead early in
the second quarter. On the second play of the ensuing Fighting Scot drive,
Aaron Princes forced a Trevor Harris fumble on a sack, and Reid scooped up
the loose ball and raced 31 yards to paydirt to put IUP in front 17-7 with
13:23 left before halftime.
Two possessions later, Edinboro reached the
IUP 10 before Reid picked off a Harris pass at the six-yard line to end the
scoring threat. The interception was Reid’s first of the season after
leading IUP in that department with three a year ago.
The win over Edinboro in the PSAC West opener
leaves IUP at 3-1 overall heading into a stretch of four home games in the
next five weeks. IUP hosts Lock Haven on Saturday at Miller Stadium
beginning at 1 p.m.
