Gray Team Defeats Crimson, 21-7, in IUP Spring Football Game

Boxscore

Andrew Krewatch threw two touchdown passes to lead the Gray team to a 21-7 win over the Crimson team in IUP’s spring football game Friday at George P. Miller Stadium.

The game was the culmination of IUP’s spring practice, and the Crimson Hawks open the 2007 season by welcoming Cheyney Sept. 8.

The Gray team featured Crimson Hawks’ first-team offense, while the Crimson squad boasted IUP’s top defensive unit.

“It was hard to see the small things during the game,” said IUP coach Lou Tepper, who watched the game from the press box as he served as the color commentator on the IUP’s radio broadcast.

“I thought we really moved the ball well early. We had pretty good balance, and kept the ball moving. Andrew has consistently displayed that he has grown a lot. And McNeal was exciting. He has great patience and is really low to the ground. He was just as good as everybody has said he was.”

Pooh Bear McNeal, a transfer from Mansfield, carried the ball 10 times for 64 yards, and his 35-yard gave the Gray team a 7-0 lead at the 10:53 mark of the first quarter.

Krewatch, who took snaps for both teams but played primarily for the Gray squad, threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to the Crimson team’s Leo Wood to tie the game at 7 midway through the first quarter.

Krewatch, who was the Crimson Hawks’ starter as a freshman in 2005 but took a redshirt last season, closed out the first quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dan Pickens.

The Gray squad maintained its 14-7, and Pickens capped off the 21-7 victory by catching a 7-yard scoring pass from Krewatch.

In all, Krewatch, a sophomore from North Allegheny, completed 13 of 23 passes for 185 yards and threw for three scores.  Two of those touchdown passes were for the Gray team, which he led with a 10-for-20 passing performance.

Pickens caught four passes for 39 yards to go with two scores while Anthony Cellitti and Anthony Rodriquez each had two receptions. Cellitti’s grabs went for 52 yards, which included a 38-yard catch.

Running back Tobias Robinson spelled McNeal on the Gray team and gained 36 yards on 10 carries.

Kyle Kyper took most of the snaps for the Crimson team and completed 4 of 8 passes for 35 yards and was intercepted once.

Pat McDanel and Michael McKenzie shared the running back duties for the Crimson squad and combined for 29 yards on 14 carries.

Leo Wood caught three passes for 57 yards, including a long of 35, to lead the Crimson team.

Nick Wallace handled most of the kicking duties for both teams. Wallace connected on both of his extra point attempts and punted nine times for an average of 32.7 yards per punt. Kicker Mike Gallagher was 2-for-2 on extra-point tries.

Defensively, Jermaine Smith, a transfer from Mansfield, led the first-team defense for the Crimson squad, and made seven tackles and two sacks.

Nate George made four tackles and a sack for the Gray defense, and Shayne Fletcher returned an interception 26 yards.

In 45 plays, the Gray offense moved the ball 226 yards and had 12 first downs, while the Crimson offense gained 94 total yards in 31 plays.

“Our first-team offensive did a pretty good job,” said Tepper. “Our top defensive unit is a pretty good group, but we were still able to move the ball against them.”