It wasn’t the start the IUP Crimson Hawks had been hoping for –– far from it. So now they need to respond and make sure it doesn’t dash their hopes of a good season.
Facing a tough and determined Ashland team, the Crimson Hawks made too many mistakes, allowed the visiting Eagles too much momentum, and lost their season opener for the first time in nine years, 13-9, to Ashland in a non-conference game Thursday night at Miller Stadium.
“It’s a tough loss,” said defensive back Dinari Clacks. “There’s still a long season ahead of us. But we’re going to move on and be better for it.”
“All of our goals are still in line,” said quarterback Matthew Rueve, who passed for 221 yards but was intercepted three times in his IUP debut. “Everything we want to accomplish is still there for the taking. The biggest thing we’ve got to do is get back in here, learn from it, and move on to the next.”
IUP led 9-0 at halftime and seemed to have the game in control. The defense had allowed just 43 total yards and three first downs, and Ashland looked lost.
But the second half was a whole different picture. The Eagles, who had not beaten IUP in any of the previous five meetings with the Crimson Hawks, rolled up 189 yards in the second half and scored two touchdowns. IUP, on the other hand, had six second-half possessions, and they ended with three punts and three turnovers.
“I thought our offense would have played better against their defense,” said IUP head coach Paul Tortorella. “We were in a battle with a really good team, and obviously we’ve got to score more than nine points.”
It wasn’t just points that the IUP offense was lacking. The Crimson Hawks finished with minus-28 rushing yards, the second-fewest ever by an IUP team in a single game. But it should be pointed out that Rueve was sacked five times, and the 40 yards lost on those get deducted from the team’s rushing total.
Nonetheless, if one were to take the sacks out of IUP’s rushing yardage, the Crimson Hawks would still have only gained 39 yards on 21 carries.
What’s more, IUP gained only seven first downs, its fewest in a game since it had six against California –– in 1970.
“At the end of the day, when you can’t run the ball, that’s where the problems occur in the passing game,” Tortorella said. “You’ve got to be able to run the ball to set up the pass. We were never able to get the run game going.”
IUP took its first-half lead on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Rueve to running back Randy Washington and a 44-yard field goal from Nick Andrasi. But that’s all the Crimson Hawks would get, and it wasn’t enough.
“It’s a big win for us,” said Ashland coach Doug Geiser. “To go into a place like this with the tradition they have, to get a win is big.”
Ashland’s Jonathan Merrimee caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Blair in the third quarter to cut IUP’s lead to two points, and then Ty’aris Stevenson put the Eagles ahead with a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:10 left to play.
The Crimson Hawks still had a chance to steal back the lead, but Rueve was under constant pressure and picked off twice in IUP’s last two possessions to seal IUP’s first season-opening loss since a 33-32 setback to Kutztown in 2015.
Although Rueve faced heavy pressure and wasn’t helped by a consistent running game, he said he did not play well enough for his team to win.
“I need to do a better job of putting us in better positions,” he said, “and taking care of the football.”
But the truth is, IUP needs to be better all around next week against Lock Haven if it is to avoid an 0-2 start, something it hasn’t done since 2005.
“I’m confident that we’re going to do what we need to do,” said safety Noah Johnston, who had 13 tackles to lead the IUP defense. “I think this was a wake-up call for us. I genuinely believe we’re woken up.”
Comments