The math is simple for IUP heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Clarion: win, and the Crimson Hawks are PSAC West champions. Lose, and they’re not.
IUP (6-2 overall, 4-1 PSAC West) can clinch the division title and earn a spot in next weekend’s PSAC championship game at Kutztown with a victory. A loss would send the winner of the Edinboro-Slippery Rock game to the title game instead.
The Crimson Hawks also sit at No. 5 in the latest NCAA Division II Super Region One rankings, meaning a win Saturday would likely secure a playoff berth.
Clarion (6-3, 2-3) has already locked up its first winning season in a decade, thanks to an explosive offense led by former IUP offensive coordinator Larry Wilson. Wilson, who spent the past three seasons with the Crimson Hawks, was not retained after last season and was hired by Clarion in the offseason.
“They’re doing a lot of things he did here,” IUP head coach Paul Tortorella said. “He knows what we like to do on defense, too. So, I’d say it’s 50/50.”
Clarion ranks fourth in the PSAC in scoring (34.0 points per game) and third in total offense (428.9 yards per game). But the Golden Eagles’ defense has struggled, ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring defense (26.6 ppg.), total defense (379.6 ypg.), and passing yards allowed (258.8 ypg).
That could be a favorable matchup for IUP, which leads the PSAC in passing offense (327.0 ypg.) behind quarterback Matthew Rueve, who has been rewriting the record book in his lone season with the Crimson Hawks.
Still, Tortorella said Clarion’s defense is better than the numbers suggest.
“They’re going to make you earn it, you know?” he said. “If you didn’t show me the points, I think they’re pretty good on defense. They’re way better in the secondary.”
The biggest question for Clarion is at quarterback. Senior Anthony Guercio, who has thrown for 1,531 yards and rushed for 355, missed last week’s game with an upper-body injury. He was injured earlier in the season against Edinboro, returned briefly, then re-aggravated the injury against Seton Hill and hasn’t played since.
Tortorella said he expects Guercio to play Saturday. But if Guercio can’t go, freshman Jase Ferguson will get the start. Ferguson, a Clarion-Limestone graduate, has completed 44 of 81 passes for 747 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also ran for nearly 100 yards last week against Slippery Rock.
“You gotta prepare for both of them throwing the ball,” Tortorella said. “(Ferguson) ran for almost 100 yards Saturday. Now (Guercio is) a little more dynamic. But (Ferguson) threw for (233 yards against Slippery Rock) and ran for 100.”
Tortorella has been impressed with Ferguson’s toughness and poise.
“He’ll throw the ball with guys in his face,” he said. “Like a couple of times he was sacked, it was just a jail break. He had no chance. But there were five or six throws that he makes where he gets drilled and he hits the receiver. Those aren’t easy throws when you’re getting hit as you throw it. He’s impressive.”
Overall, Tortorella said the Golden Eagles will present quite a test on Saturday.
“They score a lot on offense, and their time of possession is only like 27 minutes,” he said. “So, the style of their offense puts their defense in a little bit of a bind, you know, because they’re going to play a lot more.”
IUP has won the past 13 meetings with Clarion, its second-longest win streak, dwarfed by the 37-game win streak the Crimson Hawks own over Lock Haven.
But Tortorella said the 2025 Clarion Golden Eagles shouldn’t be judged by the failures of the ones who couldn’t beat IUP.
“It’s not even close,” he said. “They’re very good.”
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