INDIANA, PA – De’Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) ran for three touchdowns and Mike Box (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) threw for three more in eighth-ranked IUP’s 49-0 win over Cheyney in the Crimson Hawks’ 2013 home opener on Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium.
All three of Williams’ touchdowns came in the first quarter as IUP built a 28-0 lead after the 15 minutes of action. The scores came on runs of one, 20 and two yards, with the final one being at time expired in the quarter.
Box threw a touchdown in each of the second, third and fourth quarters to three different receivers. He finished 10-of-15 through the air for 210 yards.
The IUP defense gave up just 189 total yards to the triple-option Cheyney offense, including 115 yards on 51 rushing attempts.
Williams scored his first touchdown on the opening drive of the game, plunging in from one-yard out on a third and goal. The run came three plays after he hooked up Box on a 61-yard pass play on a third and seven.
A fumble on Cheyney’s opening play would lead to a bruising 16-yard touchdown run by Erik Finklea (Cincinnati, OH/Woodward) to put IUP up 14-0.
Williams’ other two scoring runs came after drives of 80 and 50 yards as the Crimson Hawks totaled 234 yards in the opening quarter alone.
Cheyney (0-2) opened the second quarter with a 15-play, 70-yard drive which lasted7:31. It ended on a fourth-and-goal at the IUP 13-yard line, with Dorian Lane (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) making the tackle of quarterback Darryl Cosby at the five-yard line.
The Crimson Hawks then embarked on a six-play, 95-yard drive, ending with a 65-yard bomb from Box to Terrill Barnes (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) to help give IUP a 35-0 lead. The drive also included a 14-yard pass play from Box to Barnes and a 19-yard run by Finklea.
IUP’s score in the third quarter came on its first drive, with Box finding a wide-open Tyler Dummermuth (New Philadelphia, OH/New Philadelphia) in the endzone for a 17-yard score. The final touchdown came when Box found Sean McVay (Miami, FL/Miramar) from 11-yards out at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Barnes finished with five receptions for 106 yards while Dummermuth had two catches for 24 yards and McVay had two catches for 19 yards.
Five different rushers gained yards for the Crimson Hawks, as Finklea led the way with eight rushes for 66 yards. Israel Green (Trotwood, OH/Trotwood-Madison) finished with 33 yards on nine carries while Williams had 31 yards on seven totes. Patrick Ferguson (Pittsburgh/Taylor Allderdice) added 29 yards on four carries while Pat Brewer (Coatesville/Coatesville) ran it once for 18 yards.
Allen Holman (Harrisburg/Bishop McDevitt) posted a team-high 10 tackles in his first career start. Carl Fleming (Reisterstown, MD/Franklin) added nine while Kevin Clarke (West Mifflin/West Mifflin), Dorian Lane (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills), and Jeff Palmer (Cranberry Twp./Seneca Valley) each had seven. Palmer and Michael Larrow (Union, NJ/Union) each tallied a sack while the Crimson Hawks defense had nine total tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
IUP is now 6-0 all-time against Cheyney, allowing just 26 points to the Wolves in those meetings.
The Crimson Hawks are back on the road next week as they open up PSAC West play at new member Seton Hill. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
