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(INDIANA, PA.): Indiana qb Brian Eyerman tossed three touchdown passes and Clarion lost three critical fumbles, two in the fourth quarter, in helping IUP to a hard-fought 28-14 win over Clarion.
A Homecoming Day crowd of 6,087 at George P. Miller Stadium watched the Indians up their overall record to 5-1 and 1-0 in the PSAC-West, while Clarion dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC-West.
The Indians broke a 14-14 tie at halftime on their first possession of the third quarter. The Indians drove 43 yards in only 3 plays and scored on a 38-yard pass play from Eyerman to Carmelo Ocasio.
Clarion fumbled away two "Golden" opportunities to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth the Eagles drove from their own 22 to the IUP 12 and had a first down. Tailback Robert Walker broke outside right heading toward paydirt when at the IUP 3 Kairi Cooper caused Walker to fumble the pigskin and teammate Walt Mosteller recovered at the Indian 5.
After Clarion's defense held, the offense started its next drive with great field position on the IUP 41. On first down Clarion backup qb Frantz Charles broke through the IUP defense for a 17-yard run to the IUP 24. On his way to the turf he was ruled to have fumbled and IUP's Walt Mosteller again recovered the Eagle fumble nixing another scoring opportunity.
Two possesions later, IUP closed out the scoring to secure the win. IUP went 66 yards on 9 plays including a perfectly executed post-pattern between Eyerman and LeRon McCoy with only 4:50 remaining in the contest.
"It was a typical hard-hitting Clarion - IUP game," said Clarion head coach Malen Luke. "We were right there, but those two fumbles in the fourth quarter turned the momentum their way. You just can't have turnovers in big games like this. They always come back to haunt you. Our job now is to go back, get the team back on track, and try to win out."
Clarion, who entered the game with the third ranked rushing offense in the nation at 298 yards, managed 224 yards on 44 attempts, plus 57 passing yards for a total offense of 281.
Brandon Sweeney led the Eagles with 83 yards on 10 carries, while Charles had 64 yards and 1 td on 13 carries and Robert Walker gained 34 yards and 1 td on 11 tries. Adam Almashy gained 13 yards on 5 carries and now has 989 career rushing yards.
Jabari Weatherspoon led the Eagle defense with 14 tackles, 3 qb sacks, 4 tfl's, 2 fumbles caused and one interception. Scott McGrady had 7 hits, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 sack.
IUP was led by Elice Parker who gained 129 yards on 18 tries, and Aaron Cooper who had 110 yards on 11 carries.
Eyerman hit on 12 of 19 passes for 197 yards and 3 td's, but was sacked 5 times.
Clarion jumped out to a 7-0 lead when the Eagles took the opening kickoff and drove 80-yards on 7 plays. Brandon Sweeney keyed the drive with carries of 23 and 41 yards. Walker capped the drive with a 3-yard run at 12:15 of the first quarter and Chris Carlton's PAT gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
After Clarion's Jabari Weatherspoon intercepted Eyerman on IUP's first possession and returned the pigskin to the Indian 20, the Eagles had a golden opportunity to get a two-score lead. But IUP's defense held the Eagles on downs.
IUP tied the game in the second quarter on a defensive score. The Eagles Robert Walker fumbled at the Clarion 16, and defensive end Andrew Battle scooped up the pigskin and returned it for the game-tying td.
IUP took a 14-7 lead at 6:57 of the second quarter when Eyerman hit his first td pass of the day, a 12-yard strike to Dave Davis.
The Golden Eagles came back to tie the game before halftime on a drive engineered by backup qb Frantz Charles. During the drive Charles hit tight end Tom Pore on a 36-yard pass to the IUP 5. Charles scored on the very next play on a 5-yard run with only 1:24 left before intermission.
Clarion returns home to host West Chester next Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2pm. Indiana travels to Edinboro.
