IUP shuts out New Haven in second half to seal second round victory

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IUP

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The Indiana (Pa.) defense forced an incomplete pass in the end zone as time expired to hold on to a dramatic 17-14 win against New Haven in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Division II Football Championshipson Saturday afternoon.

The play started with eight seconds remaining from the IUP 31-yard line as a slew of Crimson Hawks defenders helped force the incompletion on a Ryan Osiecki pass to Jason Thompson in the back of the end zone.

It capped an exciting last 3:40 of action that saw New Haven begin the drive from its own six-yard line and included a fourth down conversion at the IUP 36-yard line.

The Crimson Hawks forced a fumble and four punts from New Haven in the second half to keep the high flying Chargers offense out of the end zone in the game’s second 30 minutes of play.

IUP took the lead for good with 24 seconds to go in the first half on a six-yard touchdown pass from Mike Box  to tight end Tyler Dummermuth. The score came on a drive that went 65 yards in 3:33 and answered a New Haven one-yard touchdown pass from Osiecki to Thompson.

De’Antwan Williams had 125 yards on the ground for IUP while Alexander Berdahl led all tacklers with 14 stops, including a pair of sacks.