Wednesday, October 08, 2003

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

IUP is 5-0, ranked fourth in NCAA Division II and looking very much like a team steaming toward the playoffs.

“Don’t get fooled,” Coach Frank Cignetti said. “A lot of that is based on past performance and the IUP tradition. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

The Indians play host to Edinboro (3-2) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division game Saturday. IUP has won the past seven games against Edinboro and 10 in a row at Miller Stadium.

More important than their No. 4 ranking, IUP is No. 2 in the Northeast region poll, which determines the four teams that will participate in the playoffs.

IUP’s offense has gathered momentum as quarterback Kevin Weidl, a sophomore from Mt. Lebanon, continues to learn the system and tailback Mike Jemison gets closer to full strength after a hamstring injury limited him earlier in the season.

Weidl has thrown for 1,016 yards, 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

“He’s matured week by week, and we’re at the point we feel comfortable he can go out there with the entire package,” Cignetti said. “We’ve been stretching the defense vertically.”

IUP will be without star receiver LeRon McCoy, who received an automatic one-game suspension from the PSAC for his involvement in an altercation in a 24-20 victory against Clarion last week. McCoy leads the team with 20 catches, 373 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The Indians will look to Derrick Smith, a transfer from West Virginia, and Joe Slappy, a transfer from Hofstra, to make big plays.

Although Jemison was slowed by the hamstring injury, he has rushed for 100 or more yards in all five games and has averaged 146.2 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

“He’s what we thought he’d be,” Cignetti said of Jemison, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound junior who transferred from Pitt. “Now we’re ready to give him the load that we’d like to. He’s a physical kid who brings a lot of energy to the game. He loves football and he’s a student of the game.”

The PSAC

California ended a 13-game losing streak against Slippery Rock with a 22-19 overtime victory. The teams combined for 19 punts, 21 penalties and 7 turnovers. ... IUP has won 15 consecutive regular-season games and 14 in a row in the PSAC West. The Indians have scored 20 or more points in 28 consecutive games, three shy of the school record. ... Mansfield is 5-0 for the first time since 1938. ... Shippensburg’s John Kuhn is second on the school’s all-time rushing list with 2,348 yards, behind Bill Pettyjohn’s 2,480.

The PAC

Waynesburg’s Ryan Abels, a 5-9, 180-pound freshman running back from Elizabeth Forward High School, set a school record with five rushing touchdowns (11, 9, 47, 5 and 7 yards) in a 42-0 victory against Bethany. He carried 22 times for 150 yards in his first collegiate start. ... Westminster junior tailback Scott Froelich tied his school record for carries with 38 for 205 yards and a touchdown in a 26-17 loss to Washington and Jefferson. ... W&J, winner of 22 consecutive games against Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents, has won 600 games in 113 years of varsity football and is second to Wittenberg’s 640 in NCAA Division III.

Gannon’s golden era

The Golden Knights (4-1) have won four consecutive games for the school’s longest win streak since they won the final two games in 1993 and the first three in ’94. Junior quarterback Darmel Whitfield is the school’s leader in career yards with 5,545, surpassing Chris Delmonaco’s 5,092 set in 1990-93. Whitfield is third in rushing with 2,135 yards and second in passing with 3,410 yards.

The rankings

Duquesne (3-2) remained No. 3 in the Sports Network Division I-AA mid-major poll and Robert Morris (4-1) is No. 8 for its first appearance in the ranking this season. ... Shippensburg (4-1) moved up three spots to No. 19 in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II poll. ... W&J (4-0) jumped three positions to No. 13 in the AFCA Division III poll.

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