District College Football Preview for Saturday, December 1

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 29, 2012 | 9:51 PM

One team remains alive for a national championship, the IUP Crimson Hawks in Division II. Here is a preview of their matchup this week for the regional title:

The IUP Crimson Hawks(12-1) meet the Winston Salem Rams(12-0) for a noon kickoff in the NCAA Division II/Super Region One final, with a berth in the national semifinals on the line.

IUP closed the regular season ranked 11th in the AFCA D-II coaches poll. The Crimson Hawks were the #3 seed in the region. IUP has defeated Shepherd and New Haven to move to the regional final.

The Crimson Hawks average 269 yards per game on the ground, 10th in Division II. Harvie Tuck has ran for 1,651 yards and 16 touchdowns, De'Antwan Williams has ran for 1,215 yards and 9 scores. Tuck has ran for 200 yards 4 times this season, he was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year. Williams has filled in well for Tuck, he has 4 straight 100 yard games.

QB Mike Box is 9-0 as the starter this season, he has thrown for 12 td's and just 2 interceptions since taking over in the Cal game. TE Tyler Dummermuth has become a big target for Box, with 2 td's in the last 3 games, he has 3 td's on the season.

IUP has the best defense in D-II, leading the NCAA in scoring and total defense. IUP allows just 11 points per game. LB Alexander Berdahl leads the defense with 98 tackles, LB Carl Fleming has 79 stops, he was named the MVP of the PSAC State Game.

S Johnny Franco leads with 6 interceptions. Franco is also third on the team in tackles with 58. Franco is one of the reasons why IUP is a plus 21 in turnover ratio.

Winston Salem is ranked #2 in the AFCA poll to close the season. The Rams were the number one seed and gained a bye in the first round. Winston Salem defeated PSAC East champ Shippensburg 37-14 last week.

The Rams have a pair of talented QB's. Kameron Smith and Anthony Carrothers. Smith has thrown for 2,778 yards and 39 touchdowns, he went down with an injury in the CIAA championship game. Carrothers has thrown for 455 yards and 6 scores.

Winston Salem has three wide receivers that can score, Jameze Massey, Jahuann Butler and Jamal Williams, they have combined for 36 scores. RB Maurice Lewis doesn't run a lot, but has scored 11 touchdowns.

The Rams are also near the top of many of the D-II defense stats. Winston Salem has forced 39 turnovers this season. LB Mike Fields leads the team with 87 tackles. The secondary combination of Darryl Pulliam, Curtis McGill and Dominique Tate has accounted for 9 of the team's 21 interceptions.