INDIANA — Splash plays have been a staple of the Indiana offense this season.

The Crimson Hawks used a few of them in the first half to drown Slippery Rock University's hopes of repeating as PSAC West champions en route to a 48-19 football victory over The Rock Saturday at Miller Stadium.

No. 13 IUP (5-1, 3-1) scored on an 89-yard pass play to Allen Wright on its first play from scrimmage. It scored on a 51-yard gadget play late in the first quarter, used a 44-yard run by Semir Bullock to set up a touchdown, a 71-yard pass to Walt Pegues to set up another.

It all added up to a 38-12 halftime lead.

“We jumped out to a quick start and kept on rolling,” IUP coach Curt Cignetti said. “We owed them. It's been a while since we've beaten them ... and we did it in dominant fashion.”

SRU coach Shawn Lutz couldn't argue.

“We never got off the bus,” he said. “They beat us soundly in all three phases of the game.

“You expect a rivalry game like this to be close, a four-quarter game. It didn't happen that way.”

No. 16 SRU (5-2, 2-2) had defeated IUP in each of the past three years. The Crimson Hawks have produced 41 plays of 20 or more yards through six games this season. They also scored on defense in the first half as Jay Watkins returned an Isiah Neely fumble 49 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter.

The play marked IUP's 17th defensive touchdown since 2011.

The dagger of the day likely occurred with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. On first down from his own 49, IUP quarterback Lenny Williams pitched the ball to receiver Zac Kelly coming around left end. Kelly stopped and lofted a pass to Wright, alone behind the defense, for an easy 51-yard score with 35 seconds left in the period.

The pass was Kelly's first of the season.

“Our execution on that play was flawless,” Cignetti said. “We knew Zac could throw the ball. We have a number of guys who can throw the ball.

“Getting to know your players and what they can do is all about preparation.”

That play gave the Crimson Hawks a 24-6 lead. SRU had allowed a total of 23 first-quarter points all season.

“That was the dagger,” Lutz said. “Our corner bit on the reverse and left his man alone.

“When you fall behind big by halftime and you're playing against a good team, mentally, it's tough to come back.”

The Rock didn't.

IUP took the second-half kickoff and marched 64 yards in 13 plays, eating 6:44 off the clock and ending any thoughts of a Rock comeback. Ryan Stewart ended the march with a 29-yard field goal.

The Crimson Hawks rushed for more than 100 yards in the second half.

“Our plan coming out of the locker room wasn't to just run the ball and run the clock,” Cignetti said. “But when you see that's working ... I think we just wore them down.”

Samir Bullock rushed for 120 yards for IUP, which generated 462 yards offensively. Wright had 185 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions.

Marcus Johnson caught a pair of touchdown passes for SRU, which was plagued by five turnovers — two interceptions, two fumbles and a muffed punt.

“We'll see where we go from here,” Lutz said. “We'll see how resilient we are and if we can move forward and salvage something from this year.

“We're still the defending (PSAC West) champion. We're still going to take everyone's best shot. Now we have Edinboro coming in with a lot of momentum next week. There are no breathers.”

Notes: SRU hosts Edinoro (6-1) for homecoming at 2 p.m. Saturday. .. The Rock defense had no takeaways Saturday. Safety Derrick Fulmore led SRU with 10 tackles while freshman linebacker Patrick Minenok had nine. ... IUP blocked a Jake Chapla PAT Saturday, its sixth blocked kick of the year. . ... Linebacker Kevin Clarke, a teammate of injured SRU running back Shamar Greene at West Mifflin, had 12 tackles to lead IUP. ... Slippery Rock High School graduate Colten Raabe started at right guard for The Rock. ... SRU All-American center Joe LoSchiavo (fractured foot) suited up, but did not play.

Indiana 48, SRU 19

Slippery Rock 6 6 0 7 — 19

Indiana (Pa.) 24 14 3 7 — 48

SRU IUP

19 First Downs 16

38-120 Rushes-Yards 41-167

245 Passing Yards 295

19-30-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 12-20-0

365 Total Yards 462

2-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-0

6-40 Penalty Yards 4-64

First Quarter

IUP — Allen Wright 89 pass from Lenny Williams (Ryan Stewart kick), 12:37

IUP — Jay Watkins 49 fumble return (Stewart kick), 9:19

SRU — Marcus Johnson 11 pass from Don King III (kick blocked), 6:24

IUP — Stewart 32 field goal, 2:12

IUP — Wright 51 pass from Zac Kelly (Stewart kick), :35

Second Quarter

IUP — Chris Temple 15 pass from Williams (Stewart kick), 8:18

IUP — Williams 1 run (Stewart kick), 3:49

SRU — Johnson 15 pass from King III (pass failed), :17

Third Quarter

IUP — Stewart 29 field goal, 8:16

Fourth Quarter

IUP — Temple 2 run (Stewart kick), 8:24

SRU — Dakota Clanagan 47 pass from Nathaniel Musselman (Jake Chapla kick), 1:04

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Don King III 12-58, Isiah Neely 14-37, Dontez Rash 4-11, Dominic Dingle 3-8, Leroy MCClain 1-7, Dakota Clanahan 1-2, Nassir Weaver 1-(-1), Nathaniel Musselman 2-(-2). IUP, Samir Bullock 21-120, Chris Temple 11-32, Drew Harris 3-12, Lenny Williams 3-7, TEAM 3-(-4).

Passing: SRU, Don King III 16-25-179-2, Nathaniel Misselman 2-4-54-0, Tony Twillie II 1-1-12-0. IUP, Lenny Willioams 11-19-244-0, Zac Kelly 1-1-51-0.

Receiving: SRU, Marcus Johnson 4-69, Cornelius Raye 4-54, Dakota Clanagan 1-47, Leroy McClain 3-25, Drew Scales 1-14, Brian McNally 2-14, Taishan Tucker 1-7, Andrew Bridgeforth 1-7, Carnel Harley 1-6, Isiah Neely 1-2. IUP, Allen Wright 6-185, Walt Pegues 2-73, JoJo Gause 2-15, Chris Temple 1-15, Chris Wuestner 1-7.