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Wednesday, August 28, 2002

IUP Coach Frank Cignetti keeps getting phone calls from unhappy football players looking for a new home and a fresh start.

"We are a second chance for these kids," Cignetti said. "We have their attention when they come here. Where else can they go?"

IUP, a perennial Division II powerhouse, has become a haven for transfers from Division I schools. When the Indians open the season at Findlay tomorrow night they will have as many as five transfers in the starting lineup.

"If we have a need where we don't have a player in our program to fill it, the best way is through transfers," said Cignetti, who has 10 new transfers on the roster. "Just because a player comes to us from Division I doesn't mean he's automatically going to be a star on this level. They know the situation, and they have to come in and do it.

"We have more transfers this year than we would normally like, but so many good kids contacted us."

Although IUP is stocked with big-play wide receivers, Cignetti couldn't say no when wideout Dave Davis contacted him. Davis, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior who has been out of school the past two seasons after leaving Stanford for personal reasons, had 81 catches for 1,273 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore.

"He was too good to pass up," Cignetti said. "He was a legitimate player at Stanford."

Davis, who graduated from Henninger High School in Syracuse, N.Y., comes to IUP with good recommendations and an impressive resume. He had three receptions for 44 yards in a 17-9 loss against Wisconsin in the 2000 Rose Bowl.

"When I saw film of Stanford he jumped out at me," Cignetti said. "He was outstanding."

Davis isn't the only transfer who has captured Cignetti's imagination. There's Neal Wood, a 6-3, 235-pound sophomore linebacker from Penn State who quickly earned a starting position and rave reviews.

"Wood is better than anything we've ever had on the field at linebacker," Cignetti said. "He's that good."

Other transfers expected to make a difference are Khiawatha Downey, a 6-4, 310-pound junior offensive lineman who started for two seasons at Pitt, and running back Elice Parker, a 5-11, 230-pound senior who spent most of three seasons on special teams at LSU. Also in the mix are running back Justin Spence (Connecticut and Brownsville High School) and linebacker Ian Alexander (North Carolina and Shady Side Academy).

"Transfers should have some maturity that freshmen don't," Cignetti said. "They should be ready to play."

On the road

Have game, will travel seems to be the motto at Gannon, which struggles to put together a schedule because it isn't a member of a league. The Golden Tornadoes will take five bus trips from Erie that total 4,746 miles for games at Wingate University, Wingate, N.C.(1,200 miles); St. Joseph's, Ind., Rennselaer, Ind.(933); West Virginia State, Institute, W.Va.(694); Central Connecticut State, New Britain, Conn. (980); Virginia Union, Richmond, Va. (939).

By the numbers

St. Francis has lost 23 consecutive games for the longest losing streak in the district. Robert Morris has won six in a row for longest winning streak. ... Duquesne has won 16 consecutive games against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foes and is 49-7 overall against league teams. ... Slippery Rock enters the season with 11 consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak in the PSAC. ... Gannon led Division II in rushing last season with 312.9 yards per game. ... IUP has a 428-219 record in 73 seasons for a .656 winning percentage.

Early starters

While most of the district teams don't start until next weekend, there will be a number of games this week. Tomorrow night, Division II Clarion plays at Division I-AA heavyweight Youngstown State. Edinboro plays Saturday at Gannon and Lock Haven travels to Northeastern.

Phil Axelrod can be reached at paxelrod@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1967.