Penn State scored a big Rugby East Conference victory with a 56-12 defeat of Iona Friday night in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions torched the Gaels for four tries in the opening half and didn’t look back. Chris Burian got PSU on the board in the 7th minute, and then Connor Cassidy set up Jimmy Ronan for a try five minutes later and a 12-0 lead. Cassidy kept it and fended off a tackler to score four minutes later, and then just before halftime Malcolm May went over. Ronan converted two for the 24-0 halftime lead.

May thundered over from long range to open the second half, and then Kevin Trotter raced in to make it 36-0 with 30 minutes to go.

Iona flanker Jon Peterutti finally got Iona some points with a try, converted by Sean Hardiman. But Penn State answered with a Brendan McCabe penalty and Burian’s second try. Zach Barnes scored on a powerful, long-range run breaking three tackles along the way, and McCabe added another three, while Peterutti finished the game off with another Iona try.

“We got killed in contact area. We got killed in scrum. But we did well in our driving lineout,” said Iona Head Coach Bruce McLane. “Penn State played at a different pace. We were beaten early and often. It's one thing to surprise teams and fly under the radar; it's another to be the hunted by a good team, and we took that beating.”

“We played to win,” added Penn State Head Coach Blake Burdette, who was coached by McLane when he played for the New York Athletic Club. “They did well in the maul game and gave us trouble in the tackle area, but  we used the aggressiveness [of Iona’s defense] to our advantage and got the ball wide.”

With the victory, Penn State moves to 5-1, in a tie for 2nd with 5-0 Kutztown (Army is 1st at 5-2 because the Black Knights have more bonus points). Kutztown is expected to beat West Virginia Saturday to move to 6-0 and take over 1st.

This all sets up a winner-take-all clash between KU and PSU at Penn State on November 7. Kutztown will likely be in a position to win the conference with a tie or even just one bonus point for a close loss or four tries. But they will want to win, regardless.