Complete Game Notes (PDF)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 10th ranked Slippery Rock University football team returns home to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium to host Virginia Union University Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff is set for noon.

Below you will find all pertinent information regarding live streaming coverage options, ticket information, parking, tailgating and complete game notes.

LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU athletic communication office.
• Live Streaming Video (FREE)  |  Provided by SRU athletic communication office.
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler).
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.
• There will be no live television coverage for this game.
 
TICKETS
• All ticket prices mandated for NCAA playoff games. No complimentary tickets are allowed.
• Chair-back Reserved Seat - $12
• Reserved Bench Seat - $12
• Adult General Admission - $10
• High School Students and Children - $3
• SRU Students – $5 with valid student ID
• Virginia Union Students – $5 with valid student ID
• Tickets can be purchased on game day. The stadium gates will open at 10:30 a.m.
• For ticket reservations or questions, call 724.738.2021 or visit the athletic office in Morrow Field House.

STUDENT RUSH FREE TICKETS
• A total of 100 FREE tickets were given out to students by SGA Wednesday morning.
• An additional 60 students are available FREE at the SGA Bookstore for students with valid ID.
• An additional 50 FREE student tickets will be given out Friday by SGA.
• Follow @Rock_Athletics on Twitter for more information on FREE student tickets throughout the week.
 
PARKING
• Parking is available in the lots surrounding the stadium
• Parking spaces are $5 in all tailgating lots (directly below stadium)
• Campus Map  |  Stadium is #53 on Map
 
TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed in paid lots three hours before kickoff (lots open at 9 a.m.)
• No Tailgating at halftime
• All Tailgaters must enter game at kickoff
• Tailgating is open for two hours after game ends
• No hard liquor or glass bottles
• Adhere to all campus tailgating rules found HERE.

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THE GAME
No. 10 Slippery Rock (10-1) is looking to continue its home winning streak that has lasted more than three years when it hosts an NCAA playoff game for the first time since 1999. The Rock earned the No. 2 seed in Super Region One and will host No. 7 seed Virginia Union (8-2) at noon Saturday. Slippery Rock is 3-1 in home playoff games, but has not won an NCAA playoff game since the regional final in 1998.



ALL-TIME SERIES
This will mark the first meeting between the two schools in football.
 
SUPER REGIONAL ONE FIELD  |  NCAA Bracket
#1 Shepherd (10-0) - BYE
#2 Slippery Rock (10-1) vs. #7 Virginia Union (8-2) - Saturday, Noon
#3 Assumption (10-1) vs. #6 Bowie State (9-2) - Saturday, 1 p.m.
#4 Charleston (10-1) vs. #5 Indiana (Pa.) (8-2) - Saturday, Noon
 
The Rock earned the No. 2 seed in the region and hosting rights for the first time since 1999. A Rock win would give SRU a second straight home playoff game next Saturday against the winner of the No. 3/6 game.
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach George Mihalik, a 1974 Slippery Rock graduate, is in his 28th season as the head coach at The Rock and his 40th overall season as a member of the coaching staff. In total, Mihalik has been involved in Rock football for 43 of the last 44 years. He was the starting quarterback for the PSAC championship teams in 1972 and 1973 and became a graduate assistant at SRU immediately following graduation. He went on to earn his master's degree from Slippery Rock in 1976. The head coach since 1988, Mihalik ranks fourth on the all-time wins list in the PSAC and ranks fourth among all active Division II head coaches with 195 wins. He has led SRU to the NCAA Division II playoffs six times in his career.
 
Virginia Union head coach Mark James is in his second season with the Panthers, where has led the program to an overall record of 15-5 and its first appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 24 years. He took the team to a 7-3 record in 2014, his first season as a collegiate head coach, and upped that to 8-2 this season with one of those losses against a Division I FCS opponent. James began his coaching career with a good deal of success as a head coach at the high school level in Florida, where he coached eight players that would make their way to the NFL.
 
THE ROCK IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
The Rock are making their third consecutive and sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, all under head coach George Mihalik. The Rock own a 3-5 record in NCAA games with the most recent game being a 46-20 loss at West Chester in the first round of the playoffs last year. All three of SRU's NCAA wins have come at home. The Rock is 3-1 at home with the last playoff win coming in 1998.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Rock football teams have compiled a 149-64 (.700) record the last 40 seasons in games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium). The Rock own a 50-19 (.725) home record since artificial turf was installed in the summer of 2003 and are 109-42 (.722) in home games under George Mihalik, with a 46-12 (.793) mark in home games since 2005.
 
The numbers get even better in recent years, as The Rock are 15-0 since the beginning of 2013 and have not lost at home since Nov. 10, 2012. The 15 straight home wins is the second longest active streak in Division II, one behind Minnesota Duluth's 16 straight.
 
SRU is 28-4 (.875) at home since the beginning of 2010 and has gone 5-0 in the regular season four times in that stretch, including this fall.
 
BACK IN THE TOP 10
Slippery Rock cracked the top 10 in the AFCA Division II national rankings two weeks ago for the first time since the beginning of the 2000 season. The Rock moved up one spot to No. 9 last week, but fell back to No. 10 this week in the AFCA poll. Slippery Rock moved up to No. 8 in the D2football.com national poll. The complete polls can be found on page eight of the PDF notes linked above.
 
LAST WEEK FOR SLIPPERY ROCK  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock entered the PSAC Championship game on the road at West Chester looking to make a statement to claim a top seed in the playoffs. The Rock did exactly that, thumping the PSAC East champion 61-12 to win by the largest margin ever in a PSAC title game.
 
The 61 points scored were the most ever recorded in a PSAC title game and the 49-point margin of defeat was the largest West Chester has ever suffered on its home field. It also was a reverse of last season, when the Golden Rams ended SRU's season with a lopsided 46-20 win in the NCAA playoffs.
 
Slippery Rock posted a 557-245 edge in total yardage after throwing for 300 yards and rushing for 257. West Chester was held to just 52 rushing yards, with much of that coming late in the game, and 193 passing yards.
 
Dante Nania was named the game's MVP after throwing for 304 yards with five touchdowns, all to different receivers, and no interceptions. Shamar Greene added 178 yards on the ground and rushed for one TD while catching another.
 
Jaimire Dutrieuille became the sixth player in program history to surpass 2,000 career receiving yards and finished with 69 yards and one TD. Marcus Carter, Cornelius Raye and Taishan Tucker all had one TD.
 
Deonte Flemings and Erik Johnson recorded interceptions and Johnny Davis returned a fumble 57 yards for a TD. Marcus Martin, Mike Grata and TJ Matrascia recorded one sack and Teven Williams recorded nine solo tackles. SRU became the first team to repeat as PSAC champion since the title game was reinstated in 2008.
 
RECORD SETTING DAY
Along the way to winning the PSAC title last week, Slippery Rock broke five program records as a team. The 2015 Rock squad now owns the single-season rushing record with 3,118 yards, topping the former record of 3,116 yards that was set in 1997. SRU also increased its single-season rushing TD record to 41. The Rock also broke the all-time single-season scoring record and now has 536 points on the year, topping the 520 scored in 2013. SRU tied the all-time total touchdowns in a season record with 73, matching the 2013 team. SRU also broke the extra points record and has 66 so far, topping the 64 made in 2013.
 
ALL-PSAC SELECTIONS
George Mihalik was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the sixth time and the second time since 2013. Marcus Martin was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year. The Rock landed 11 players on the All-PSAC West team in 12 positions. Andrew Huska was named the first team punter and placekicker and seven other members of The Rock were named to first team honors.

View the All-PSAC Release Here.



GREENE JOINS 3,000-YARD CLUB
Shamar Greene now has 3,371 career rushing yards in 32 games at SRU, which has him sitting fourth on the all-time ledger. He can move up to third with 156 more yards and has his sights set on the all-time record of 3,932 yards, set by Stan Kennedy in 2000. Greene, who still has another year of eligibility, has 24 rushing TDs, the ninth most in school history. He is averaging 105.3 yards per game over his career and is averaging 125.9 yards per game over the last two seasons.
 
RUNNING BACK DEPTH
Shamar Greene ranks second in the PSAC and ninth in the country in rushing at 129.1 yards per game. Isiah Neely is 25th in the PSAC at 47.2 yards per game. Dominic Dingle is 28th (36.6) and Dante Nania is 37th (28.8), giving SRU four rushers in the top 40 in the 16-team PSAC. SRU averages 5.2 yards per carry as a team and ranks eighth in the nation in rushing yards per game at 283.5.
 
ROCK SHATTERS PROGRAM RUSHING TD RECORD
Slippery Rock's 41 rushing touchdowns this season shattered the previous program record of 36 that was set over 12 games in 1999. Shamar Greene has 10 rushing TDs in just 8.5 games played. Isiah Neely has five, Dante Nania and Dominic Dingle each have three and Jaimire Dutrieuille has one. The 41 rushing TDs this year rank fifth in the nation.
 
DUTY CLIMBING RECORD BOOKS TOO
Jaimire Dutrieuille's 36 catches so far this year bring his career total to 158 receptions and move him into third on the SRU all-time list. "Duty" has caught at least one pass in 41 of the 44 career games he has played in. He ranks fifth on the career touchdown receptions list at SRU with 18 TDs and his 2,054 receiving yards are good for fifth on the all-time list at The Rock. He also ranks 10th in all-purpose yards at 3,629, fifth in punt return yards at 423 and second in yards per punt return (15.1).
 
YSU TRANSFERS COME UP BIG
Slippery Rock bolstered its roster last spring with the addition of Youngstown State transfers Dante Nania and Teven Williams. The pair quickly bought into the SRU system and the dividends have been paying off for The Rock. While evident all year, it was on full display last week as Nania was named the PSAC Championship MVP and he and Williams took home PSAC Athlete of the Week honors. Nania, playing in the first title game of his career, threw for 304 yards with five TDs and no picks. Williams led the defense with nine solo tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup and a QB hurry.
 
Nania already ranks in the top three in most single-season passing categories at SRU. Williams is leading The Rock in tackles with 77 on the year, including 13.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.
 
NANIA MAKING NAME FOR HIMSELF
Dante Nania has settled in at QB during his one season at The Rock. He ranks third in SRU history in single-season passing completions and attempts (196-343), second in passing TDs (24), second in passing yards (2,471) and second in total offense (2,788).
 
NO FAVORITE TARGETS
One issue The Rock offense presents to opposing defenses is which receiver to key on. Dante Nania has connected with 13 different receivers through 11 games and six of those have at least 17 catches. No one on the team has more than 44 catches and six players have caught at least two touchdowns. Cornelius Raye (44 catches, 558 yards, 7 TD) and Jaimire Dutrieuille (36-511-6) lead the way, while Marcus Carter (32-455-3) and Taishan Tucker (29-382-4) have provided the threat on the outside. Those four all have at least 29 catches for at least 382 yards and average at least 38 yards per game.
 
HIGH SPEED, HIGH POWER OFFENSE
Slippery Rock has recorded total offensive outputs of more than 475 yards in 24 of the 34 games dating back to the first game of 2013. The Rock have gone for more than 500 yards in 20 of those 34 games and more than 600 yards 10 times. One thing you won't see when SRU has the ball is a huddle. The Rock goes no-huddle for 60 minutes and has twice reached the 100-play mark in a game this year. No team in the nation has run more plays than SRU (961 plays - 87.4 plays per game).
 


OFFENSE AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
All of these skill position players putting up big numbers and sharing the ball has Slippery Rock sitting high in multiple national statistical rankings. The Rock own the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation at 48.7 points per game, the fourth best total offense at 517.1 yards per game, the fifth most first downs with 288 and the eighth best rushing offense at 283.5 yards per game.
 
DEFENSE RANKS HIGH AS WELL
The defense has kept pace with the offense by ranking at or near the top in many categories. SRU owns the No. 1 rushing defense in all of college football at just 62.9 yards per game. The Rock also rank first in turnovers gained (35) and fourth down conversion defense (20.7%), ninth in sacks (3.3 per game), second in defensive touchdowns scored (6) and 16th in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) in Division II.
 
TAKEAWAYS
SRU ranks first in the country in total takeaways with 35, second in the nation in fumbles recovered with 16 and ranks 11th in interceptions with 19. The Rock have had at least two takeaways in each game of the season and are coming off a three takeaway effort against West Chester. Derrick Fulmore and Deonte Flemings have four INT, Alfon Cook and Titus Howard each have three, Derek Morgan has two and Teven Williams, TJ Matrascia and Erik Johnson each have one INT. Cook and Marcus Martin have recovered three fumbles and Mike Grata has recovered two fumbles. Howard, T. Williams, Johnson, Kris Williams, Bob Vernick, John Conglose, Kyle Hall and Johnny Davis all have one.
 
DEFENSIVE SCORING
The Rock defense has also scored six touchdowns and recorded three safeties so far this season to account for 42 points. The six touchdowns scored by the SRU defense are the second most of any Division II team this fall. Alfon Cook, Titus Howard and TJ Matrascia each have one INT return for a TD and Kyle Hall, Erik Johnson and Johnny Davis each have a fumble return for a TD. The Rock defense recorded its sixth TD of the year last week with Davis' 57-yard fumble return.
 
MARTIN BEST SACK RATIO IN ENTIRE NCAA
No college football player in the country is better at getting to the quarterback than Rock defensive end Marcus Martin, who broke the single-season sack record as a freshman (16.0) last year and already ranks third on the career list at SRU (26). His 1.13 sack per game average is the best in the NCAA among all active players in any division.
 
HUSKA COMING UP HUGE
Rock punter Andrew Huska boomed a 78-yard punt in the win at Gannon that broke the SRU program record for longest punt ever. Huska has been dominant in flipping the field for SRU with kickoffs and punts all year. He has 41 touchbacks on kickoffs. The next highest total for any team in the PSAC is 16. Huska also leads the PSAC and ranks 13th in the nation in punting average at 42.0 yards per punt. He is averaging 63.1 yards per kickoff and has boomed seven punts of 50 yards or more. Huska also took over PK duties midway through the season after an injury to Mike Wainauskis. Since then he is 3-for-4 on field goals and 37-for-40 on extra point tries. Huska's career average of 39.5 yards per punt ranks sixth all-time at Slippery Rock.
 
FLEMINGS MOVES TO SAFETY
Slippery Rock's All-America caliber safety Derrick Fulmore was lost for the season with an injury in the win over Mercyhurst. To help fill the void, cornerback Deonte Flemings made the move to safety three weeks ago. He has recorded 12 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups in the three games since making the move.
 
NO ONE FACES MORE PASSES
The strength of the Slippery Rock run defense and the margin on the scoreboard has led to many teams airing it out against SRU this year. No team in the country has seen more pass attempts than Slippery Rock. Opponents have attempted 471 pass attempts on The Rock, an average of 42.8 passes per game. The next highest total in Division II is 462 attempts against Upper Iowa.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock claimed wins over seven teams with above .500 records this season, including five victories over teams that recorded at least seven wins. No other team in Super Region One can claim a 7-0 record against teams with above .500 records.
 
WINNING SEASON STREAK
With a winning record already assured this year, Slippery Rock has now put together seven straight winning seasons, has been above .500 in nine of the last 10 years and has finished in winning fashion in 23 of the 28 seasons in head coach George Mihalik's career. Only three teams in the PSAC had managed at least six straight winning seasons entering 2015 (Bloomsburg, California).
 
GAME NO. 1,000 FOR THE ROCK
Last week's PSAC Championship game against West Chester was the 1,000th documented football game in Slippery Rock program history. The first documented football games at The Rock took place in 1898. Mihalik has been involved in 465 SRU games as a player, assistant coach and head coach with Saturday's game as his 309th game as head coach. He has been head coach of 30.9 percent of all games played at SRU and has been on the field or sideline for 46.5 percent of all games played.
 
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONOREES
In addition to standing out on the field, Slippery Rock's Marcus Martin and Kyle Henderson were named to first team Academic All-District honors by the College Sports Information Directors of America. In order to be eligible, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore and maintain a 3.30 GPA and have significant athletic credentials.

 

LINEUP NOTES AND CHANGES
Right tackle Cory Tucker has now started 45 straight games and left guard Kyle Henderson has started 36 straight. Tucker, Henderson, center Joe LoSchiavo and right guard Nate Ehrlich have started every game this year.
 
Wide receiver and return specialist Drew Scales is expected to be out for the fourth straight week. Scales is the only offensive starter expected to be out. Cornelius Raye will start in the opposite slot as Jaimire Dutrieuille.
 
Marcus Martin has started 23 straight games for SRU, while Avery Anderson has made 21 straight starts. Derrick Fulmore is out for the season. Deonte Flemings moved to safety three weeks ago and will start there this week. Cody Conway has made 22 starts in the last 23 games. Mike Grata has started 17 of the last 18 games. Kyle Hall made his first career start at corner last week. Titus Howard is expected to start this week.
 
Dutrieuille and Leroy McClain will continue to handle kick return duties while Scales is sidelined.
 
VIRGINIA UNION QUICK HITS
• Virginia Union is making its first NCAA playoff appearance in 24 years with the last appearance coming in 1991.
• The Panthers finished the regular season with an 8-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the CIAA North, just missing out on the division's appearance in the CIAA title game.
• Virginia Union was 8-1 against Division II competition this year with its only loss coming to Bowie State, 23-19 on the road. The other loss was against Division I FCS Gardner Webb, 13-9.
• Virginia Union is coming off a bye week, essentially, as the Panthers did not have a game last week and have only played 10 games this season.
• The record for all opponents on the Virginia Union schedule so far this year was just 38-62 (.380).
• Virginia Union has a balanced offense, but relies on its powerful defense to assert itself in games. The defense ranks second in the nation in yards allowed at just 221.2. The defense also ranks third against the run (73.0 yards per game), second on third down conversions (23.7%) and first in tackles for loss per game (11.9). They are 13th in total takeaways with 29 (2.9 per game).
• RB Hakeem Holland leads the ground game with 1,012 yards and 10 TD on 164 carries (101.2 yards per game, 6.2 yards per carry).
• QB Swaheem Dowdy has completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 2,035 yards with 19 TD and 12 INT. He averages 203.5 yards per game through the air and is also the third leading rusher on the team, averaging 4.0 yards per carry and 31.1 yards per game.
• Similar to the SRU pass game, Dowdy spreads the ball all around to his receivers. No one has more than 36 catches and seven players have at least 10 catches. Olu Izegwire leads the team with 36 catches for 569 yards and four TD. Chazto McKenzie has 22 catches for 399 yards with five TD and Andre Coble has 22 catches for 239 yards and two TD.
• Paulin Miano and Miles Pace each have 10.0 sacks on the year. Miano has 23.0 tackles for loss and Pace has 17.0. Joseph Blanks leads the team with 78 total tackles and has 14.0 for loss. DeShawn Lawrence has added 13.0 tackles for loss. Rodeshawn Joseph leads the secondary with five INT, which he has returned for a total of 172 yards.