Oct. 21, 2006

Final Stats

Slippery Rock, Pa. - The Rock outgained visiting Lock Haven by a 420-45 margin in total offense Saturday afternoon en route to a 35-0 Homecoming Day win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for The Rock, who improved their overall record to 5-3 and evened their PSAC-West mark at 2-2.

Lock Haven dropped to 1-7, 0-4.

Nate Crookshank passed for 171 yards on a 16-of-21 passing day and threw for two TDs to lead The Rock offensive attack. His supporting cast included Travis Sarver, rushed for 98 yards and one TD; A.J. Saunders, who rushed for two TDs; and Colin Golden, who caught five passes for 57 yards and one TD.

SRU never allowed the outmanned Bald Eagles to get in the game as the hosts scored on their first two possessions of the game.

The Rock defense, meanwhile, held Lock Haven to minus-11 yards rushing and only 56 yards passing.

The Rock marched 65 yards in eight plays on the opening drive of the game. Sarver capped the drive with a 38-yard TD run.

Three plays later, The Rock offense was back on the field after defensive end Cory Lacek intercepted a Lock Haven pass at the visitors' 32-yard line.

Saunders cashed the opportunity into points with a four-yard TD run on the seventh play of the ensuing Rock possession and SRU had a 14-0 lead after less than 10 minutes of action.

Terry Grossetti did his tight-rope-walker routine to account for SRUs' third TD as he stretched upward while keeping his feet planted along the side of the endzone and caught a 17-yard TD toss from Crookshank with 6:42 left in the first half. The scoring play capped an 11-play, 70-yard march by The Rock.

Golden caught Crookshank's second TD toss, a four-yarder with 1:53 left before halftime, to put SRU up 28-0 at intermission. The scoring play culminated a six-play, 40-yard drive.

The Rock's final TD came on a 16-yard run by Saunders with 10:47 left in the game. That play capped a six-play, 53-yard drive.

Lock Haven's only scoring threat came after The Rock muffed a punt at its own 21-yard line late in the first period. But The Rock defense became a stone wall and allowed the Bald Eagles to gain only nine yards on four plays. The Rock offense got the ball back after Jared Palmer and Clint Forsha teamed up to stop a fourth-and-one play for a minus-two-yard loss at The Rock 12.

The Rock will host PSAC-West rival Edinboro at 1 p.m. next Saturday.

Edinboro was 3-4 overall, 0-2 in PSAC-West action heading into a Saturday night game at Clarion (1-6, 0-2).

Four days after hosting Edinboro, The Rock will travel to PSAC-West archrival Indiana U. of Pa. (6-1 overall, 4-0 PSAC-W) for a 7 p.m. Thursday night, Nov. 2, contest that will be televised live by CSTV and Fox Sports Pittsburgh.

The Rock closes out its regulars-season schedule Nov. 11 with a 1 p.m., Senior Day home game vs. West Chester (5-3 overall).

Note: Saturday's shutout was the second tossed by first-year Rock defensive coordinator Shawn Lutz's crew. The last season in which SRU whitewashed two foes was 1973, when a team coached by Bob DiSpirito blanked three foes in the course of an 8-2 campaign. ... Rock head coach Dr. George Mihalik is now only one win shy of tying N. Kerr Thompson for the most wins by a Rock head football coach. Coach Mihalik now owns a 125-76-4 mark in 19 seasons as SRU's head coach. Thompson had a 126-58-11 record in 24 seasons (1920-42, 1945) ... Saturday's win was the 18th successive recorded by SRU in head-to-head matchups with Lock Haven and gives Coach Mihalik a sparkling 18-0-1 mark against the Bald Eagles.