Final statistics
INDIANA, Pa. -- The Rock pushed 19th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) to the limit and beyond Saturday afternoon before dropping a 23-16 decision in double overtime in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action at George P. Miller Stadium.
The Rock (3-3 overall, 1-2 PSAC-W) never trailed in the game until the hosts scored a touchdown (7-yard pass from Andrew Krewatch to Garrett Lestochi) on their fifth play from scrimmage in their second overtime possession.
Indiana (5-1, 2-1 PSAC-W) then sealed the victory when Mark Jackson intercepted a third-down pass from Rock backup quarterback
Brad Galvan on the ensuing Rock possession.
The INT came three plays after Galvan, a junior, connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver
Devin Goda for a 15-yard gain to the Indiana 10-yard line on fourth down to keep the Green and White's hopes alive.
Galvan replaced starting redshirt sophomore QB
Brandon Frohnapple late in the fourth quarter after the latter left the game with an injury and completed two of nine passes for 35 yards before throwing the interception.
Frohnapple was 12-of-31 passing for 133 yards and one touchdown, an eight-yard toss to
Jermale Cromerdie that gave SRU a 7-0 lead with 2:59 left in the first quarter.
The remaining Rock points came off the foot of sophomore kicking specialist #C.J. Bahr#, who booted three field goals.
Bahr's 33-yard field goal with 9:27 left in the first half gave The Rock a 10-3 lead, which it took into intermission. His 35-yarder with 14:56 left in the fourth quarter pushed The Rock to a 13-9 lead.
Bahr's third field goal, a career-high 46-yarder with 1:36 left, gave The Rock a four-point (16-9) lead that lasted just over a minute.
Indiana moved 56 yards in seven plays, aided by a personal foul penalty on The Rock, to tie the game with 22 seconds left in regulation.
The Rock had the ball first in overtime and gained only three yards in three plays before Bahr was called upon to attempt a 39-yard field goal. The attempt sailed wide to the left.
The game went into a second overtime period when Indiana's Craig Burgess was also wide left, his miss coming on a 32-yard attempt.
Indiana, ranked second in the PSAC in total offense prior to the game with a 453 yards per game average, outgained The Rock by a 352-271. The hosts had 141 rushing yards and 211 passing yards, while The Rock had 103 rushing yards and 168 passing yards.
Junior running back
Damarcus Cleckley had 73 yards rushing on 17 carries to lead The Rock ground attack. Senior H-Back
Josh Prigorac (57 yards) and senior wide receiver
Terry Grossetti (32 yards) each had four pass receptions.
Defensively, redshirt freshman defensive back
Jayson Nickson recorded his second straight double-figure tackle total as he finished with a game-high 12 tackles, all of which were solo takedowns.
The Rock defense forced three Indiana turnovers, two fumbles and an interception. Senior defensive end
Tyler Boudreau forced both fumbles and finished with eight tackles, including a QB sack. Sophomore defensive back
Robert Doiley and junior DB
Anthony Walls each had one fumble recovery, while redshirt freshman DB
Ryan Webb recorded the INT.
The Rock concludes a three-game road trip next Saturday with a 6 p.m. PSAC-West game at Clarion.
Saturday's game was televised statewide by the SPORTSfever Television Network and will be replayed at 7:30 p.m. by Armstrong Cable's Grove City operation on Channel 19. Check your local listings for other rebroadcasts of the game.
