Final statistics

EDINBORO, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday night as hosting Edinboro scored with 30 seconds left to play to escape with a 28-24 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division opening-week action at Sox Harrison Stadium.
The Fighting Scots (3-1, overall, 1-0 PSAC-W) snatched the proverbial victory from the jaws of defeat one minute after The Rock (3-1, 0-1) had taken a 24-21 lead on a 18-yard run by redshirt sophomore running back SayQuan Scott-Mitchell.

The Rock's last-gasp comeback effort was snuffed out when redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Colavecchia had a long pass attempt picked up just past midfield.

The Rock will look to bounce back next Saturday when it hosts PSAC-West archrival Indiana (3-1, 0-1) in a 7 p.m. “Hall of Fame Day” and “White-out Night” game on Bob DiSpirito Field at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

The Rock outgained Edinboro by a narrow 415-408 margin in total offense behind a balance of rushing (215 yards) and passing (200 yards).

Colavecchia had a season-best passing effort as he completed eight of 16 pass attempts for the aforementioned 200 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass, was intercepted twice and sacked twice.
The Rock's top receiver was junior wide receiver Jermale Cromerdie, who had two catches for 92 yards. Redshirt freshman H-Back Kenny Cottman had one catch for 56 yards.

Senior running back Damarcus Cleckley rushed for 102 yards on 20 carries, including a three-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Scott-Mitchell finished the game with 77 yards on 13 carries, including the 18-yard TD burst with 90 seconds left to play.

Edinboro quarterback Trevor Harris, a two-time PSAC-West “Offensive Player of the Year,” completed 22 of 27 pass attempts for 270 yards and two TDs, the final one a 24-yard toss to Josh Brown that accounted for the winning points.

Harris and Brown hooked up for a 28-yard score in the first period to account for the first points of the game.

The Rock sacked Harris three times for -20 yards. Senior nose guard Marty Kern was credited with a solo sack while redshirt sophomore defensive end Matt Holsberger, redshirt defensive tackle Quintin Johnson, senior defensive end Pat Marsilio and redshirt freshman linebacker Jeff Thompson were each credited with a half sack.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Marquis Knight and redshirt sophomore linebacker Zach Sheridan tied for the total tackles lead with seven each.

Action early in the game gave fans a quick indication of what would follow as both teams' defensive units needed some time to get settled in.

The Rock went 50 yards in eight plays on the game's opening drive before the drive stalled. A 40-yard field goal attempt by junior kicking specialist #C.J. Bahr# sailed wide to the left with 12:27 left to play in the first quarter.

Edinboro responded with an eight-play, 77-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead with 8:42 left in the opening stanza. Harris connected with Josh Brown for a 28-yard TD completion to culminate the drive.

Undaunted, The Rock came right back with a five-play, 58-yard scoring drive to tie the score at 7-7 with six minutes left in the first period. Colavecchia capped the drive with a one-yard QB sneak and Bahr tacked on the extra-point kick.

The key play on the drive was a 56-yard pass completion from Colavecchia to Cottman.

Edinboro threatened to respond to The Rock's scoring drive with its second scoring drive of the game after a failed onside kick attempt by The Rock set the hosts up at the SRU 46-yard line. The Green and White defense stepped up, though, and denied the Scots. A fourth-and-six pass by Harris gained only five yards on the final play of the drive.

Two possessions later, Edinboro moved from its own 25 to The Rock 28 before the drive stalled. A 45-yard field goal attempt by Alex Romanias dropped well short of the crossbard.

The Rock threatened to take a lead into halftime, only to see a Colavecchia pass picked off in the end zone by Houston Brown. After a kick by Scots punter Ryan Green was downed at The Rock 1, the guests moved out of the shade of their own end zone when a 54-yard pass from Colavecchia to Cromerdie set The Rock up first and 10 at the Edinboro 40. Two plays later, Houston Brown recorded his INT.

First-half statistics showed The Rock with a narrow 199-191 advantage in total yardage. Colavecchia completed five of 11 passes for 161 yards, was sacked once and threw the one INT. Cromerdie had two catches for 92 yards, while Cottman had the one reception for 56 yards.

Colavecchia's first-half passing yardage represented a 10-yard improvement over his best whole-game total of the season prior to Saturday night, a 151-yard performance in Week 2 vs. Millersville.

Cromerdie, meanwhile, had four catches for 49 yards combined in the first three games this fall.

Harris was 11 of 14 passing for 101 yards and one TD and was sacked twice in the first half.

Edinboro took the opening kick of the second half and marched 46 yards in eight plays to take a 14-7 leadd with 10 minutes left in the third period. Harris ran eight yards to put the finishing touch on the drive.
On the ensuing drive, The Rock moved 63 yards in nine plays before it had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Bahr, his sixth three-pointer of the season, with 6:03 left in the third period. That kick trimmed the Edinboro lead to 14-10, which is what the scoreboard read at the end of three periods.

The Rock defense held Edinboro on the ensuing possession and the Green and White offense showed its appreciation with an 11-play, 87-yard scoring drive that ate up 4:33 of time. All the plays on the drive were run attempts, and Cleckley capped the drive with a three-yard TD run at the 14:23 mark of the final period. Bahr's PAT kick gave SRU a 17-14 lead.

Poor tackling on a 40-yard pass completion , coupled with a personal foul penalty on the play and a defensive holding penalty in the end zone one play later allowed Edinboro to retake the lead, 21-17, with six minutes left in the game.

Undaunted, TheRock marched 71 yards in nine plays to take a 24-21 lead with 1:39 left to play. Scott-Mitchell's 18-yard TD run came one play after an apparent TD run was wiped out by a holding penalty on The Rock.

Harris brought the Scots right back with a eight-play, 70-yard drive to account for the winning points.

The Rock began the ensuing drive at its own 36-yard line. Colavecchia was picked off on the first play from scrimmage and Harris subsequently took a knee to allow the remaining time to run out.

Notes:  With a 3-for-3 showing Saturday, Bahr extended his string of successful PAT kicks to 58 … The loss denied SRU its second 4-0 start in last three seasons, third in George Mihalik's 22 seasons as The Rock's head coach and ninth in school history … The loss, coupled with setbacks sustained by East Stroudsburg (38-14 at Shippensburg) and Indiana (20-14 at Mercyhurst) earlier in the day, left Bloomsburg as the only unbeaten PSAC team.