Final statistics

EDINBORO, Pa. – Final statistics

EDINBORO, Pa. – Slippery Rock University forced six turnovers and outscored hosting Edinboro University by a 21-3 margin in the final 25 minutes of action Saturday afternoon to record a come-from-behind, 24-23 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action at Sox Harrison Stadium.

Rock senior quarterback Cody Endres connected with senior wide receiver Devin Goda for an eight-yard touchdown with 2:22 left to play to tie the score at 23-23. Junior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman then tacked on the extra point to account for the winning margin.

But the victory wasn't secure until The Rock defense forced its final turnover of the game, a fumble recovery with 0:22 left to play and Edinboro close to being in position to kick a potential game-winning field goal.

Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tony Papley forced the fumble by Edinboro freshman quarterback Ty Stoldt and redshirt sophomore cornerback Brandon Burley pounced on the loose ball at The Rock 35-yard line.

The win was SRU's third consecutive and gave The Rock a 5-1 overall record for the third staight season.

More importantly, it kept the Green and White unbeaten after three PSAC-West games and set up a first-place battle next Saturday vs. California (5-1, 3-0) at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in Slippery Rock.

Edinboro, which entered the game ranked 25th in the American Football Coaches Association Division II national poll, suffered its second straight loss and saw it records fall to 4-2 overall, 1-2 in division action.

Endres completed 23 of 37 passes for 231 yards and three TDs and no interceptions to lead a Rock offensive attack that finished the game with 300 total yards. The Green and White gained 161 of their yards in the final two periods when, after scoring only three first-half points, they put 21 points on the scoreboard.

Edinboro, on the other hand, collected 169 of its 231 total yards in the opening two periods of play, in the process of taking a 13-3 lead into the intermission.

Goda caught six passes for 55 yards and one TD and redshirt sophomore wideout John Schademan had five receptions for 62 yards. Redshirt freshman wideout Ken Amos  and junior running back LaQuinn Stephens-Howling each caught one TD pass and finished the game with two catches for 28 yards.

Junior running back Akeem Satterfield had 52 yards on 15 carries to account for most of the yards in a 69-yard Rock rushing effort.

Defensively, senior linebacker Jake Wickline, who transferred to SRU from Edinboro last spring, led the way for The Rock.

Wickline celebrated his return to his former home by recording eight tackles, one quarterback sack (-8 yards), two tackles for loss (-11 yards), forced one fumble, recorded a fumble and intercepted a pass (24-yard return).

The Rock defense intercepted three passes and recovered three of Edinboro's four fumbles. SRU, meanwhile, fumbled three times and lost all of them.

Senior strong safety Jayson Nickson, who hails from nearby Erie, added seven tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted). Junior nose guard Jack Charles chipped in six tackles, one TFL and one fumble recovery, while redshirt sophomore cornerback Brandon Burley also had six tackles and one fumble recovery. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Q uindell Dean added six tackles, one sack (-4 yards) and two TFLs (-7 yards) and senior LB Zach Sheridan also made six tackles.

In addition to Wickline's INT, senior free safety Brandon Watters recorded his 10th career swipe and senior cornerback Andre Freeman snared his second.

The Rock took the opening kickoff and marched 46 yards in six plays before the drive stalled and Brackman was called upon to kick a 31-yard field goal with 12:23 left in the first period, which gave SRU a 3-0 lead.

Edinboro took a 6-3 lead with 12:52 left in the second stanza on a 27-yard pass from Stoldt to Nick Marino that capped a four-play, 82-yard drive. The extra-point kick by Alex Romanias, who was 18-for-18 prior to the attempt, was wide of the upright to leave the score at 6-3.

In the end, that missed extra point proved to be the difference in the game.

Edinboro expanded its lead to 13-3 with 3:54 left in the second period when Veuntrae Robinson stripped the ball from the arms of Rock wide receiver Kevin Sanders following a catch and sprinted 15 yards for a touchdown. Romanias was successful on this extra-point attempt.

The Scots held onto that 10-point lead heading into intermission, then extended the margin to 17 (20-3) five minutes into the third period on a 62-yard return by James Jackson of a blocked field-goal attempt by Brackman.

Adding to The Rock's anguish was the fact the return for a TD came after SRU had the ball on the Edinboro 15-yard line following Wickline's INT and return but had to settle for the field-goal try.

Wickline's pick was the second recorded by The Rock in the first two Edinboro possessions in the second half. Watters swiped a Stoldt pass attempt at The Rock 46 on the second play from scrimmage in the final half. SRU was forced to punt three plays after that INT.

Undaunted by the 20-3 Edinboro lead, The Rock offense moved 68 yards in 12 plays to score a touchdown on the possession immediately following Jackson's return for a TD. Endres hit a leaping Amos in the back corner of the end zone for an eight-yard TD to cap the drive. Brackman's PAT kick made it a 20-10 game with 4:09 left in the third period.

The Rock defense got its third INT in the span of four Edinboro drives when Freeman batted a pass into the air, gathered it in and returned the pick four yards to the Edinboro 49.

SRU's offense marched the ball to the Edinboro 6 before a Satterfield fumble killed the drive.

One play later, though, the Green and White offense got the ball back as Charles submarined Stoldt and forced him to cough up the football at the hosts' 9-yard line. Endres hit Stephens-Howling for a four-yard TD on the next snap after Edinboro was called for an offsides penalty. When Brackman booted the extra point, the hosts' lead was cut to three points, 20-17.

Two Edinboro possessions later, the hosts took advantage of the second Satterfield fumble at the Edinboro 19 to move into field goal range and get a 39-yard field goal from Romanias that made it a 23-17 game.

Two Rock possessions later, the guests moved 54 yards in nine plays to tie the game on the Endres-to-Goda TD pass and then take the lead for good on Brackman's PAT kick with 2:22 left to play.

Edinboro went 33 yards in eight plays on the ensuing possession before Papley and Burley snuffed out the hosts' bid for a last-second score and victory.

Notes:

Goda, who moved into second place on SRU's career pass receptions list with 138 in his four-year career, has now caught 33 passes for 370 yards and three TDs in the last four games after having only seven catches for 117 yards in the first three games … Endres has passed for 536 yards and six TDs with one interception in the last two games after having 771 yards, three TDs and five INTs in the first four games … Saturday's game marked the fourth time in six games this fall the transfer from Division I UConn threw for 225 or more yards … Edinboro's second-quarter TD pass Saturday snapped a string of 11 consecutive quarters in which The Rock defense had held opponents without an offensive TD … The Rock defense entered Saturday's game as the national leader in points allowed (10.6 per game), rushing yards (74.6/game), passing yards (120.8/game), total yards (195.4/game) and third-down conversions (22.9%). Edinboro was 3-of-12 on third-down plays Saturday.