Final statistics

ERIE, Pa. -- The 14th-ranked Slippery Rock University football team paid the price for five turnovers Saturday afternoon as the Green and White were upset by hosting Gannon University, 33-27, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action.

The hosts, in the span of seven minutes late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, converted three Rock turnovers into 13 points. That allowed the Golden Knights to erase a 20-7 halftime deficit and deny SRU its first outright division championship since 1999.

As the result of the loss, SRU (8-2 overall, 6-1 PSAC-West), which saw a six-game win streak come to an end and, was forced to share the PSAC-West title with California (8-2, 6-1).

The Rock took some consolation in knowing that, as a result of their 17-3 win Oct. 15 over California at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in Slippery Rock, they will represent the Western Division in next Saturday's PSAC Championship Game in Kutztown.

SRU, which make its first appearance in "The State Game" since 1974, will take on the hosting Golden Bears (9-1, 6-1 PSAC-East) in the title game.

The share of the PSAC-West title was SRU's first since 2000, when SRU, Clarion and Indiana tied for the top spot. Saturday's loss denied The Rock their first outright division title since 1999.

SRU outgained Gannon by a 382-324 margin in total offense Saturday, but were on the wrong end of a 5-2 turnover comparison.

Rock senior quarterback Cody Endres completed 22 of 49 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.

With his passing yards Saturday, Endres improved his season total to 2,318 and set a new SRU record. The old mark of 2,198 was set by Nate Crookshank in 2007.

Endres also increased his school-record totals to 201 completion and 335 attempts. Chad Vogt held those marks with 167 completions in 232 attempts in 1995.

Senior wide receiver Devin Goda caught nine passes for 131 yards Saturday, including a 15-yard TD toss from Endres that accounted for the game's first points. Goda, who has caught 69 passes for 961 yards this fall, moved into sole possession of third place on both of those SRU single-season pass charts.

Freshman wideout Derek Durand was on the receiving end of a 13-yard pass from Endres that accounted for the game's final points.

Sandwiched in between the TD passes were a two-yard TD run by redshirt sophomore running back Jimmy Zubik early in the second period that gave SRU a 14-0 lead and two field goals (24 and 31 yards) by junior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman, who was also 3-for-3 on extra-point kicks.

Defensively, The Rock was led by senior linebacker Zach Sheridan and senior strong safety Jayson Nickson, who shared game-high honors with 12 tackles each. Senior linebacker Jake Wickline was a third Rock defender to record a double-digit tackle total. He had 10 takedowns.

Sheridan also had 1.5 tackles for loss and broke up one pass in the game. His total tackles and tackles for loss Saturday both moved him into a tie for ninth place on SRU's career charts.

Gannon's offensive attack featured an even mix of run and pass. Quarterback Daniel Tapscott completed 13 of 32 passes for 188 yards and four TDs to shake off a pair of interceptions by The Rock defensive secondary. Jansen Jones added 128 rushing yards on 29 carries and Lawrence Coleman caught six passes for 92 yards and three TDs.

The Rock offense moved 44 yards in seven plays the second time it had the ball to take a 7-0 lead with 11:36 left in the first period. Senior free safety Brandon Watters recorded his seventh interception of the season and his 13th career pick to set up the drive, which culminated with the 15-yard TD pass from Endres to Goda.

With the INT, Watters took over sole possession of third place on SRU's single-season steals list and moved into a tie for fourth place on the career chart.

The Rock offense moved into scoring position on its next possession as well, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal attempt by Brackman, which got blocked with 5:08 left in the opening period.

Undaunted, the Green and White came right back and moved 82 yards in nine plays on their following possession to push the lead to 14-0. Zubik's two-yard sprint capped the drive with 14:17 left in the second period.

The Rock offense continued to churn up yards on its next possession, but stalled at the Gannon 7-yard line, so the guests had to settle for Brackman's 24-yard field goal and a 17-0 lead with 9:35 left before halftime.

Gannon trimmed the margin to 17-7 with a six-play, 44-yard drive and an 11-yard TD pass from Tapscott to Coleman with 4:12 left before the intermission.

Two Rock possessions later, after redshirt sophomore cornerback Anthony Saunders picked off Tapscott at the Gannon 28, the SRU attack moved to the Gannon 14-yard line. Brackman converted the turnover into points with a 31-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, which gave the guests a 20-3 advantage heading into the locker room.

Aided by three 15-yard penalties on The Rock (two pass interference and one personal foul), Gannon went 79 yards in 10 plays on the opening drive of the second half to snatch away any momentum SRU may have had. Tapscott and Coleman connected for a six-yard TD to cap the drive.

Gannon came right back to go 68 yards on only four plays the next time it had the ball and, when Tapscott hit Evan Twombly for an 11-yard TD, The Rock lead was trimmed to 20-20. The score remained tied when Gannon's snap on the extra-point kick was bobbled and the holder was tackled well short of the end zone.

The hosts took their first lead of the game, an advantage which they would never relinquish, seven plays after Rock running back Jimmy Zubik muffed a punt-return catch. The hosts pounced on the loose ball at The Rock 25 to set up a 25-yard field goal by Matt Szczupakowski that gave Gannon a 23-20 lead with 13:21 left to play in the game.

Three plays later, Endres had a pass picked off at The Rock 17. The Rock defense forced the Golden Knights to settle for a 24-yard Szczupakowski field goal that made the score 26-20 with 9:33 left to play.

Disaster struck The Rock on its very next offensive play, though, as Zubik lost a fumble at the SRU 33. This time, Gannon made the most of the opportunity and scored a touchdown as Tapscott connected with Coleman for their third TD, a 23-yard pass that pushed the hosts' lead to 33-20 with 8:25 left to play.

Endres engineered a 12-play, 62-yard Rock scoring drive on the ensuing possession to trim the margin to 33-27 with 5:52 left. His 14-yard TD toss to Durand capped the drive.

The Rock offense got the ball back twice in the final five-plus minutes, but was unable to generate a game-tying or -winning drive. The first drive ended with an incomplete fourth-and-10 pass at The Rock 37 with 2:10 left to play and the final rally was snuffed out when Endres was picked off for the third time in the game at The Rock 38 with 12 seconds remaining.

Notes:

SRU officials are planning to charter buses for adults and students to attend next Saturday's PSAC Championship Game at Kutztown. Complete details will be announced Monday, according to Bill Richter, SRU's athletic development officer ... Goda needs 39 yards to become just the fourth Rock receiver in history and the first since Ryan McKavish (61 catches, 1030 yards) in 2002 to have 1,000 or more receiving yards in one season ...  Goda needs 40 yards to move into third place on the single-season pass receiving yards list ... Junior defensive end Jeff Thompson recorded one tackle for loss to increase his season total to 14.5, the highest total for a Rock player since Tyler Boudreau had 17 in 2007, and move into ninth place on SRU's single-season list.