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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – LaQuinn Stephens-Howling caught a 25- yard touchdown pass from Nigel Barksdale on the first series of overtime Saturday to account for the winning points in Slippery Rock University's 38-31 victory over visiting Edinboro University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Rock defense then held Edinboro out of the end zone on four plays to close out the win, SRU's second in as many weeks and fourth in eight games this fall.

The Rock are now 4-4 overall, 3-2 against PSAC-West rivals this fall and, with Saturday's win, own a 21-4 record in SRU Homecoming games under head coach George Mihalik.

Edinboro, which lost for the second consecutive week, saw its season records fall to 3-4 overall, 2-3 against division rivals.

The game-winning play was the second TD connection of the game between Barksdale, a junior quarterback from San Jacinto, Calif., and Stephens-Howling, a junior slot receiver from Johnstown. They hooked up for a 42-yard score on the opening series of the game.

The two TD catches were the only receptions Stephens-Howling had in the game.

Barksdale (pictured) also threw a two-yard TD pass to senior tight end Josh Gardner in the second quarter en route to a 15-of-30, 239-yard passing effort. He was intercepted three times.

Barksdale also rushed for a team-high 96 yards on 30 carries, including a four-yard TD late in the third quarter that gave SRU a short-lived 24-17 lead.

Redshirt sophomore wideout Ken Amos caught four passes for 76 yards to lead The Rock receiving effort.

Redshirt freshman running back Brett Crenshaw ran for a three-yard TD and senior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman was 3-for-4 on extra-point tries and booted a 28-yard field goal to complete The Rock's scoring effort.

Defensively, The Rock held Edinboro to 30 rushing yards on 45 carries and sacked All-PSAC-West quarterback Cody Harris nine times for minus-65 yards.

Harris shook off the sacks to throw for 379 yards and one TD. He also ran for two second-half TDs.

Preseason All-America senior defensive end Jeff Thompson recorded three sacks and 11 tackles to lead The Rock's defensive effort. Junior nose tackle Tony Papley recorded a game-high 12 tackles and 1.5 QB sacks, while senior defensive end Kevin Kulka also recorded 11 tackles, a career-high total.

As a team, The Rock outgained Edinboro by a 430-409 margin behind a balanced attack that saw the hosts rush for 191 yards and pass for 239.

SRU went 78 yards in eight plays on the game's opening drive to take a quick 6-0 lead with 10:26 left to play in the first quarter. Brackman missed the extra point.

The Rock extended its lead to 9-0 on Brackman's 22-yard field goal with 2:45 left in the first period. The boot capped an 11-play, 35-yard drive.

Edinboro took advantage of a 47-yard return by Willie Lowe to The Rock 44yard on the ensuing kickoff to score its first points of the game. But the Fighting Scots had to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Sean Seefeldt with 14:52 left in the second quarter after The Rock defense held the guests to 19 yards in nine plays.

The Barksdale-to-Gardner TD pass with 9:31 left before halftime capped a six-play, 41-yard scoring drive that pushed The Rock lead to 16-3, which is where it stood at the intermission.

The first half didn't end without some tense moments for the Rock faithful, though.

Barksdale underthrew an ill-advised pass that Edinboro defender Denzel Jones gladly intercepted at the SRU 22-yard line with 90 seconds left before the intermission.

With no timeouts to stop the clock, though, Edinboro ran out of time and saw a potential scoring drive die at the SRU 2 when the remaining time elapsed.

Edinboro had the momentum, though, and closed the margin to 16-10 with a five-play, 71-yard scoring drive on the opening possession of the second half. Harris hit Marcus Johnson for a 54-yard TD to cap the drive with 14:19 left in the third quarter.

The Fighting Scots then took their only lead of the game, 17-16, three plays after blocking a Rock punt and taking possession at the hosts' 2-yard line. Brian Davis burst into the end zone from a yard out with 6:45 left in the third quarter to account for the TD.

SRU regained the lead at 24-17 at the 1:46 mark of the third period on a four-yard run by Barksdale that culminated a four-play, 42-yard drive set up by a penalty against Edinboro for interfering with a punt returner's attempt to catch the kick.

Harris took the Fighting Scots 55 yards in only four plays on the ensuing drive to tie the score at 24-24 with 0:38 left in the third quarter.

The Rock responded with its second scoring drive in as many possessions, a five-play, 67-yard march topped off by Crenshaw's three-yard run with 13:51 left to play in the game that gave SRU a 31-24 lead.

Undaunted, Harris guided the guests 64 yards in 13 plays on the ensuing possession to retie the score at 31-31 with 7:44 left to play. Harris called his own number for a two-yard TD run to cap the drive.

Edinboro had an opportunity to take its second lead of the game on the ensuing Rock possession when Kyle Matula recorded the Fighting Scots' second interception of the game at the SRU 35.

The Rock defense held Edinboro in check, though, and forced the Fighting Scots to settle for a 22-yard field goal attempt by Seefeldt that sailed wide-right of the upright with 5:12 remaining.

Neither team was able to generate any offense on their next two possessions, so the game headed into overtime knotted at 31-31.

Edinboro won the overtime coin toss and elected to play defense on the first series, and held The Rock in check for the first two plays. But, on a third-and-10 play from the Edinboro 25, Stephens-Howling caught a pass in the seam of the Fighting Scots' defense and “took it to the house” for the ultimate game-winning TD.

Needing to lead his team into the end zone, Harris threw three incompletions and, on third down, was sacked for a seven-yard loss by senior linebacker Aaron Moul.

The Rock will look to ride the emotional wave of Saturday's win and extend their current win streak to three games next Saturday when they make their final road trip of the season to PSAC-West-leading and nationally-ranked California (Pa.). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Notes:

The nine QB sacks recorded by The Rock Saturday fell one short of the school record set vs. California (Pa.) in 1991 … Barksdale, who made his third start of the season, has now passed for 757 yards and eight TDs and rushed for 276 yards and four TDs as SRU's first-team signal caller. He has passed for 954 yards and nine TDs and rushed for 343 yards and five TDs in seven games played this fall … Brackman booted the 30th field goal on his career Saturday, which moved him into a tie for fifth place on SRU's career three-pointers list … Multi-talented freshman Jaimire Dutrieuille, with 149 yards Saturday (89 on kickoff returns, 39 on rushing attempts and 19 on pass receptions), now has 970 all-purpose yards this fall  (686 kickoff returns, 140 pass receptions, 118 rushing attempts and 26 on punt returns).