Traditional Box Score  |  Photo Gallery

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jared Buck passed for three touchdowns and ran for one and The Rock defense recorded six quarterback sacks and intercepted three passes as hosting Sippery Rock University blitzed Seton Hill University, 52-6, Thursday night in season-opening college football action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

Buck threw TD passes of 17, 10 and 28 yards and rushed in from a yard out, completed 11 of 14 passes for 127 yards with no interceptions and ran for 36 yards on 10 carries to lead a 309-yard Rock offensive attack.

Senior running back Akeem Satterfield rushed for 112 yards on 13 carries and scored on a 27-yard run and redshirt freshman running back Brett Crenshaw had a two-yard TD run to account for the other Rock offensive scores.

The offensive unit, under the tutelage of first-year coordinator Phil Longo, finished the night with 172 rushing yards and 137 passing yards.

Redshirt junior cornerback Anthony Saunders returned an interception 50 yards for a TD and senior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman added seven extra points and one field goal (26 yards) to conclude the hosts' scoring attack.

In addition to Saunders' INT TD, The Rock defensive effort featured 2.5 quarterback sacks by senior defensive end Jeff Thompson, 1.5 sacks by redshirt junior nose tackle Tony Papley and INTs by redshirt sophomore cornerback Isaiah Coleman and senior linebacker Aaron Moul.

SRU's defensive unit, tutored by fourth-year coordinator Shawn Lutz, held Seton Hill to minus-16 yards rushing but allowed 207 passing yards for a 191 total-yardage effort.

The Rock offensive unit went three-and-out on the opening drive of the game before it scored touchdowns on their next three possessions.

Buck hit senior tight end Josh Gardner over the middle for a 17-yard TD to cap SRU's second possession of the game, a five-play, 43-yard drive that lasted just less than two minutes. Brackman added the first of his point-after-touchdown kicks to give SRU a 7-0 lead with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

The TD drive was set up by the first of Thompson's quarterback sacks, a stop that forced Seton Hill to punt from its own 5-yard line.

Redshirt junior slot receiver Michael Bongivengo, who began his collegiate career as a quarterback at Seton Hill, caught a 10-yard pass from Buck on SRU's third possession. That drive covered 32 yards in six plays and ate up a little more than two minutes of time. Brackman's PAT kick made it a 14-0 score with 3:43 left to play in the opening period.

Buck ran the final yard of a seven-play, 56-yard scoring drive that, after Brackman booted the PAT, gave SRU a 21-0 advantage with 13:56 left in the second stanza.

Just over two minutes later, Saunders stepped in front of a pass attempt by Seton Hill QB Ryan Morris and returned the interception 50 yards for a TD and a 28-0 Rock advantage.

The Rock offense and Buck came right back on its next possession to drive six plays and 71 yards for the fifth SRU touchdown of the game.  Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ken Amos caught a 28-yard TD toss from Buck to cap the drive before Brackman's PAT pushed the hosts' lead to 35-0, which is where it stood at the intermission.

Brackman booted a 26-yard field goal with 14:02 to extend The Rock lead to 38-0 before Satterfield sprinted 27 yards virtually untouched up the middle of the field to score SRU's sixth TD. Brackman's PAT made it a 45-0 game with 12:25 left to play in the game.

Seton Hill ruined The Rock defense's bid for a shutout when it marched 96 yards in 12 plays to score the guests' only TD of the game with 8:12 remaining.

Crenshaw's two-yard TD run and Brackman's seventh PAT kick capped a four-play, 63-yard Rock scoring drive that closed out the game's scoring.

The Rock are idle for over a week before they hit the road for a Week 2 game at Shippensburg.

Notes:

Buck completed passes to eight different receivers Thursday night … Bongivengo caught three passes for 19 yards and Amos had two receptions for 34 yards to lead the receiving effort … Redshirt junior linebacker Quindell Dean had a team-high seven tackles for The Rock while Papley, Thompson and junior linebackers Gary Allen and Bob Westerlund each collected six takedowns … Rock defenders sacked Morris, who passed for 207 yards, six times for minus-37 yards … Saunders' INT TD was the third recorded by The Rock vs. Seton Hill in the last two seasons. Brandon Watters (50 yards) and Jayson Nickson (38 yards) "took one to the house" last year in Greensburg ... Saunders has now picked off four passes in his three-year collegiate career ... Thompson's QB sacks and resulting tackles for loss Thursday moved him into the top 10 in both SRU career categories ... Junior punter James McCombie averaged 46.3 yards on three punts, two of which were downed inside the Seton Hill 20-yard line … Senior Brian Shaw averaged 60.3 yards on nine kickoffs … Thursday night marked the second consecutive season and third time in four games against Seton Hill that The Rock scored 50 or more points. SRU won a 51-14 decision in the 2011 season opener in Greensburg and claimed a 51-24 home victory in 2007. Seton Hill's only win over SRU was a 27-20 decision on the winners' home field in 2008 … The Rock's point total Thursday night was their highest opening-game mark since the 1972 team coached by Bob DiSpirito, for which current Rock head coach George Mihalik was the starting quarterback, scored a 54-0 win over Brockport State … With his TD run Thursday night, Satterfield took over sole possession of sixth place on SRU's career touchdowns list with 32 in his four-year career. He also moved into sole possession of eighth place on the career scoring list with 192 points and, with 122 all-purpose yards Thursday, took over 15th place on that career list with 2,819. He is 11th on the career rushing chart with 2,326 yards.