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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. –  Slippery Rock University outgained visiting Clarion University by a 506-261 total yardage margin Saturday afternoon en route to a 34-13 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The win was SRU's fourth consecutive and sixth in seven games this fall. More importantly, the win was The Rock's third in four division games and moved the Green and White into a three-way tie for the PSAC-West lead.

The Rock share the division lead with California, Pa. (5-2) and Gannon (4-3), both of which are also 3-1 in PSAC-West games.

SRU's foe next week, Edinboro (4-3, 2-2) knocked off nationally-ranked Indiana, Pa. (5-2, 2-2) in other division action Saturday to move one game off the pace. The Fighting Scots, who host The Rock in a noon game next Saturday, are tied for fourth place with Indiana, Pa. (5-2, 2-2) and Mercyhurst (4-3, 2-2).

Edinboro knocked off Indiana by a 36-30 score in other PSAC-West action Saturday, while Mercyhurst mauled Gannon 51-21 last Thursday.

Clarion, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss Saturday, fell to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in PSAC-West action, and are alone in seventh place in the eight-team division.

Redshirt freshman running back Shamar Greene rushed for 131 yards on 15 carries, including a 31-yard touchdown sprint that accounted for the game's final points late in the third quarter, to lead a 217-yard Rock rushing attack.

Redshirt junior running back Teddy Blakeman had two scoring runs (1 and 3 yards) to improve his team-high rushing TD total to nine.

Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale completed 17 of 32 passes for 276 yards and two TDs for the Green and White.

Barksdale, who was picked off twice, threw a five-yard TD pass to senior John Schademan to open the game's scoring and hit senior wideout Ken Amos for a seven-yard score to account for the game's second TD.

Schademan (93 yards) and Amos (85 yards) each finished the game with four catches to headline a list of eight Rock receivers who caught a pass in the game.

The TD catches were Schademan's team-leading 11th of season and Amos' third.

Defensively, senior nose tackle Tony Papley recorded a game- and career-high 14 tackles for The Rock, while senior linebackers Gary Allen and Quindell Dean each collected 12 tackles.

Lost in the shadows of the 13 points allowed by The Rock defense was the fact Clarion, thanks to Rock offensive miscues in their own territory, only needed 22- and five-yard drives to reach the end zone.

Bobby Thomas rushed for 70 yards on 28 carries and scored two TDs, while quarterback Darelle Carson passed for 82 yards for Clarion.

All-PSAC-West defensive lineman Julian Howsare picked off to Barksdale passes to headline Clarion's defensive effort.

The Rock's quick-strike, no-huddle, Air Raid offense wasted no time asserting itself Saturday as the hosts scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and held a 13-0 lead with 3:45 left to play in the first quarter.

The Barksdale-to-Schademan TD toss capped a five-play, 62-yard drive by The Rock that lasted seven seconds of two minutes after Clarion's offense had gone three-and-out on the game's opening possession.

Clarion came back on the ensuing drive to move 58 yards in 12 plays that ate up over six minutes of the clock, but had nothing to show for it as a chip-shot, 24-yard field goal attempt by Phil Esposito sailed wide to the left of the upright.

Esposito also missed a 42-yard attempt wide left late in the second quarter.

The Rock made the Golden Eagles' first failed scoring opportunity hurt even more by going 80 yards in six plays for the hosts' second TD. The Barksdale-to-Amos TD toss came four plays after the duo had connected for a 48-yard gain and capped the one-minute, 37-second drive.

Senior kicker Brian Shaw, who had his first extra-point attempt blocked and finished the day 4-for-5, was successful on his second attempt to make the score 13-0.

That's where the score stood for the next 18 minutes of action before The Rock marched 75 yards in 10 plays, capped by the first of Blakeman's TD runs, to push the margin to 20-0 with 21 seconds left to play in the first half.

SRU then converted the opening drive of the second half into a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by Blakeman's second TD, to make it a 27-0 score with 13:24 left in the third period.

Clarion got on the board with a one-yard run by Thomas at the 8:47 mark of the third stanza that capped a six-play, 22-yard drive set up by a fumble by Rock punt returner Admire Carter. Thomas' run for a two-point conversion was stopped well short of the goal line.

Three plays later, the Clarion offense was back knocking at the proverbial door, thanks to an interception by Howsare that set the Golden Eagles up at the SRU 32.

The Rock defense denied Clarion any points on that drive, though, as Papley and junior defensive end Kevin Kulka snowed Chris Liberto under for no gain on a fourth-and-inches play at The Rock 12.

One play later, though, Barksdale threw an ill-advised shovel pass that was picked off by Howsare and returned to The Rock 5. Three plays later, Thomas burst into the end zone from a yard out to make it a 27-13 score.

Undaunted, The Rock offense, riding the wave of a 46-yard kickoff return by freshman Drew Scales, took less than a minute to find the end zone and push the lead to 21 points, 34-13, with 3:14 left in the third stanza.

Greene burst through a truck-sized hole in the line and sprinted 31 yards to cap the three-play, 46-yard scoring drive that lasted only 51 seconds and ultimately closed the book on the game's scoring.

Clarion moved deep into Rock territory on both of its fourth-quarter possessions, only to be denied on fourth-down runs at the SRU 2 and 25 yard lines.

Notes:

The Rock and the University of Michigan athletic department announced Saturday that SRU will return to "The Big House" in Ann Arbor to play a game for the third time Oct. 18, 2014. SRU will host PSAC-West rival Mercyhurst. Click here to be linked to the press release … With his performance Saturday, Barksdale moved within reach of two Rock single-season records. He has thrown for 22 TDs this fall, one shy of the mark set by Nate Crookshank in 2007, and 2,446 yards, which is 105 yards away from matching Cody Endres' 2011 total … Barksdale also ranks fourth in career TD passes (36), seventh in both career completions (240) and career passing yards (3,881) and eighth in career attempts (414) … Schademan also moved within reach of two milestones Saturday. He moved into a tie for second place in single-season pass receiving TDs, one shy of the school record 12 caught by Greg Hopkins in 1994, and needs 79 yards to become the fifth Rock receiver to have 1,000 or more pass receiving yards in a season … Schademan ranks fifth in career receiving yards (1,696), single-season receiving yards (921) and career receptions (93) and is sixth in career TD catches (15) … Saturday's win was SRU's fourth consecutive over Clarion with all the wins coming in "Milk Jug" games between the friendly neighboring rivals. The Rock are unbeaten in "Jug" games … Rock head coach George Mihalik is now 7-1 all-time against Clarion head coach Jay Foster, who served 18 seasons as an assistant coach on Mihalik's Rock staff, the final 17 as defensive coordinator.