CLARION, Pa. – A depleted Slippery Rock University football team saw a fourth quarter lead disappear in the final moments of a game for the second straight week as Clarion posted a 27-23 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
 
The Rock led 23-21 for most of the final quarter before turning the ball over on downs at the Clarion 37-yard line with less than three minutes to play. The Golden Eagles converted big passing plays and scored with just over one minute to play to take a 27-23 lead.
 
Slippery Rock got the ball back with just under one minute to play, but couldn't generate any offense. The loss drops The Rock to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in PSAC Western Division action. Clarion improves to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in league games.
 
For the second straight week The Rock posted an edge in total offense, but costly mistakes and penalties negated that advantage. SRU visited the red zone five times and came away with no points on two occasions and also threw an interception at the Clarion five-yard line. The Rock also took a pair of penalties on plays that would have ended Clarion drives, after which the Golden Eagles converted touchdowns.
 
Slippery Rock put up 445 yards of offense under the direction of third string quarterback Augustus Necastro, who was planning to redshirt the season before The Rock's top two quarterbacks were injured last week. SRU threw for 240 yards and rushed for 205 yards. Clarion got nearly all of its offense through the air, passing for 369 yards and rushing for 52 yards for 421 total yards.
 
Necastro finished the game 14-of-25 for 209 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Isiah Neely was a workhorse on the ground, rushing the ball 38 times for a career-high 170 yards in the absence of all-time leading rusher Shamar Greene. The Rock were also without the services of All-American center Joe LoSchiavo on the offensive side of the ball.
 
Marcus Johnson caught three passes for 94 yards and one touchdown, which came from 71 yards out after a one-handed grab. Cornelius Raye caught three passes for 55 yards and one score and Brian McNally grabbed three passes for 33 yards and one touchdown.
 
Kyle Hall led the defense with six total tackles and one blocked field goal attempt. Tony Twillie II also had six tackles. Anthony Zappone had five tackles and one interception and Marcus Martin had 1.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
 
Clarion was led by quarterback Connor Simmons, who despite not being on the depth chart, started the game and found success with mostly deep balls to the outside. He completed 22-of-43 passes for 369 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Kevin Genevro was his top target, catching 11 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Rock scored the first points of the game on their second possession when Necastro hit McNally out of the backfield from 12 yards out to make it 7-0 with 6:52 to play in the first quarter.
 
Clarion answered on the next drive with a 22-yard pass from Simmons to Matt Lehman that tied the game at 7-7 with 3:37 to play in the opening quarter.
 
Slippery Rock had a chance to regain the lead early in the second quarter and got down inside the Clarion 10 yard line, but a miscommunication on a fourth down snap from the six ended the drive without points.
 
Two Clarion possessions later, Simmons was intercepted by Hall on an underthrown ball at the SRU four-yard line, but a pass interference was called on Hall, keeping the ball with the Golden Eagles. They capitalized a few plays later with a TD pass to take a 14-7 lead with 2:25 to play in the first half. .
 
Slippery Rock answered on the next play from scrimmage when Necastro hit Johnson over the middle and he raced in from 71 yards out to tie the game at 14-14 with 2:09 to play in the half.
 
The Rock defense held and got the ball back for the offense just before halftime and SRU had a chance to put more points on the board, marching down to the Clarion 23-yard line, but Necastro was intercepted on the four-yard line to end the half with SRU failing to score points for the second time in the quarter when getting deep into Clarion territory.
 
The Rock opened the second half with a defensive stand when Zappone picked off Simmons at the Clarion 31-yard line. That set up a short drive that ended with a 30-yard TD pass from Necastro to Raye to make it 20-14 after the extra point was missed.
 
Clarion took advantage of another Rock mistake late in the third quarter to retake the lead. After a third down incompletion would have set up fourth down from well outside field goal range, SRU was called for roughing the passer, giving Clarion new life and extending the drive. The Golden Eagles again made SRU pay for the penalty when Simmons connected with Genevro to make it 21-20 with 4:29 to play in the third.
 
Slippery Rock responded early in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard field goal from Jake Chapla to give The Rock a 23-21 lead with 10:03 to play.
 
Clarion had an attempt at a field goal to retake the lead midway through the quarter, but Hall blocked the kick to keep SRU out front. The Rock put together a slow drive, primarily on the ground, and got down to the Clarion 37-yard line, but couldn't convert on fourth down and turned the ball over with 2:39 to play to set up the finish.

Slippery Rock returns home to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for each of the final two weeks of the season, first hosting Seton Hill next Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing the year Nov. 12 with Senior Day, tentatively scheduled to be against Kutztown, depending on the PSAC East standings.
 
 
NOTES: Slippery Rock has four losses on the year for the first time since 2012 … The Rock had won the last six meetings against Clarion entering the game … SRU played without All-Americans Shamar Greene and Joe LoSchiavo on offense and without starting QB Don King III … SRU also played without starting safety Kevin Green … Marcus Martin recorded 1.5 tackles for loss to increase his school record to 63.0 tackles for loss … Drew Scales had one 25-yard kickoff return and now has 1,651 career kick return yards, just three yards shy of the all-time SRU record of 1,654 … Marcus Johnson caught his eighth TD of the year, moving him up to seventh in single-season TD catches at SRU … Cornelius Raye caught his 15th career TD pass, moving him up to eighth all-time at SRU … Isiah Neely rushed for a career-high 170 yards, marking the first time an SRU player has rushed for more than 150 yards since Shamar Greene went for 162 in the opener against New Haven Sept. 3 … Jake Chapla kicked his 10th field goal of the year, moving him up to fifth in single-season history at SRU.