SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 10th ranked Slippery Rock University football team extended the nation's longest active home winning streak to 19 games with a 34-13 victory over Gannon University Saturday night in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
Both teams entered the divisional opener with matching 3-0 overall records, making the meeting one of the top billed games in Division II in week four of the season. In addition to the two undefeated teams, it was also part of the Coach to Cure MD weekend, The Rock's annual Hall of Fame induction, a White Out night and the capstone event to the Slippery Rock VillageFest.
 
Things started on the wrong foot for The Rock after a fumble on the second play of the game set Gannon up with first and goal on the five-yard line. The defense forced the Golden Knights backwards and into a field goal. The next series, The Rock offense went 78-yards in less than one minute to take the lead for good.
 
The defense allowed one 59-yard rush for the only Gannon touchdown of the game, but otherwise held the Golden Knights to field goal attempts all night. The defense also pitched a second half shutout, holding Gannon to no points in the final 30 minutes while the offense put the game away.
 
The Rock finished the game with 498 yards, dipping below 500 only after the game-ending kneel down. That total included 370 passing yards and 128 rushing yards. Gannon managed 302 yards of total offense that included 129 on the ground and 173 through the air.
 
Don King III guided the offense with his second straight big game, completing 34-of-49 passes for 370 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He has thrown for 781 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions the last two weeks. His 34 completions are the second-most by an SRU quarterback in a single-game ever, trailing only the 35 by John Linhart, who set the program record against Clarion in 1992.
 
Marcus Johnson and Cornelius Raye each caught nine passes and combined for 211 receiving yards in the game. Johnson went for 123 yards and one TD and Raye went for 88 yards. Brian McNally caught two passes for 20 yards and both went for touchdowns. Drew Scales added four catches and Taishan Tucker caught three passes for 48 yards. A total of seven Rock receivers tallied at least 20 yards in the game.
 
Shamar Greene rushed for 115 yards on 21 carries for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Dominic Dingle added 16 rushing yards.
 
True freshman kicker Jake Chapla had the best game of his young career, going perfect on the night with a 4-for-4 effort on PAT kicks and booting two field goals, including a new career-high of 45 yards.
 
The Rock defense was dominant all night, with the exception of the one long run Gannon managed. Anthony Zappone led that effort with 12 total tackles, one sack and one interception. John Conglose added six stops and one tackle for loss. Derrick Fulmore chipped in six tackles and Marcus Martin added six tackles, a half-sack and four QB hurries.
 
Joe Phillips picked up five tackles and 1.5 sacks and both Cody Conway and Mike Kope finished with one sack. Alfon Cook and Titus Howard paced the secondary with Cook recording one interception late in the game and Howard recording three pass breakups, including two in the end zone. The Rock defense finished with five sacks, seven tackles for loss and 12 QB hurries in the game.
 
Gannon was paced by Marcus Jones with 90 rushing yards and one score, which came from 59 yards out. Zach Philips completed 9-of-20 passes  for 144 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Tyler Palko went 2-of-18 for 29 yards with two interceptions in relief.
 
Eli Quinter led the Gannon receivers with five catches for 66 yards. Karch Holland attempted four field goals, converting two with a long of 40 yards.
 
His first field goal came less than two minutes into the game after Mike Zanders II forced and recovered a fumble deep in SRU territory on the second play of the game. His 27-yard field goal made it 3-0 early.
 
Slippery Rock responded on the next drive with two long runs from Greene and a TD pass from King III to McNally to make it 7-3 just 2:46 into the game. The Rock would add scores on each of the next three possessions.
 
First, Johnson pulled down a six-yard TD pass from King III to make it 14-3 with 6:31 to play in the opening quarter. Chapla booted a 34-yard field goal to make it 17-3 with 1:43 to play in the first period.
 
Dontez Rash scored his second rushing TD in as many weeks to give Slippery Rock a 24-3 lead with 11:15 to play in the first half.
 
Gannon stopped the bleeding with Jones' 59-yard TD run that made it 24-10 with 8:58 left in the half. The Golden Knights cut into the lead even further when Holland kicked a 40-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock to send it to the break with SRU leading 24-13.
 
Those would be the final points of the night for Gannon.
 
Slippery Rock added to the advantage in the third quarter with Chapla's 45-yard field goal with 3:42 left and then closed out the scoring when King III hit McNally for their second TD of the night with 3:50 left in the fourth.
 
Slippery Rock will travel to unbeaten (4-0, 1-0 PSAC) California (Pa.) next week for another battle of two of the top teams in Division II through four weeks of the season.
 
 
NOTES: Shawn Lutz is 4-0 to start his head coaching career at SRU … Gannon and SRU are now even at 6-6 in the all-time series … SRU has won the last three meetings between the teams … Don King III passed for 34 completions, the second most in program history in a single-game, one shy of the record of 35 set by John Linhart against Clarion in 1992 … Shamar Greene rushed for 115 yards, the 23rd 100+ yard game of his career … he was kept out of the end zone, snapping a streak of nine straight games with at least one TD … Marcus Johnson pulled down a career-high nine passes for a career-high 123 yards, his first 100+ yard receiving game … Jake Chapla was perfect in the kicking game for the first time in his college career, going 4-for-4 on PAT kicks and 2-of-2 on FG tries … his 45-yard FG was the first from that range since CJ Bahr hit a 47-yarder against West Chester on Sept. 18, 2010 … Cody Conway moved up to 11th all-time in career sacks at SRU and now has 16.5 … Marcus Martin extended his SRU record to 35.5 career sacks … SRU had an honorary captain for the Coach to Cure MD game with 15-year Billy Ellsworth, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.