SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 25th ranked Slippery Rock University football team improved to 3-0 on the year with a 33-7 victory at home over Lock Haven University Saturday night from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Rock improve to 3-0 to start the season for the fourth consecutive year, while Lock Haven drops to 0-3 on the year. The victory marked the 26th straight win for SRU in the series as The Rock improved to 33-0-1 in their last 34 games against the Bald Eagles.
 
The biggest storyline of the night belonged to redshirt senior defensive end Marcus Martin, who broke the NCAA Division II career records for both sacks and tackles for loss. Martin finished the game with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks to bring his career totals to 79.5 TFL and 47.0 sacks. He has 13.5 TFL and 6.5 sacks on the year through just three games and is now only 6.5 sacks away from the all-time NCAA record for any division, which stands at 53.5 sacks.
 
Martin finished with nine tackles, matching Sean Doran for the second most on the team. Tavarus Sample led the squad with 12 total tackles and recorded his first career interception. The Rock defense held Lock Haven to just seven points and 270 yards of offense, most of which came on the ground. LHU rushed for 184 yards on 52 carries and passed for just 86 yards on 27 attempts.
 
SRU finished with three takeaways in the game after forcing two fumbles on top of Sample's interception. Tim Soave forced and recovered one deep in LHU territory to set up an offensive TD late in the third quarter and De'Vijan Frankin forced and recovered one that sealed the game in the fourth. Soave finished with 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
 
Slippery Rock struggled to get things going offensively early in the game, putting up just 13 points in the first half after entering the game averaging more than 45 points per game. The offense finished with 357 yards after throwing for a season-low 213 and rushing for a season-high 144.
 
Isiah Neely led the ground game with 111 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, becoming the first 100-yard rusher for SRU this season. Chacar Berry added 29 yards and one score on six carries.
 
Tanner Garry completed 15-of-31 passes for 213 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Dylan Stapleton was the top target, catching three passes for 50 yards. Milly Raye added three catches for 47 yards and one score, another highlight-reel spin-o-rama that resulted in a 38-yard TD. Carnel Harley led all receivers in the game with 72 yards after catching a 60-yard TD in the second half.
 
Marcus Johnson, who entered the game as the leading scorer in the nation, was held to just three catches for 18 yards and failed to find the end zone for the first time in the last four games. He did, however, almost spring two long punt returns for touchdowns and finished with a game-high 148 all-purpose yards, which included a 72-yard punt return.
 
Jake Chapla booted two field goals on three attempts, connecting from 25 yards twice and missing once from 27 yards.
 
Lock Haven was paced by Kyle Knight, who was the most productive of a three-quarterback system the Bald Eagles employed. Knight rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries and completed three passes for 23 yards. John Ford added 42 rushing yards and the lone TD of the game for LHU. Jimmy Strickland started the game at QB and finished 8-of-18 for 63 yards as the primary passer. No LHU receivers finished with more than 25 yards.
 
Slippery Rock scored the first points of the game for the third straight week and jumped out to a 13-0 halftime lead. Lock Haven used a 14-play drive on its first possession of the second half to climb back into the game at 13-7, but SRU slammed the door with 20 unanswered points the rest of the way. The Rock have still yet to trail for a single minute of play through three games this season.
 
Saturday's game marked the end of a three-game stretch of non-conference games for Slippery Rock, which will open PSAC Western Division play on the road at Gannon next Saturday with a noon kickoff.
 
 

NOTES: Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz improves to 10-4 in his second year as head coach … Marcus Martin broke the all-time NCAA Division II records for career sacks and tackles for loss and now has 47.0 sacks and 79.5 tackles for loss … the previous records were 46.5 sacks (Lucky Baar, McKendree) and 77.0 tackles for loss (Andre Bernardi, North Greenville) … Martin is now fifth all-time among NCAA players of any level in career sacks, just 6.5 off the all-division record of 53.5, owned by Mike Czerwien from Waynesburg (Division III) … Milly Raye moved up to fifth all-time at SRU in career receptions and now has 130 … he also moved up into a tie for fourth all-time at SRU in career TD catches with his 19th TD grab … Jake Chapla made his 12th and 13th career field goals and is now just four away from cracking the SRU top 10 as a sophomore … SRU won its 12th straight regular season game against a PSAC East Opponent dating back to the final game of the 2012 season … SRU won its 12th straight and 19th of the last 20 home night games … SRU is now 24-1 at home since the beginning of 2013 and 37-5 at home since the beginning of 2010.
 

 
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