Full Game Video Replay  |  Postgame Interview with Shawn Lutz

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Slippery Rock University football team improved to 2-0 and won its 14th straight home opener with a 22-7 victory over East Stroudsburg University Saturday night.
 
In front of a football-hungry crowd that packed Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for the first home football game in more than 620 days, The Rock cruised to their 22nd straight victory in a night game and improved to 2-0 with their 14th straight victory in the first home game of the season.
 
Both teams struggled to get going offensively in the first half until Slippery Rock broke the game open when Andrew Koester connected with Cinque Sweeting on a 33-yard touchdown pass with just 4.6 seconds left in the first half that made it 9-0 in favor of The Rock at halftime.
 
SRU extended the lead with an 81-yard TD pass from Koester to Chris D'Or and a one-yard touchdown plunge from Koester that made it 22-0 with 13:50 to play in the fourth quarter.
 
The Rock defense lost its shutout bid with 10:19 to play when ESU took advantage of a pair of costly SRU penalties to score its first points of the game with a touchdown pass from Matt DeLaurentis to Ezequiel Lopez that made it 22-7 and accounted for the final points of the game. Slippery Rock turned it over deep in their own territory on the ensuing series midway through the fourth, but the The Rock defense slammed the door and did not allow the Warriors to score any more points.
 
The SRU defense was outstanding all night, limiting ESU to a total of 286 yards of offense that included just 2.9 rushing yards per attempt on 35 carries and a total of 184 passing yards. SRU recorded three sacks, forced three fumbles, was credited with seven quarterback hurries and broke up seven passes.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with a 450-286 advantage in total offense after throwing for 277 yards and rushing for 173 yards. East Stroudsburg threw for 184 yards and ran for 102 yards.
 
Koester finished his night completing 17-of-32 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for one touchdown for the second straight game.
 
Tim Smith led the running backs with 21 carries for 122 yards for an average of 5.8 yards per carry and his first 100-yard game in an SRU uniform. D'Or went for 114 all-purpose yards after catching two passes for 86 yards and one score and rushing for 28 yards on four carries.
 
Sweeting caught six passes for 64 yards and one touchdown to lead the receivers and finished the night with a team-high 128 all-purpose yards after adding 36 rushing yards, 20 kick return yards and eight punt return yards. Henry Litwin grabbed five passes for 60 yards, all in the first half. Gavyn Barnes caught three passes for 52 yards and Kyle Sheets grabbed one pass for 15 yards.
 
The Rock defense was paced for the second straight week by Dalton Holt, who finished with 11 total tackles and two pass breakups. Chad Kuhn tied his career-high for total tackles with eight and finished with 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. Tim Vernick returned to the starting lineup after missing all but one series in the opener and added eight tackles and a sack. Isaiah Manning also added eight tackles, while Garrett de Bien finished with six stops, 1.0 tackle for loss and three QB hurries. De'Vijan Franklin locked down ESU's top receiving threat and finished with two pass breakups.
 
East Stroudsburg used two quarterbacks in the game with Jake Cirillo starting the night and going 13-of-26 for 109 yards before being pulled in the second half. DeLaurentis went 7-of-15 for 75 yards and one touchdown in relief. Gunner Anglovich rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries and Lopez caught three passes for 28 yards and one score.
 
Slippery Rock will close out PSAC crossover play and get one final tuneup before PSAC West play begins when Lock Haven visits next Saturday night for a 6 p.m. game.
 
GAME NOTES: Slippery Rock won its 14th straight home opener and has not lost its first home game of the season since 2005. … The Rock won their 22nd straight night game that started at 4 p.m. or later and have not lost under the lights since Sept. 29, 2012 … Slippery Rock is 2-0 to open the year for the sixth time in the last seven seasons … SRU head coach Shawn Lutz improved to 41-11 two games into his fifth season as head coach … Chad Kuhn recorded 2.0 sacks to bring his career total to 23.0, moving him up to eighth on the all-time list at SRU … Kuhn also moved up to 11th on the career tackles for loss ledger with his 37th TFL … Andrew Koester improved to 3-1 as the SRU starting quarterback and 3-0 in games he has started and finished (he left game two of the 2018 season with an injury at halftime) … Slippery Rock played its first home game in a stretch of more than 620 days dating back to the 2019 national semifinals … SRU improved to 15-3 all-time against ESU and won its fourth straight game in the series … SRU improved to 52-8 at home since the start of the 2010 season and 39-4 at home since the start of the 2013 season.



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