Complete Game Notes (28-page PDF)
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The eighth ranked Slippery Rock University football team returns home to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium this Saturday to host East Stroudsburg University with a 6:05 p.m. kickoff in the home opener.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information regarding tickets, parking, tailgating and live coverage, along with complete game notes.
 
HALL OF FAME GAME
Slippery Rock will induct its 37th class into the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday afternoon in a banquet prior to the game. That class of six honorees will then be introduced and recognized at halftime of the game. Read about the Hall of Fame Class of 2021 HERE.
 
LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Streaming Video  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler County).
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU Athletic Communication Office.
 • Search for "Rock Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices to download the app. Each of the next 10 SRU football games this season will be available on the app.
 
TICKETS (For advance tickets, Call 724-738-2021 or stop by the Athletic Office in Morrow Field House)
• Tickets can be purchased on game day. The stadium gates will open at 4:30 p.m.
• Tickets can also be purchased in the SGA Bookstore during the week and Saturday morning.
• Chair-back Reserved Seat - $15
• Reserved Bench Seat - $15
• Adult General Admission - $10
• Students Ages 6-High School – $5
• Children Ages 6 and Under – FREE
• SRU Students – FREE with valid student ID
• Students from Other Colleges - $5 with valid student ID
 
COVID-19 FAN INFORMATION
• Fans should not attend any events if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or feeling ill.
• Masks are REQUIRED inside all buildings on the SRU campus, regardless of vaccination status.
• Fans are encouraged, but not currently required, to wear masks at SRU outdoor events.
• Fans are encouraged to social distance when possible at events.
 
PARKING
• Parking is available in the lots surrounding the stadium
• Parking spaces are $10 in all tailgating lots ($25 for motorhomes, large vehicles)
• Shuttles will circle the parking lots to assist with transportation to the gates
• Campus Map  |  Stadium is #52 on Map
 
VISITOR PARKING
• Visiting fans can park together and tailgate in the Stadium Lodge lot
• GPS Address: 246 Harmony Road, Slippery Rock, PA
• Visiting fans can enter the game through gate six, located at the field hockey/lacrosse building just below the lodge parking area, which provides direct access to the visiting bleachers.
• Campus Map  |  Visitor parking is at building #51. Entry gate is at building #53.
 
TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed in paid lots three hours before kickoff (lots open at 3 p.m.)
• No Tailgating at halftime
• All Tailgaters must enter game at kickoff
• Tailgating is open for two hours after game ends
• No hard liquor or glass bottles
• Adhere to all campus tailgating rules found HERE.
 
FREE SHIRTS FOR SRU STUDENTS
The first 700 SRU students that enter through the student gate Saturday will receive a free Rock Athletics t-shirt as part of this year's "Rock the Weekend" initiative on campus.
 
STUDENT GATE PROCEDURES
Students should still bring their valid ID to enter the game through the student gate, but will also need to use the CORE application on their cell phones. Login to your CORE account to access the event QR code that will be scanned at the gate. Only CURRENT students will be allowed to enter through the student gate. To speed up entry into the game, students should download the app in advance and be prepared to scan their code at the entry gate.
 
9/11 TRIBUTE PREGAME
The game will feature a moment of silence and tribute on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Members of the Slippery Rock ROTC and other volunteers will join in holding a large flag across the field during the National Anthem that will be played by the SRU Marching Pride.
 

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THE GAME
No. 8 Slippery Rock will look to improve to 2-0 on the year with its first of two home PSAC crossover games. The Rock shook off some rust from a 628-day layoff and escaped Wayne State in Detroit, Michigan with a 24-21 win last week. East Stroudsburg is also looking for a 2-0 start after opening its season with a 35-14 win at home against Pace last week.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock owns a 14-3 advantage over East Stroudsburg in a series that dates all the way back to 1928. The Rock have won the three most recent meetings, which came in consecutive years from 2014-16. SRU is 7-2 against ESU at home and 7-1 on the road. The Warriors last win over SRU came on Nov. 7, 2009, while SRU posted a 57-15 win in the most recent game at The Rock in 2016.
 
• First Meeting: 1928 (SRU won 13-6)
• Last Meeting: 2016 (SRU won 57-15)
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +3
• at ESU: SRU leads 7-1
• at SRU: SRU leads 7-2
• Most Points Scored (ESU): 54 (2009)
• Biggest Win Margin (ESU): 26 (2009)
• Most Points Scored (SRU): 57 (2016)
• Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 42 (2016)
• Last ESU Win: 2009 at ESU (54-28)
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz is in his 26th overall year at The Rock and his fifth season as head coach, where he owns a 40-11 record. Lutz was the PSAC West Coach of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 and was the Don Hansen Football Gazette Division II National Coach of the Year in 2019. The 40 wins are the most among all PSAC head coaches since the 2016 season. Lutz was an assistant at SRU for 20 years before taking over the program in 2016. He served four years as the associate head coach and eight as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach before taking over. Lutz has been a member of the coaching staff for 11 of SRU's PSAC West titles. He played tight end at West Virginia University, graduating in 1996, and earned a master's degree in sport management from SRU in 2003.
 
Jimmy Terwilliger in his second full season as the head coach at his Alma Mater, where he played quarterback and won the 2005 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year. Terwilliger was an assistant at ESU for four years before taking over as interim head coach for the final two games of the 2018 season. He owns an 8-6 overall record as the head coach at ESU after leading the Warriors to a 6-5 record in 2019, which marked their first winning season since 2015. Terwilliger graduated from ESU in 2007 and worked as a high school teacher and football coach before returning to the sidelines at ESU.
 
LAST MEETING  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock scored 30 points in the third quarter and outscored East Stroudsburg 43-6 in the second half to run away with a 57-15 win in the final game of the 2016 season that was played at SRU. The Rock rolled to a 568-225 advantage in total offense after throwing for 527 yards and rushing for 41. ESU threw for 197 yards and rushed for 28 yards. SRU quarterback Don King III set a program record for touchdown passes in a single-game with seven TD tosses to go along with 527 yards through the air. Marcus Johnson set SRU single-game records with 237 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 10 catches to lead The Rock. ESU got 110 passing yards and one TD from Bruce Campbell and 79 receiving yards and one TD from Tom Wilson.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED AGAIN
Slippery Rock opened the 2021 season ranked fifth in the AFCA Division II national poll that is widely regarded as the official national ranking used by the NCAA during the year. The Rock slipped three spots to No. 8 this week. SRU has been ranked in the top 10 nationally for at least one week in five of the last six seasons. SRU is also ranked 10th by D2football.com this week and was ranked fourth on the NCAA.com Division II Power Rankings. Complete polls are on page eight of the PDF notes linked above.
 
GOOD TO BE BACK
After missing the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic, Slippery Rock returned to action last week for the first time in 628 days. It marked the second-longest layoff in program history and the first time since 1944 that football was not played at SRU. The longest break in program history came during World War II, when SRU did not play the 1943 and 1944 seasons. SRU had some form of a season every fall from 1945 until 2020.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Rock football teams have compiled a 172-68 (.717) record the last 45 seasons in games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium). The Rock own a 73-23 (.760) home record since artificial turf was installed in the summer of 2003 and are 69-16 (.812) in home games since 2005. The numbers get even better in recent years, as The Rock are 38-4 (.905) since 2013 and have posted a 51-8 (.864) record at home since the beginning of the 2010 season. SRU has won 13 straight regular season home games with the only two losses since October of 2017 coming in the 2018 PSAC title game and the 2019 national semifinal.
 
HOME NIGHT GAMES
The Rock will play their first three home games this season under the lights with 6 p.m. kickoffs against East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven and Clarion. SRU has been nearly impossible to beat at home in night games over the last decade, posting a 24-1 record since 2010 and winning its last 16 straight home night games. Since SRU installed lights in 2003, the program has posted a 35-9 overall record at home under the lights. The last time SRU lost a home night game was a 56-49 defeat against Kutztown on Sept. 29, 2012.
 
WE LOVE NIGHT GAMES
Slippery Rock will play its first five games of the 2021 season under the lights as the first five weeks are all scheduled for 6 p.m. kickoffs, which is just fine with The Rock. SRU has won its last 21 consecutive games that started at 4 p.m. or later. The Rock have not lost an evening game since Sept. 29, 2012 against Kutztown. SRU will not play a day game until Oct. 9 with a 2 p.m. game at Edinboro.
 
12 STRAIGHT SEASON OPENING WINS
Last week's victory at Wayne State marked the 12th straight season-opening win for The Rock. The last time SRU failed to win its first game of the season was all the way back in 2008 on the road at Seton Hill. The Rock are 6-0 on the road and 6-0 at home over the last 12 season openers.
 
LOOKING FOR 14TH STRAIGHT HOME OPENER WIN
Slippery Rock has won its first home game of the year in each of the last 13 seasons. The last time The Rock failed to win its home opener was all the way back in 2005 against Shepherd, before the majority of the current roster reached kindergarten.
 
WARRIORS, COME OUT TO PLAY (AGAIN)
Slippery Rock is facing its second set of "Warriors" in consecutive weeks after facing the Wayne State Warriors in week one. Wayne State and East Stroudsburg are the only two teams on the SRU schedule this fall that share a nickname.
 
EARLY SEASON CROSSOVER SUCCESS
Slippery Rock is 14-1 against PSAC East opponents over the last seven seasons in the two mandated regular season crossover contests that take place early in the season. The only loss in those games typically played in weeks two and three during that stretch came on the road at Shippensburg in 2018 when SRU fumbled in their own end zone to hand the Red Raiders a late 25-21 win. SRU has scored at least 45 points in 10 of the last 15 early season PSAC crossover games, has tallied 50 or more points seven times, has posted two shutouts and has allowed 10 or fewer points in five games during that stretch.
 
LAST WEEK FOR SRU
Slippery Rock escaped an upset bid with a goal line stand in the final minute to come away with a 24-21 win on the road at Wayne State, which was receiving votes in the preseason national poll after going 8-3 in 2019. The Warriors had a first and goal on the six-yard line with under a minute to play, but could not find the end zone after SRU came up with four straight stops and took over on downs with 18 seconds left to seal the win. The Rock posted a 403-303 edge in total offense with 314 passing yards and 89 rushing yards, while Wayne State ran for 247 yards and threw for 56 yards. Andrew Koester completed 24-of-38 passes for 314 yards with one touchdown and one interception while also rushing for 54 yards and one score. Henry Litwin caught eight passes for 159 yards and one touchdown. Dalton Holt had 11 tackles, Trysten McDonald had 3.0 tackles for loss and Selvin Haynes had one interception.
 
LAST WEEK FOR ESU
East Stroudsburg jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 35-14 win over Pace at home last week. The Warriors put up 524 yards of offense and held Pace to 286. ESU ran for 319 yards on 45 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry and threw for 205 yards. Jake Cirillo completed 11-of-18 passes for 205 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 72 yards and one score on six carries. Gunner Anglovich rushed for 140 yards and one score and Rece Bender caught two passes for 86 yards and two scores. Deshawn McCarthy led the defense with 4.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, an effort that earned him PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week.
 
THE ROCK LANDS ON SPORTSCENTER … TWICE
Slippery Rock appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter Monday with the No. 3 play on the SC Top 10 and then made the show again on Tuesday with the No. 2 play on the list of the top 10 plays from the entire opening week of the college football season. The play that aired was the first points of the season for SRU and came in the first quarter last week when Andrew Koester connected with Henry Litwin on a 39-yard touchdown. Litwin fought through a pass interference call and snagged the ball with one hand while losing his footing before diving to the goal line for the TD.
 
KOESTER SHAKES OFF SOME RUST
Slippery Rock QB Andrew Koester made his first start in almost three years last week and set a career-high with 314 passing yards to go along with 54 rushing yards. He threw one touchdown and ran for another, but also threw one interception on the Wayne State goal line that stalled a deep drive. Koester completed 24-of-38 passes (63.2 percent) and averaged 5.4 yards per rush on 10 carries. It was his 14th career appearance at SRU and his third career start, but his first start since Sept. 8, 2018 when he was injured and lost for the season in the first half at Shippensburg, which paved the way for Roland Rivers III to emerge as the SRU starter.
 
LITWIN EARNS PSAC WEEKLY HONOR
Henry Litwin was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week for his efforts last week. The senior All-American grabbed eight passes for 159 yards and one touchdown to lead all receivers in the PSAC and rank ninth among all players in Division II in receiving yards in week one.
 
LITWIN PICKS UP RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Henry Litwin was listed as a first team preseason All-American on every list that came out this summer and showed why in week one. The senior grabbed eight passes for 159 yards and one touchdown. He now has at least 89 receiving yards in nine straight games and has caught 14 touchdown passes during that nine-game stretch.
 
LITWIN BY THE NUMBERS
Henry Litwin played primarily on special teams in his freshman season in 2017, finishing the year with no catches. After moving into a starting role in 2018, Litwin has racked up 162 catches for 2,509 yards with 30 touchdowns over his last 29 games. His 30 TD grabs are already a career record at SRU. He set single-season records at SRU last fall for catches (103), yards (1,509), touchdowns (21) and scoring (128 points). Litiwn needs 54 catches and 874 yards to break Greg Hopkins' career records at The Rock.
 
HE'S AN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN TOO
Litwin is also one of only four players in Division II to be named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in each of the last two years. He is SRU's nominee for the 2021 Campbell Trophy, known in college football as the Academic Heisman.
 
WYNN BY THE NUMBERS
In 29 games in the SRU lineup, Jermaine Wynn Jr. has pulled down 153 passes for 2,150 yards and 24 touchdowns. He needs 63 catches to break Greg Hopkins' SRU career record. Wynn grabbed 95 passes for 1,339 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, ranking him second behind only Litwin on the SRU single-season ledger in catches and touchdowns and third in yards. He also caught 26 passes for 562 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman at Alderson Broaddus in 2017 to bring his collegiate career totals to 179 catches for 2,711 yards and 30 touchdowns at the Division II level.
 
LIT-WYNN COMBINED
Through 29 games in the same lineup, Henry Litwin and Jermaine Wynn Jr. have put up almost identical numbers. They have combined for 315 catches for 4,659 yards and 54 touchdowns. Since they stepped on the field together for the first time in 2018, the duo are collectively averaging 10.9 catches for 160.7 yards and 1.86 touchdowns per game. They are on pace to become the second and third SRU players to ever top 2,500 receiving yards in a career and already are the first SRU teammates to ever top 2,000 yards during the same seasons.
 
MORE LITWIN AND WYNN
Jermaine Wynn Jr. and Henry Litwin currently rank second and third among all active Division II players in career receiving yards. Wynn ranks second with 2,712 yards when counting his one year at Alderson Broaddus. Litwin is close behind in third with 2,509 yards. They trail Jermaine Russell from Shaw, who has 2,766 yards.
 
OPSATNIK EARNS PLACEKICKING JOB
Slippery Rock lost the highest scoring kicker in PSAC football history to graduation in 2019 with the departure of Jake Chapla, leaving a massive void entering this fall as Chapla averaged more than seven points per game over 50 games in his career. DJ Opsatnik got the call in week one and went 3-for-3 on PAT kicks and booted a 25-yard field goal to account for six points.
 
TRSYTEN MCDONALD MAKES RETURN
SRU starting linebacker Trysten McDonald was poised for a big season in 2019, but suffered a season-ending injury while returning an interception for a touchdown against IUP. After surgery that season and a long rehab process, McDonald finally returned to the field last week and wasted little time in making an impact. He finished the game with nine total tackles and led SRU with 3.0 tackles for loss.
 
VERNICK PLAYS TWO PLAYS
Rock captain and starting middle linebacker Tim Vernick entered the season as the most experienced player on the roster in terms of career starts, but was nursing an injury last week and did not start. Vernick was not expected to be available, but when it was crunch time on the final series of the game with Wayne State inside the five-yard line and the game on the line, Vernick took his middle linebacker spot and helped direct the defensive unit to a pair of stops on third and fourth down to lock up the win. The Rock's defensive field boss is expected to start this week.
 
FIRST ZERO IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Middle linebacker and team captain Tim Vernick will be wearing the number zero on his jersey this year to become the first SRU player to ever wear the zero in an NCAA competition. The number was not previously allowed as a jersey number in football, but the NCAA changed that rule this year and will now allow the number zero.
 
2021 MARKS THE END OF THE VERNICK ERA
This fall will mark linebacker and captain Tim Vernick's final season at SRU and with that the end of a streak of eight consecutive years where a member of the Vernick family has been the middle linebacker at SRU. Tim's older brother, Bob, was an All-Region selection and also served as team captain while playing from 2013-16.
 
KUHN GETS ANOTHER SACK
Defensive end Chad Kuhn was a first team preseason All-American entering the 2021 season after racking up 11.5 sacks in 2019. He picked up where he left off by tallying one sack and being credited with an additional QB hurry last week. That sack gave Kuhn 21.0 career sacks and moved him up to No. 9 all-time at SRU. He also ranks fifth among all active Division II players with that number.
 
MANNING MAKES MARK IN FIRST START
Isaiah Manning made his first career start at the outside linebacker spot last week and made a significant impact. Manning finished with 10 total tackles and was in on the two most important tackles of the night when he combined with Cody Ross and Garrett de Bien for a pair of tackles for loss in the final minute to secure the win. He also broke up one pass.
 
RUN DEFENSE HAS WORK TO DO
The biggest defensive takeaway from the opener last week was that the run defense needs to improve. Slippery Rock gave up 247 rushing yards, well above the 2019 season average of 120.0 yards per game. History could provide a good lesson here, as Wayne State also rushed for 248 yards in the 2019 opener. After that game, SRU allowed less than 50 rushing yards in each of the next four games and gave up a combined 92 rushing yards between weeks 2-5.
 
FIRST STARTS
Slippery Rock had a total of five players make their first career starts at The Rock in week one. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Tim Smith and left tackle Yuriy Hryckowian made their first starts, while defensive tackle Munchie Johnson and linebackers Isaiah Manning and Cody Ross made their first starts. Smith rushed for 32 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. Manning had 10 tackles, Ross had six tackles and Johnson had four stops and one tackle for loss.
 
KINGS OF THE PSAC WEST
Slippery Rock has gone unbeaten in the PSAC West in each of the last two seasons and has won 16 straight PSAC Western Division games dating back to Oct. 21, 2017. The Rock are 20-2 against the PSAC West in their last 22 divisional games and have won six of the nine PSAC West titles dating back to 2011.
 
DEFENDING PSAC CHAMPIONS
Slippery Rock is the reigning PSAC champion after defeating Kutztown in a battle of 10-0 teams in the 2019 PSAC title game played at Kutztown. That title marked the 12th overall PSAC championship for SRU and its third since 2014.
 
PLAYOFF STAPLES
Slippery Rock has reached at least the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Playoffs in each of the last two seasons with a trip to the Super Region One final in 2018 and a Super Region title and a trip to the NCAA semifinals in 2019. The Rock have reached the NCAA Playoffs in five of the seven seasons dating back to 2013.
 
WINNING SEASONS STREAK
Slippery Rock has put together a winning season in each of the last 11 years, which ranks tied for the ninth best active streak in Division II. The only other program in the PSAC with more consecutive winning seasons (not counting teams that played 4-5 games in 2020) currently is Cal U, which has strung together 16 winning seasons entering 2021.
 
CAPTAINS
Slippery Rock named its four team captains for the 2021 season back in April after the conclusion on spring practices. Receiver Henry Litwin and center Austin Wayt will represent the offense as captains, while linebacker Tim Vernick and defensive end Chad Kuhn will be the defensive captains.
 
RETURNING ALL-PSAC PLAYERS
Slippery Rock returns six players that earned All-PSAC honors in 2019, headlined by All-Americans Henry Litwin and Chad Kuhn. The Rock also return two-time first team All-PSAC selection Jeff Marx at the defensive tackle position. Marx is among the best interior linemen in Division II and serves as the primary run stuffer in the middle of The Rock defense. SRU also returns second team All-PSAC honorees in Jermaine Wynn Jr., who made the team as a receiver and as a punt returner, Jake Tecak on the offensive line and cornerback Khadir Roberts.
 
TOP OFFENSE IN 2019
Slippery Rock had one of the best offenses in the nation in 2019, ranking third in Division II in scoring offense (46.2 points per game), fifth in passing offense (329.9 yards per game), second in total first downs (356), fifth in completion percentage (66.7), ninth in total offense (501.7 yards per game), seventh in fourth down conversions (69.6 percent) and 19th in third down conversions (47.6 percent).
 
TEAM RECORDS FALL
Slippery Rock set a number of team records in 2019, including in some major statistical categories. The Rock established new program highs for passing attempts (501), passing completions (334), passing yards (4,618), passing touchdowns (54), extra points made (79) and total offensive yards (7,024).
 
FEATURED EVENTS ON THE SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock will host five home games during the regular season in 2021 and all of those dates will feature special events or be part of larger campus and community events. The opener Sept. 11 against East Stroudsburg will be the annual Hall of Fame game with the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2021 being inducted in a ceremony before kickoff. The Sept. 18 game against Lock Haven will be the cap to the annual Slippery Rock VillageFest and will be part of Friends and Family Weekend at SRU. The Oct. 2 game against Clarion will be the annual Salute to Military and First Responders game. The Oct. 16 game against Indiana (Pa.) will be the annual Homecoming game and the Nov. 6 game against Cal U will serve as The Rock's Senior Day game.
 
GRADUATES PLAYING THEIR FINAL YEAR
With the 2020 season being canceled and players retaining their eligibility, this fall will see a large number of student-athletes that have already graduated playing collegiate football. Slippery Rock is no exception, as a total of 13 of The Rock's players have already earned their undergraduate degrees: D.J. Adediwura, Kyle Butts, Garrett de Bien, Andrew Koester, Chad Kuhn, Henry Litwin, Trysten McDonald, Hunter Merritt, Cinque Sweeting, Jake Tecak, Tim Vernick, Austin Wayt, Jahmal Wynter.
 
THE ROCK AGAINST THEIR 2021 OPPONENTS
Slippery Rock has an overall combined record of 295-167-16 (.634) all-time against its 2021 scheduled opponents. The largest win streak in a series belongs to SRU over Lock Haven at 26 straight games dating back to a tie in 1988. SRU is 33-0-1 in its last 34 games against LHU. SRU's only non-PSAC opponent this year is Wayne State. The two programs have met just five times since 1981 and SRU is 3-2 in the series. SRU is .500 or better against 10 of its 11 scheduled opponents and has won its most recent meeting against all 11 opponents on the schedule.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The only future opponent for SRU this year that lost its week one game was Clarion. Each of the other SRU opponents that played last week won their game to start the year 1-0. Six of Slippery Rock's opponents this fall won at least six games and finished with a winning record in 2019 (IUP, Shepherd, Wayne State, Cal U, Mercyhurst, East Stroudsburg), while four opponents won at least seven games, three won at least eight games (IUP, Shepherd, Wayne State) and two won 10 games and made NCAA playoff appearances (IUP, Shepherd). However, after those six teams with winning records, The Rock's other remaining five opponents in 2021 combined to win a total of just 12 games in 2019 (Edinboro, Clarion, Seton Hill, Gannon, Lock Haven). The Rock's 11 schedule opponents combined to go 59-64 (.480) in 2019.
 
RIVERS GETS NFL SHOT – HILLS SIGNS IN CFL
Harlon Hill Trophy winning SRU quarterback Roland Rivers III was brought in to be the Rookie Minicamp quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers last spring. Rivers had an excellent camp, not throwing a single interception, but was ultimately not signed by the Steelers as they already had four rostered quarterbacks under contract. Running back Wes Hills, who broke the SRU single-season rushing record in leading SRU to the 2018 NCAA quarterfinals, signed this offseason with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
 
SRU STARTERS NOTES
Tim Vernick, Chad Kuhn and Khadir Roberts lead all players on the roster with 35 starts. Vernick saw a streak of 28 straight starts snapped last week. Trysten McDonald has started 30 games and Jeff Marx has started the last 29 consecutive games. Dalton Holt (23), Garrett de Bien (18) and Selvin Haynes (12) give SRU eight players on defense that have started double-digit games. The offensive side of the ball is less experienced, but still has seven players with double-digit starts, led by center Austin Wayt, who has started 29 straight games. Henry Litwin has started 27 games as the only other offense player with 25+ starts. Jermaine Wynn Jr. (20), Jake Tecak (17) and Matt Carr (15) started all 14 games in 2019, while Qaadir Dixon and Cinque Sweeting (13) started 12 games in 2019.
 
Slippery Rock had a total of five players make their first career starts last week: RB Tim Smith, LT Yuriy Hryckowian, DT Munchie Johnson, LB Isaiah Manning and LB Cody Ross.
 
ESU QUICK HITS
• Jimmy Terwilliger in his second full season as the head coach at his Alma Mater, where he played quarterback and won the 2005 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year. He owns an 8-6 overall record as the head coach at ESU after leading the Warriors to a 6-5 record in 2019, which marked their first winning season since 2015.
• East Stroudsburg jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 35-14 win over Pace at home last week. The Warriors put up 524 yards of offense and held Pace to 286. ESU ran for 319 yards on 45 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry and threw for 205 yards.
• QB Jake Cirillo completed 11-of-18 passes for 205 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 72 yards and one score on six carries last week.
• RB Gunner Anglovich rushed for 140 yards and one score and RB David Akinwande rushed for 91 yards on nine carries. WR Rece Bender caught two passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns and WR Clifford Brinkley caught four passes for 75 yards.
• DE Deshawn McCarthy led the defense with 4.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss last week, an effort that earned him PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week. He is tied with Mercyhurst's Bradley Burrows for the most sacks in Division II through one week of this season. His 6.0 tackles for loss are the most in the nation by 2.0 full tackles for loss.
• ESU's defense tallied seven sacks and a total of 13 tackles for loss against Pace in the opener last week. The Warriors rank fifth in the nation in team tackles for loss and seventh in team sacks.  
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will stay home next week for another PSAC Crossover and will welcome Lock Haven to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday night. That game will be the cap to the annual Slippery Rock VillageFest and will serve as The Rock's annual "White Out" game.
 


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