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CLARION, Pa. – The 14th ranked Slippery Rock University football team won its 34th consecutive night game with a 38-22 victory over Clarion Thursday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action from Memorial Stadium.
 
The Rock improve to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in PSAC West action, bouncing back from their first regular season loss since 2022 with a win after a bye week last week. Clarion slips to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in PSAC West games.
 
Slippery Rock used a 24-0 run that began late in the second quarter to break open a 14-14 tie and run away with the win.
 
The teams traded long scoring drives in an entertaining first half that saw The Rock take a 21-14 lead to the break after the teams combined for more than 430 yards of total offense.
 
The Rock struck first after the defense came up with a takeaway on Clarion's first possession. With the Golden Eagles driving deep into SRU territory, Trever Valenti punched the ball away for a fumble and Josh Stokes dove on the recovery to end the drive. The SRU offense responded with an 85-yard drive that was capped by a 35-yard TD pass from Brayden Long to Mike Solomon to make it 7-0 with 8:22 to play in the period.
 
Clarion answered on its next series with a 76-yard drive capped by a QB keeper from the two-yard line after SRU took a pass interference penalty in the end zone. The score made it 7-7 with 2:49 left in the first.
 
The Rock retook the lead on their next possession, this time going 63 yards and scoring when Long connected with Kylon Wilson for a 42-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-7 with 14:52 to play in the second quarter.
 
After the teams traded punts, Clarion put together another scoring drive to tie the game at 14-14 with QB Anthony Guercio rushing in from the two-yard line for his second rushing TD of the game with 6:10 to play in the half.
 
Slippery Rock again responded with another TD drive, this time getting it done on the ground with some key runs from Idris Lawrence, who was rewarded with a one-yard TD run to make it 21-14 with 2:47 to play in the half. Clarion had a chance to tie the game and moved it down to the SRU 35-yard line, but Guercio was sacked for a loss of 15 yards by freshman Jett Franz playing in his first collegiate game, ending the half with The Rock leading 21-14.
 
SRU built its first two-possession lead of the game when Long connected with Kam Kruzelyak to cap a 66-yard drive on the first possession of the third quarter to make it 28-14 with 11:37 to play in the third.
 
The Rock then opened the game up after the defense forced a three-and-out and the offense responded with an 80-yard TD drive. Long hit Wilson for their second TD connection of the night with Wilson scoring from 32 yards out to make it 35-14 with 7:08 to play in the third.
 
The defense stood tall again on the next Clarion series with Todd Hill and Munchie Johnson combining on a sack to force a punt and The Rock offense kept it rolling with a third straight scoring drive after Mason Yohn connected on a 36-yard field goal to extend the lead to 38-14 and put the game out of reach.
 
Slippery Rock's starting defense did not allow a single point in the second half with Clarion tacking on a late touchdown and two-point conversion against the SRU backups to account for the final score.

The Rock finished the game with a 510-420 advantage in total offense after throwing for 399 yards and rushing for 111 yards. Clarion ran for 216 yards on 40 carries and threw for 204 yards.
 
Long threw for a season-high 399 yards on 23-of-39 attempts with four touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks. He became the fourth player in SRU history to reach 6,000 career passing yards and 50 career touchdowns in the win.
 
Wilson finished with seven catches for a career-high 147 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 15 yards. Logan Ramper grabbed six passes for 88 yards and Solomon caught four passes for 85 yards and one TD. Kruzelyak caught one pass for a six-yard TD.
 
Chris D'Or ran for 61 yards on just 10 carries and caught two passes for 36 yards. Idris Lawrence ran for 34 yards on six carries and caught two passes for 31 yards.
 
Kanye Thompson made his first career start on defense and paced SRU with 10 tackles. Max Heckert added nine stops and Michael Henwood and Eddie Faulkner IV each had six tackles. Jett Franz made his collegiate debut and finished with one sack and one pass breakup. Todd Hill and Munchie Johnson each had a half-sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Trever Valenti forced one fumble and Josh Stokes recovered that fumble.
 
Clarion QB Anthony Guercio ran for two touchdowns and finished with 65 passing yards and 15 rushing yards before leaving the game with an injury. Ty Hurst threw for 139 yards with one TD in relief.
 
Slippery Rock will have a couple extra days of rest due to the Thursday night game and will return to action at home next Saturday, Nov. 9 with a 1 p.m. game against Seton Hill. The Rock will recognize their senior class in a ceremony before the game.
 
GAME NOTES: Slippery Rock won its 34th consecutive night game to extend a streak of night game wins that dates back to September of 2012 … The Rock won their seventh straight game over Clarion and improved to 13-1 in the series since the "Milk Jug" trophy was introduced to the rivalry … SRU played its first mid-season Thursday night game since October of 2007 … SRU bounced back from its first regular season loss since 2022 and has not lost back-to-back regular season games since 2017 … Thursday's game was the 1,100th recorded football game in SRU program history … Shawn Lutz improved to 77-20 as the SRU head coach … SRU made its first field goal since week three with Mason Yohn taking over the kicking duties for the first time this season … Yohn was perfect on the night, going 5-for-5 on PAT kicks and 1-for-1 with a 36-yard FG … Brayden Long threw for a season-high 399 yards and became the fourth QB in program history to reach 6,000 career passing yards … he now ranks No. 4 all-time at SRU with 6,028 yards … he also became the fourth QB in history to reach 50 career TD passes and now ranks fourth at SRU with 53 career TD passes … Kylon Wilson had career-highs of 147 receiving yards and two touchdowns … it marked the first time since Nov. 4, 2023 against Edinboro that an SRU receiver had 100+ yards (Kyle Sheets and Cohen Russell).





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