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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 10th ranked Slippery Rock University football team remained unbeaten at home with a 38-20 win over Seton Hill University Saturday in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Rock improve to 8-1 overall and finish the PSAC West schedule with a 5-1 record to lock up sole possession of second place in the division. Seton Hill slips to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in PSAC West play.
 
Slippery Rock became the only team in the PSAC to defeat Seton Hill by more than a one-possession score after breaking the game open with a 28-point second half. The Rock moved the ball well in the opening half, but had to settle for a 10-7 lead at the break after turning the ball over twice with an interception and a lost fumble.
 
Chris D'Or opened the scoring after a dominant first drive when he rushed in from one yard to give SRU a 7-0 lead with 10:03 to play in the first quarter. SRU didn't attempt a single pass on the opening drive, rushing for 73 yards with D'Or going for 69 yards on six carries during the drive.
 
Seton Hill's first two attempts at points ended up in missed field goals with one going wide and the second being blocked by Kanye Thompson. The Griffins took advantage of the second SRU turnover of the half to get on the board with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Todd Phillips that made it 7-7 with 5:38 to play in the second.
 
The Rock broke the tie on the final play of the half after being awarded a free play when Seton Hill took a roughing the passer penalty on SRU's Hail Mary attempt. The extra yardage allowed for Mason Yohn to boot a 41-yard field goal at the buzzer to send it to the half with SRU up 10-7. The kick marked the first made field goal over 40 yards for SRU since September of 2021.
 
Kylon Wilson wasted little time in giving SRU its first two possession lead of the game when he took the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards for his second career kickoff return touchdown to make it 17-7 with 14:46 to play in the third.
 
Slippery Rock threatened to increase the lead on the next offensive series, but Brayden Long was intercepted for the second time of the day on a pass in the end zone. SHU responded with a long scoring drive when Jake Cruz connected with Phillips for their second TD pass of the day to make it 17-14 with 5:13 to play in the third.
 
SRU answered just over two minutes later when Long connected with Logan Ramper for a 37-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to make it 24-14 with 3:05 to play in the third. Long then hit Mike Solomon from 22 yards out early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 31-14 and called his own number with a one-yard TD run with 9:46 to play in the fourth to make it 38-14.
 
Seton Hill tacked on one more score with a nine-yard TD run from Ky'Ron Craggette with 5:00 to play to account for the final points. The Rock marched down the field to the SHU five-yard line on the next series, but elected not to kick a field goal and turned the ball over on downs at the five-yard line inside the final minute.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with a 486-336 advantage in total offense after throwing for 248 yards and rushing for 238 yards in a balanced approach. The Rock averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 43 rushing attempts to overcome a season-high three turnovers in the game.
 
Long went 15-of-25 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions after entering the game with just two interceptions on the season. He was also sacked twice to mark just the third game all year in which he was sacked.
 
D'Or finished with 107 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries for an average of 10.7 yards per carry to go along with three catches for 34 yards. He also had a long touchdown called back by an illegal block in the back. Idris Lawrence added 93 yards on 18 carries while Quentin Harrison rushed for 23 yards on five carries and JayJay Jordan ran for 21 yards on four carries.
 
Solomon caught five passes for 97 yards and one score, his seventh TD catch of the year. Ramper grabbed three passes for 87 yards and one score. Wilson finished with a team-high 143 all-purpose yards with 123 kick return yards, 10 receiving yards and four rushing yards.
 
A depleted SRU defense was paced by Tyree Johnson with 10 total tackles and a half-tackle for loss. Johnson made his first career start and stepped up in a big way as SRU played without six of its linebackers with starting experience, including the two men that started every game this year with Jacob Snow and Teddy Gregory Jr. missing the game. SRU was also without Max Heckert, Andrew Vince, Jake Miller and Cody Ross, leaving Johnson as the only veteran linebacker left available. Eddie Faulkner IV moved from safety to linebacker for the game and made four tackles.
 
The Rock also lost its top defensive player in the first half when defensive end Todd Hill left the game. Hill became the third starting defensive lineman to exit a game this year as SRU has also been without starters Daniel Tooson and Brian Young Jr. since week two.
 
Trever Valenti, Kenyon Johnson and Kanye Thompson each made six tackles and Mehki Twillie stepped up when Hill went down and finished with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble. Josh Stokes recovered that fumble and also recovered the blocked field goal from Thompson in the first half while also finishing with four tackles and one tackle for loss.
 
Saturday's win bolsters The Rock's playoff hopes after entering this week ranked fourth in the latest Super Region One rankings. SRU will enter its final regular season game next Saturday at home against Bloomsburg knowing that a victory will guarantee a sixth straight trip to the NCAA Playoffs and more than likely a home game in the opening round. Kickoff in the regular season finale is set for 1 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: Slippery Rock improved to 4-0 at home this year and 38-3 against the PSAC West since the beginning of the 2018 season … Shawn Lutz improved to 78-20 as SRU head coach and is now one win away from tying Bob DiSpirito for third on the all-time wins ledger at SRU … SRU honored its 21-player senior class before the game Saturday … the four-year seniors are 39-9 with three PSAC West titles and three trips to the NCAA Playoffs while the five-year seniors are 52-10 with four PSAC West titles and four trips to the playoffs … they can close their career making the NCAA Playoffs every year if SRU gets in this year ... Chris D'Or had his first 100-yard rushing game of the year and now has 2,465 rushing yards in his career … he is now 35 rushing yards away from becoming the eighth player in SRU history with 2,500 rushing yards and 3,500 all-purpose yards … Brayden Long moved up to No. 3 all-time at SRU in completions (522) … he became the fourth QB in SRU history to reach 55 career TD passes … Kylon Wilson had his second career kickoff return TD and his longest ever at 97 yards … Mason Yohn remained perfect in the placekicking game since taking over last week … his 41-yard FG was a career-long and the first 40+ yard made FG for SRU since DJ Opsatnik made a 42-yard kick against Lock Haven, Sept. 18, 2021 … Tyree Johnson made his first career start at linebacker and tallied a team-high 10 tackles ... SRU also celebrated Salute to Military and First Responders day Saturday.
 
 


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