Highlights  |  Postgame Interview  |  Photo Gallery (more photos will be added next week)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Slippery Rock University football team jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 42-0 shutout win over Shippensburg University Saturday night on Salute to Military and First Responders Night from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Rock improve to 3-0 on the year with their 37th straight win in a night game and set up a top 10 thriller next Saturday at home against No. 8 California (Pa.) in the PSAC West opener, which will be a rematch of the 2024 Super Region One title game. Shippensburg slips to 0-3 on the year after falling victim to the first shutout by an SRU defense since a 31-0 win over Clarion in 2022.
 
It took a special teams play to ignite the first 40+ point scoring game for Slippery Rock since 2023 when Joe White took a punt return 73 yards for a touchdown with 5:47 to play in the first quarter. It marked the first punt return TD by an SRU player since Jermaine Wynn Jr. had a 77-yard return TD against Clarion in 2021.
 
From there, Slippery Rock poured in points on four straight possessions to close the half on a 35-0 run. SRU got touchdowns from Demeatric Crenshaw on a wildcat play, John Sabo on a nine-yard TD pass from DaOne Owens, Xander McClure on a 25-yard TD pass from Owens and Reggie Fleurima on a 58-yard TD pass from Owens to account for the scoring in the first half.
 
The Rock put the game out of reach early in the second half with Owens hitting Sutton for a 61-yard TD for the game's final points with 10:10 to play in the third quarter.
 
Owens became the first freshman or redshirt freshman to start a game at QB for Slippery Rock since 2016 and became the first freshman QB to win a start since 2009. The Rock's starter the first two weeks of the season, Anthony Vespo, missed the game with an injury and did not dress Saturday. Owens completed 16-of-27 passes for 252 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
He connected with eight different receivers in the game with Fleurima finishing with 66 yards and one TD to lead the way. Sutton caught one pass for 61 yards and one TD and White grabbed three passes for 40 yards to go along with his punt return TD. Sabo caught his first career TD pass and finished with four catches for 28 yards and McClure pulled down his first TD of the season with one catch for 25 yards.
 
JayJay Jordan rushed for 102 yards to top the 100-yard mark for the second time this season, averaging 9.3 yards per carry on the night. Quentin Harrison added 29 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards.
 
Shippensburg reached the red zone four times on the night, but came away with zero points thanks to a stifling effort by a Rock defense that forced six total turnovers with three interceptions and three fumbles.
 
The Rock defense also tallied season-highs of six sacks, 11 tackles for loss and nine QB hurries on the way to the shutout performance.
 
Kanye Thompson recorded eight tackles, one tackle for loss and forced two of the three lost fumbles on the night. Jacob Snow added eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Teddy Gregory Jr. finished with seven tackles and one interception. Michael Dahn and Tyler Cain also both finished with one interception. The three fumbles were recovered by Trever Valenti, Brian Young Jr. and Elijah Halley. Halley added 1.5 sacks and Young and Jett Franz each recorded one sack.
 
Michael Henwood finished with seven tackles, Brett Kwoka had five stops with three QB hurries and Mehki Twillie had four stops with a pair of QB hurries.
 
Shippensburg attempted 56 passes on the night with two quarterbacks combining to go 31-of-56 for 301 yards. The Rock posted a 420-366 edge in total offense with 252 passing yards and 168 rushing yards while the Raiders ran for 65 yards and threw for 301 yards.
 
Slippery Rock will now shift its focus to the PSAC Western Division schedule, which opens with a bang next week at home against the defending division champions and eighth-ranked Vulcans from California (Pa.). Kickoff is set for 6:02 p.m. with the game set to be televised live by WKBN-TV.
 
GAME NOTES: Slippery Rock won its 37th straight night game and its 29th straight home night game to extend a streak that began in 2012 … SRU improved to 11-0 all-time in its Salute to Military and First Responders game … SRU improved to 75-10 in its last 85 home games … SRU head coach Shawn Lutz improved to 85-21 at The Rock and moved up to No. 13 all-time in PSAC coaching wins … SRU won its 13th straight early season PSAC crossover game against Eastern Division opponents … Redshirt freshman DaOne Owens started at QB to become the first freshman QB to start a game at Slippery Rock since Augustus Necastro started late in the 2016 season … he became the first freshman QB at SRU to win a start since Ryan O'Rourke in 2009 … Joe White returned a punt 73 yards for a TD to mark the first punt return TD by a Slippery Rock player since Jermaine Wynn Jr. had a 77-yard punt return TD against Clarion in 2021 … SRU's defense posted its first shutout since a 31-0 win over Clarion in 2022 … JayJay Jordan went over 100 all-purpose yards for the third time this year … Latrell Sutton scored a receiving TD for the third straight week … Reggie Fleurima and John Sabo each had their first career TD catches in the game … SRU honored former QB Brayden Long pregame to present Long with the 2024-25 Academic All-American of the Year and PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards … Long is now coaching at Shippensburg.





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