Slippery Rock University Athletics

Highlights  |  Postgame Interview  |  Photos (more photos will be added in coming days)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football team erased a 16-point deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation and pulled off a thrilling 45-43 double overtime comeback win over No. 12 Minnesota Duluth in the 2026 season opener Thursday night from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Rock extended numerous streaks with the win, picking up their 17th straight win in a season opener, their 20th straight win in a home opener and their 18th straight win in the annual "White Out" game while also recording the 200th home win in the history of Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, which opened in 1974.
 
SRU also won its first-ever game against a team from the state of Minnesota in the first-ever meeting between the two national heavyweights.
 
The Bulldogs controlled most of the game using a punishing ground game and limiting SRU's offense for most of the opening three quarters. It looked like the visitors were on the way to a comfortable win when they extended their lead to 30-14 with 12:46 to play, but the momentum took a drastic shift shortly after that score.
 
Slippery Rock made a move at the quarterback position late in the fourth quarter and went to DaOne Owens to lead a drive with just over seven minutes to play. Owens led the squad on an 80-yard drive that took just five plays and was capped by a seven-yard touchdown pass to John Sabo to cut it to 30-20 with 6:20 to play.
 
Duluth moved down the field into SRU territory and elected to go for it on fourth-and-11 and that decision proved to be fatal. Brett Kwoka rushed off the right edge and forced a sack-fumble that was recovered by Aaron Scales Jr., who scooped it up and ran 65 yards to the house in his first collegiate game to make it 30-27 with 3:13 to play.  
 
The Rock defense came up big again and forced a punt just after the two-minute timeout. Owens and the SRU offense took over with under two minutes to play at their own eight-yard line with no timeouts left. Owens guided the team down the field into the red zone and had a shot at the game-winner, but a fade route went just long on third down. Connor Macek booted a 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 30-30 with 20 seconds left to force overtime.
 
Both teams traded touchdowns on their first possession in the extra period. The Rock went first and scored on an eight-yard TD pass to Vincent Berardi from Brad Hoffman, who came in for one play to relieve Owens after he had to leave the game with an injury. UMD answered with their own TD run from QB Jacob Eggert to tie it at 37-37 and force a second overtime.
 
The Bulldogs went first in the second OT period and scored on a TD run from Derrick Johnson to go up 43-37, but the mandatory two-point conversion try was stuffed short.
 
Slippery Rock answered with a seven-yard TD run from JayJay Jordan to tie the game at 43-43 and capped the improbable comeback when Owens leaped over a tackler and into the end zone for the walk-off two-point conversion.
 
Duluth dominated the offensive possession time 38:34 to 21:26 and limited The Rock to 0-for-10 on third down conversions. The Bulldogs racked up 370 rushing yards on 68 rushing attempts and threw for 148 yards on 18 passing attempts to finish with an advantage of 518-391 in total offense. SRU ran for just 87 yards and threw for 304 yards, but won the turnover battle with no giveaways on offense and three huge takeaways on defense, none more important than the 65-yard fumble return from Scales.
 
Hoffman started at QB and finished the game 11-of-19 for 154 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for a team-high 42 yards. Owens finished 7-of-13 for 150 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while also rushing for 23 yards and the game-winning conversion.
 
Jordan carried the ball just seven times and finished with 23 yards and one touchdown on the ground to go with four catches for 35 yards and one TD in the passing game. Berardi led the receivers with four catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns, including a 54-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage. Ethan Trettel added three catches for 59 yards and Reggie Fleurima pulled down three catches for 56 yards.
 
Teddy Gregory Jr. led the SRU defense with 10 total tackles, while Brian Young Jr., Daniel Tooson and Brett Kwoka all chipped in eight tackles. Kwoka and Young each had 1.5 sacks and Kwoka finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble. Jacob Snow added seven tackles and one TFL before leaving the game with a targeting call in the third quarter. Scales finished with six tackles to go along with his 65-yard TD return. Kwalil Shepperson and Michael Cornick III each pulled down one interception.
 
Johnson led the Duluth offense with 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries. Alex Riley added 67 rushing yards and one TD. Eggert completed 9-of-15 passes for 142 yards with one TD and two INT while also rushing for 46 yards and one score.
 
Slippery Rock will now have more than a week to rest before returning to action Sept. 12 on the road at East Stroudsburg University in a battle of the two teams picked to finish second in their respective PSAC divisions this year.
 
GAME NOTES: Slippery Rock won its 17th straight season opener and 20th straight home opener … SRU won its 18th straight White Out game … SRU won its first game against a team from Minnesota … SRU won its 200th game in Mihalik-Thompson Stadium since it opened in 1974 … SRU head coach Shawn Lutz improved to 89-25 at SRU … SRU improved to 4-6 all-time in games played in August … SRU improved to 9-1 in its last 10 games played on a Thursday … SRU started two true freshmen on defense in the secondary in Jonah Brown at cornerback and Aaron Scales Jr. at safety … SRU played its second straight overtime game dating back to the last game of the 2025 season.
 



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