SLIPPERY ROCK — Down by 18 points in the second half and down to its fourth-string quarterback, Slippery Rock University's football team was not down and out.

That came later.

After a near-miraculous rally gave The Rock a 35-31 lead with 57 seconds remaining Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, Edinboro spoiled SRU's homecoming party with a last-ditch rally of its own and a 37-35 victory.

“That's been our M.O. all year,” first-year Edinboro coach Justin Lustig said. “Forget about what just happened. Play for the next minute.”

The last minute was bizarre — and ended SRU's 20-game home winning streak.

The Fighting Scots (7-1, 4-1) took possession at their own 27-yard line with 52 seconds left. Fourth-string quarterback Augustus Necastro had just led SRU (5-3, 2-3) on a 14-play, 87-yard drive to assume a 35-31 lead. He connected with receiver Marcus Johnson for an 8-yard scoring pass on third-and-goal for the go-ahead points.

The Rock had trailed 31-13 in the third quarter.

Necastro was in the game because starting QB Don King III (concussion) and back-up Nathaniel Musselman (lower leg) were injured earlier. The Rock's original No. 2 quarterback, Zack Newsock, left the team earlier in the season.

“Just let it go, let it all hang out,” Necastro said of his mindset entering the game. “I knew they couldn't pull me.”

The freshman from Brookfield (Ohio) wound up completing 17 of 22 passes for 187 yards and two TDs as The Rock battled back.

But Edinboro QB Jake Sisson spoiled all of that on the Scots' final drive. He completed passes of 10, 17, 1 and 22 yards, the latter completion to Jordan Williams that gave the Scots a first down at the SRU 15 with less than 20 seconds to play.

“We needed a touchdown and I knew we had the guys to get us there,” Sisson said.

But two incomplete passes in the direction of receiver James Clark left Edinboro with a third-and-10 and three seconds on the clock.

A pass toward Clark along the left sideline sailed out of bounds with Rock cornerback Titus Howard defending on the play. The remaining time was off the clock.

A penalty flag was on the ground. Pass interference. One free play from the SRU 2-yard line.

“First of all, that pass was uncatchable,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “Secondly, he (Howard) didn't hit the receiver until both guys were going out of bounds.

“Regardless, the play occurred at the 2, so the penalty should have been half the distance to the goal anyway.”

On the game's final play, Sisson connected with Clark, who was coming across the field from the right sideline. The receiver caught the ball in the middle of the field, along the line of scrimmage, and beat the pursuit into the left corner of the end zone to win the game.

“Brilliant call by coach ... The guy's a genius,” Clark said.

Lustig said he got a clear view of the pass interference call.

“It was definitely interference. He (Howard) got tangled up with him,” Lustig said. “Slippery Rock plays aggressive pass defense and our receivers know how to get into position. We got a few of those calls today.”

Sisson also agreed with the call.

“His hands were all over him. That couldn't be a 'no-call,'” he said.

The Rock was whistled for four pass interference calls prior to the final one. Howard was actually disqualified for a targeting violation early in the second quarter. That penalty led to an Edinboro touchdown.

The targeting play was reviewed at halftime and reversed, allowing Howard to return to the game.

“That call wound up costing us 14 points on plays that went to his (Howard's) side,” Lutz lamented.

The four-hour game was played in a stiff wind, yet the teams combined to throw 112 passes. Sisson tossed four touchdown passes, giving him 32 for the season and breaking Trevor Harris' single-season Edinboro record.

Playing against the wind late in the first half, Lutz elected to go for a first down on fourth-and-3 from his own 29. King was sacked for a loss of seven and Edinboro took a 24-13 lead on a short TD pass moments later.

Rock punter Josiah Davis had a 12-yard punt against that wind on SRU's previous possession.

“The wind was the only reason I decided to go for it,” Lutz admitted. “We just couldn't kick against it at all.”

The loss spoiled some stellar individual efforts by SRU. Besides Nocastro, running back Isiah Neely rushed for 135 yards and caught five passes for 69. He had missed the first few games of the year with a hip injury.

Kyle Hall — starting for the injured Kevin Green at safety — had three of five interceptions of Sisson. Derrick Fulmore and Bob Vernick had the others.

“Nocastro is a smart kid, that's one of the reasons we recruited him,” Lutz said. “We weren't going to limit our playbook in any way once he was in there.

“If we were going down, we were going down swinging with everything we had. Isiah had a great game and Kyle Hall took advantage of an opportunity.”

Ultimately, Lutz couldn't resist commenting on the officiating.

“Our kids fought so hard in coming back and I'm so proud of our team,” he said. “The players have to decide a game like this, not the officials. It's just a shame.

“We had eight penalties in the first half, Edinboro didn't have any. The targeting call on Titus was big ... There has to be consistency in officiating. I hope the league looks at this. The league has to get it right.”

Notes: Edinboro has won three homecoming games in the past four weeks and can clinch at least a share of the PSAC West title with wins over Seton Hill and California the next two weeks. The Scots were 0-11 last year and picked to finish last in the preseason poll this year.... The Rock lost its homecoming game for the first time since 2008 (35-14 Edinboro win) and for just the fifth time in the past 29 years. ... Jake Chapla booted a 40-yard field goal Saturday. He is 4-for-4 from 40 or more yards out this season. ...Free safety DeVon Graves led Edinboro with 18 tackles. Linebacker Anthony Zappone led SRU with nine.

Edinboro 37, SRU 35

Edinboro 3 21 7 6 — 37

Slippery Rock 10 3 7 15 — 35

E SRU

23 First Downs 32

19-19 Rushes-Yards 57-155

248 Passing Yards 287

28-62-5 Comp.-Att.-Int 29-50-1

267 Total Yards 442

1-0 Fumbles-Lost 9-2

8-100 Penalty Yards 15-130

First Quarter

SRU — Jake Chapla 27 field goal, 11:05

SRU — Cornelius Raye 14 pass from Don king III (Chapla kick), 9:27

E — Austin Reese 43 field goal, 2:58

Second Quarter

E — Jordan Williams 9 pass from Jake Sisson (Reese kick), 12:51

SRU — Chapla 40 field goal, 9:30

E — Ta'Nauz Gregory 85 kick return (Reese kick), 9:18

E — Williams 3 pass from Sisson (Reese kick), 2:23

Third Quarter

E — Gregory 5 pass from Sisson (Reese kick), 11:10

SRU — Drew Scales 9 pass from Augustus Necastro (Chapla kick), 5:09

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Isiah Neely 5 run (Marcus Johnson pass from Necastro), 13:34

SRU — Johnson 8 pass from Necastro (Chapla kick), :57

E — James Clark 2 pass from Sisson (run failed), :00

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Edinboro, Walter Fletcher 15-25, Alex Caratelli 1-7, Ta'Nauz Gregory 1-1, Jake Sisson 2-(-14). SRU, Isiah Neely 29-135, Dontez Rash 8-24, Nathaniel Musselman 1-10, Cornelius Raye 1-9, Don King III 11-7, TEAM 2-(-14), Augustus Necastro 5-(-18), Josiah Davis 1-2.

Passing: Edinboro, Jake Sisson 28-62-248-5. SRU, Don King III 12-23-100-1, Nathaniel Musselman 0-5-0-0, Augustus Necastro 17-22-187-0.

Receiving: Edinboro, James Clark 8-71, Jordan Williams 7-61, Alex Caratelli 6-66, Ta'Nauz Gregory 6-47, Walter Fletcher 1-3. SRU, Drew Scales 8-78, Leroy McClain 6-32, Isiah Neely 5-69, Marcus Johnson 4-55, Cornelius Raye 2-26, Carnel Harley 2-25, Brian McNally 1-2, Don King III 1-0.