ERIE — 1,182 yards, 14 touchdowns and record-setting offense.

But Slippery Rock University's 49-45 PSAC West football victory at Gannon Saturday came down to a stop.

On fourth-and-2 from The Rock 29-yard line with 40 seconds remaining, Gannon running back Marc Jones was stopped short of the sticks. SRU was then able to run out the clock on a day of big plays.

“I've never been part of a game like this. Never. I mean, that was nuts,” SRU coach Shawn Lutaz said.

“The guy (Jones) ran all over us all day. But when our defense needed to stop him, they did it. That shows resiliency and determination.”

Jones rushed for a PSAC record 354 yards and four touchdowns Saturday. He also turned a swing pass into a 51-yard touchdown.

Jones' last touchdown — a 76-yard run with 2:39 to play— gave the Golden Knights (1-3, 0-1) a 45-42 lead.

Rock quarterback Tanner Garry then threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Johnson with 1:36 left, setting up the defense for its game-saving stop of Jones.

Johnson caught four touchdown passes and returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. Garry threw for 518 yards and five TDs. He hit Milly Raye for a 23-yard scoring pass to conclude the first possession of the day.

And set the tone for the day.

“I'll never question the identity of this team again,” Lutz said. “I won't try to make us into something we're not.

“We're a big-play passing offense. We have a lot of play-makers in the passing game and we're going to use them.”

Garry's 518 yards passing were the second-most in a game in Rock history. Johnson caught 10 passes for 183 yards, Milly Raye 11 for 125 and Andrew Bridgeforth six for 115.

“Andrew probably had the biggest day out of all of us,” Raye said. “He made some big third-down catches and he forced a fumble on a kickoff.”

That special teams turnover was the only turnover of the game and led to a 43-yard Jake Chapla field goal. The kick gave SRU (4-0, 1-0) a 42-38 lead with 10:11 to play.

There were plenty more fireworks to come on this day.

“I don't think anyyone can cover us right now,” Lutz said. “Our receivers are p[laying that well.”

The win sets up a showdown of unbeaten teams this Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. No. 21 SRU will host No. 5 California (Pa.) at 6 p.m.

SRU owns a 7-6 lead in the series with Gannon and has defeated the Golden Knights in each of the past three seasons.

[naviga:h3]SRU 49, Gannon 45[/naviga:h3]

Slippery Rock 6 21 6 16 — 49

Gannon 7 13 12 13 — 45

SRU G

30 First Downs 25

34-79 Rushes-Yards 47-399

518 Passing Yards 186

33-51-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 11-20-0

597 Total Yards 585

2-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

10-88 Penalty Yards 6-54

First Quarter

SRU — Milly Raye 23 pass from Tanner Garry (kick blocked), 12:50

G — Marc Jones 2 run (Karch Holland kick), 10:47

Second Quarter

SRU — Marcus Johnson 16 pass from Garry (Jake Chapla kick), 12:27

SRU — Isiah Neely 2 run (Chapla kick), 9:44

G — Jones 10 run (kick failed), 6:25

SRU — Johnson 11 pass from Garry (Chapla kick), 2:10

G — Jimmy Keefe 1 run (Holland kick), :08

Third Quarter

G — Jones 38 run (kick failed), 13:49

G — Nico Law 24 pass from Keefe (pass failed), 3:44

SRU — Johnson 88 kick return (pass failed), 3:32

Fourth Quarter

G — Jones 51 pass from from Keefe (pass failed), 14:48

SRU — Johnson 16 pass from Garry (pass failed), 12:02

SRU — Chapla 43 field goal, 10:11

G — Jones 76 run (Holland kick), 2:39

SRU — Johnson 73 pass from Garry (Chapla kick), 1:36

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Chacar Berry 14-47, Isiah Neely 12-42, Tanner Garry 6-(-4). Gannon, Marc Jones 27-354, Tyler Palka 9-29, Jimmy Keefe 7-12, Isaiah Young 4-4.

Passing: SRU, Tanner Garry 33-51-518-0. Gannon, Jimmy Keefe 10-19-182-0.

Receiving: SRU, Marcus Johnson 10-183, Carnel Harley 2-39, Brian McNally 1-22, Milly Raye 11-125, Dylan Stapleton 1-20, Mike Merhaut 2-14, Andrew Bridgeforth 6-115. Gannon, Marc Jones 4-95, Nico Law 3-61, Dontae Owens 2-17, Tyler Palka 2-13.