HERMITAGE — There were times in the second half when Slippery Rock appeared to grab the momentum. But they proved to be just mirages, thanks to Hickory's Michael Henwood.

The junior quarterback passed for 157 yards, ran for 177 more and had a hand in four touchdowns as the host Hornets clinched District 10's Region 5 title with a 42-21 victory Friday night.

Slippery Rock did qualify for the district playoffs due to Grove City's defeat of Conneaut.

Not all of Henwood's exploits came on offense. Just after the Rockets cut Hickory's lead to 21-14 with Vito Pilosi's touchdown pass to Brendan Earl late in the third quarter, Henwood returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to Slippery Rock's 40.

Four plays later, Rocco Iacino scored on a short run.

“He's a special kid,” said Hickory coach Bill Dungee. “He's one of the hardest workers on the team and has the heart of a champion. I'm also the offensive coodinator, so I drill him all the time and he can take it.”

The feisty Rockets came back again, however, when Nathan Hyatt scored from six yards out early in the fourth to cut the deficit to 28-21.

Slippery Rock (4-4, 1-3) then tried an onside kick, which was recovered by Hickory's Bailey Phillips. The Hornets scored two more touchdowns, including a 91-yard run by Henwood, to ice the game.

“(Against) Grove City, Sharon, Hickory ... in all the region games we've lost this year, we've given up big plays,” said Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz. “I know they are going to happen from now and then, but sometimes you just have to make the tackle live for the next down.”

Henwood's arm put the Hornets (6-2, 3-1) up early with an 8-yard scoring pass to Matthew Cannone in the first quarter.

The Rockets answered with Hyatt's 85-yard kickoff return for a score. It was a much-needed contribution from special teams because the Rocket offense struggled mightily.

Slippery Rock's ground game, which was averaging 180 yards per game, had minus-9 yards at the half.

“They were putting seven guys in the box. We figured they would,” said Wendereusz. “We thought we could get some angles and get some plays out. We opened things up in the second half, tried some different things, but it wasn't enough.”

Even with a much-better final two quarters on the ground, the Rockets ended the game with 97 yards on 32 carries.

“We're not a big team up front, but we're fast and physical,” Dungee said of his defense. “We have so much respect for how Slippery Rock does things. We just needed to match them tonight.”

The challenge now for the Rockets is to regain some confidence before the postseason. They have one shot to do that with next Friday's home game against Oil City.

“They're a physical football team and we've struggled against physical teams,” said Wendereusz.

Slippery Rock 7 0 7 7 — 21

Hickory 7 7 14 14 — 42

First Quarter

H — Matthew Cannone 8 pass from Michael Henwood (Braedon Allen kick), 6:55

SR — Nathan Hyatt 85 kickoff return (Nathan Willison kick), 6:43

Second Quarter

H — Jackson Pryts 8 pass from Henwood (Allen kick), 11:54

Third Quarter

H — Ramarion Whitehead 56 pass from Henwood (Allen kick), 7:04

SR — Brendan Earl 12 pass from Vito Pilosi (Willison kick), 2:21

H — Rocco Iacino 1 run (Allen kick), :46

Fourth Quarter

SR — Hyatt 6 run (Willison kick), 9:45

H — Kameron Fisher 5 run (Allen kick), 5:05

H — Henwood 91 run (Allen kick), 1:44

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 15-43, Nathan Hyatt 10-26, Brendan Earl 1-(-3), David Duffalo 6-31. Hickory, Kameron Fisher 22-96, Henwood 14-177, Braelin Stewart 4-40, Iacino 1-1.

Passing:Slippery Rock, Pilosi 12-32-160-1. Hickory, Henwood 11-18-157-1.

Receiving:Slippery Rock, Duffalo 4-25, Hyatt 2-13, Ethan Plesakov 4-66, Ethan Sarver 1-6, Earl 1-12, Justin Schaeffer 0-38. Hickory, Matthew Cannone 4-22, Ramarion Whitehead 3-94, Stewart 1-15, Jackson Pryts 1-8, Nathan Richards 1-7, Iacino 1-11.