Losing tight end Frank Cremonese to a knee injury and allowing Youngstown State to score 51 points made for a rough beginning to Slippery Rock University's football season.

Just don't expect any sympathy from Millersville. The Marauders have their own problems.

During its 28-7 loss to Shepherd (W. Va.) two weeks ago, Millersville lost leading receiver Randall Eggleston and two-time All-PSACEast linebacker Chris Donati for the season with kneeinjuries.

"Both were noncontact injuries, too," second-year coach Joe Trainer said. "Nothing we can do about it but keep on going."

Millersville (0-1) hosts The Rock (0-1)at 1 p.m. Saturday. SRU is awaiting results on a MRIconcerning Cremonese's knee and he could be lost for the year as well.

Ross Hornish, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from North Hills, will start at tight end for The Rock this weekend.

"Frank was a strong blocker for our outside running game and he's a key loss in that sense,"SRUcoach George Mihalik said. "We knew what we had in him as a blocker. Ross is more of an unknown that way."

Slippery Rock High School graduate Travis Sarver is firmly entrenched as SRU's No. 1 running back now. He had a credible showing at Youngstown — 19 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown — and the coaching staff has decided to redshirt backs Corey Manfull and Nate Sipes.

Manfull severed ligaments in his hand during the off-season and Sipes, a freshman, is still on the mend from kneesurgery in November.

"Realistically, it takes a full year to recover from that surgery and Nate's not physically ready,"Mihalik said. "I thought Travis did exceptionally well last week.

"He hit the holes and ran on instinct, dating back to his high school days. It's like an older person hopping on a bicycle again. It comes back to you quickly."

Road victories have not come back to The Rock quite so easily. SRUhas dropped 12 of 17 road games over the past three seasons.

One of those five wins was a 28-18 triumph at Millersville in 2003. SRUhas won nine of its last 11 games against the Marauders, including five of six this decade. The teams have played each other annually since 2000.

SRUhas a 10-4-1 advantage in the overall series, which started in 1938.

"Our games have been close,"Mihalik cautioned. "This game is very important for both teams because we're in similar situations. We're trying to prove we have programs on the way back.

"One of these teams is going to start the year 0-2. I don't want it to be us."

The Rock started 0-3 last year before winning five of its final seven games. Its first road win of the year was its last game of the year, a 28-10 decision at Clarion.

"I don't know if we can measure ourselves against other people right now,"Trainer said of his Millersville squad. "Our focus has to be on us, on getting the kids prepared and gaining some experience."

Like Slippery Rock, Millersville has a third-year starter at quarterback in senior Dan Csencsitz, who threw for 1,248 yards last season after throwing for 2,649 yards as a sophomore.

Csencsitz does have returning running back Omar Sanders (31 catches for 337 yards) to throw to, but the loss of Eggleston (46-649) leaves freshmen Isiah Ray, Jordan Brooks and Derrick Bass as the Marauders' prime receivers.

Freshmen Brad Lantz (seven carries for 53 yards vs. Shepherd) and Darnell Johnson lead the running game.

Millersville's experience is mostly in its defensive front.

"They'll line up and hit you,"Mihalik said. "They play very physical run defense."

Special teams spark Millersville as well. The Marauders blocked a punt against Shepherd last week.

"We've been lights out on special teams, and we need to be,"Trainer said. "Our goal every week is to split on offense and defense and win the special teams battle.

"We spend more time on special teams than most people. We need that to be an advantage for us."

SRUstruggled on special teams last week. The kick return team never generated field position and a botched punt resulted in a safety.

"We're not where we need to be there,"Mihalik admitted.

The Rock passing game had an impressive debut, however, with Nate Crookshank throwing for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Receivers Colin Golden, Paul Favers, Luke Wetzel and Terry Grossetti all caught passes.

"Nate played an outstanding game,"Mihalik said. "He made good decisions and got everybody involved."

"That kid will make more big plays than any quarterback in the league this year,"Trainer said. "He sees the field and knows when to pull the ball down and take off. His decision-making is awesome."