Eagles take down rivals
SLIPPERY ROCK — When it was all said and done, Grove City simply was too much for Slippery Rock High to handle in Friday's football season opener at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
The Eagles recorded a 28-17 win behind a balanced offensive attack led by junior quarterback Michael Burk and senior fullback Chris Clark.
Burk completed six of 11 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Clark rushed for 79 yards on 21 carries and scored two TDs.
Slippery Rock, meanwhile, finished with 235 yards in total offense, 154 of which came on passes.
Junior quarterback Jonathan Powell threw for 84 yards on a 5-of-12 effort that included one interception, and he ran for both Rockets touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Zach Ejzak tossed a 70-yard option pass to set up a score.
Ejzak, a standout on the Rockets basketball team, also caught two passes for 21 yards in his first game as a member of the football program.
Slippery Rock junior wide receiver Derrick Orloski led all receivers with two catches for 107 yards, the bulk of which came on the option pass from Ejzak.
"Overall, this was a pretty evenly played game," Grove City head coach Jeff Bell said afterwards. "In the end — and I don't mean to take anything away from Slippery Rock — I just think we had a few more playmakers."
Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti praised his team.
"Our kids gave a great effort tonight," he said. "Grove City has a terrific football team. ¿ They were just a little faster and had more weapons than we did.
"But I am very happy with the way our kids responded a couple of times after Grove City scored and we came right back to march the other way."
The game featured some classic nip-and-tuck scoring drives.
After Slippery Rock went three-and-out on the game's opening drive, Grove City marched 56 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead with three minutes left in the first period. Clark capped the drive with a 5-yard burst off left tackle two plays after Michael Burk and Caleb Kolb hooked up for a 16-yard pass completion to set up a first-and-goal situation.
Undaunted, the Rockets came right back and sprinted 72 yards in only four plays to tie the score at 7 with a minute left in the opening period. Ejzak's halfback option pass to Orloski set up Powell's 1-yard quarterback keeper for the TD.
Grove City regained the lead with a short scoring drive, moving 81 yards in only six plays on a drive that started midway through the second period. The march culminated with a 36-yard scoring toss from Michael Burk to his older brother, Justin, with 3:24 remaining before halftime.
Both teams scored on their first possessions of the second half, Grove City going 64 yards in 12 plays and Slippery Rock 61 yards in the same number of plays.
Clark capped the Eagles' drive with a 1-yard burst at the 5:14 mark of the third period, while Powell scored on a 1-yard keeper with 11:17 left in the game.
Grove City came right back after Powell's TD run to move 70 yards in only five plays and enjoyed a 28-14 lead with just under eight minutes left to play. Michael Burk scrambled out of traffic and connected with Justin Spencer for a 42-yard TD to cap the drive.
Slippery Rock added the final three points of the game when John Conley booted a 40-yard field goal with no time remaining on the clock.
"We might need to kick a field goal down the road to win a game, so I wanted to see what we were capable of. We saw what we needed to and wanted to see," Conti said.
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