Slippery Rock High's Ryan Ferguson runs for one of his two touchdowns Friday in the Rockets' 43-8 win over Erie East.

SLIPPERY ROCK — Ryan Ferguson rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Jonathan Powell added 89 yards and three TDs to lead host Slippery Rock High to an easy 43-8 win over Erie East Friday.

The Rockets (1-1) scored on each of their first four possessions and added a safety on East's second drive of the game to sprint to a 23-0 lead at the end of one period and a 30-0 advantage by halftime.

The mercy rule went into effect in the first minute of the fourth quarter after the Rockets extended their lead to 36-0 and the margin was 43-0 before East scored a meaningless touchdown in the final minute.

The Rockets finished the game with a 293-111 advantage in total yards, but 66 of East's yards came on its scoring drive against Slippery Rock's backup defensive unit.

East head coach Mo Troop was succinct in his summation of the game.

"Outside of a couple of defensive stands when we held them on downs, Slippery Rock outplayed us in every aspect of the game," he said. "They came out and played harder than we did. They wanted it more than we did right from the start."

The outcome was never in doubt.

In the first quarter, a botched snap from center in punt formation by East (0-2) set the Rockets up first-and-goal at the Warriors' 9-yard line. Powell sprinted into the end zone on the next play and his brother, Josh, added the extra point to put Slippery Rock up 7-0.

Three plays later, another snap from center sailed over the punter's head into the end zone and was covered up by the East punter for a safety.

"We got a couple of breaks early with those bad snaps on punts," said Slippery Rock head coach Clyde Conti, "and that was big because we concerned about their speed and size. We didn't want to let them get ahead of us early."

The concerns were further eased when Ferguson sprinted 31 yards for his first TD three plays after the free kick following the safety. Josh Powell's PAT kick made it 16-0 with 7:29 still to play in the first period.

The Rockets marched 62 yards in six plays on their next possession, with Jonathan Powell cruising the final 43 yards for his second TD of the game.

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball back to Slippery Rock at the East 25. Jonathan Powell put the icing on that drive with a 1-yard keeper at the 9:28 mark of the second quarter. Josh Powell's PAT kick made it 30-0.

After giving up points on the Rockets' first four possessions, East finally thwarted a potential scoring drive when Devonne Clark picked off a Jonathan Powell pass at the Warriors' 25.

The reprieve was a short one, though. Slippery Rock pushed its lead to 36-0 with an 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive on its first second-half possession. Andrew Novak recorded a nine-yard TD jaunt to end the drive, but the PAT kick attempted failed.

Ferguson scored on a 5-yard run for Slippery Rock's final points.

"We played good tonight, and we got a good win, but we had a lot of foolish penalties and some other areas in which we need to improve," he said.

"I also know what's on the horizon for us," he added.

After opening their 2007 season with back-to-back home games, the Rockets now take to the road for three straight games, starting with next Friday's duel with Sto-Rox and followed by trips to Franklin and General McLane.