GREENSBURG— This one definitely didn't go according to plan.

Slippery Rock University's vaunted rushing attack was limited to 99 yards and sophomore quarterback Brandon Frohnapple threw the ball 35 times in his first collegiate start in The Rock's 27-20 football loss at Seton Hill Saturday night at Offutt Field.

"We never want to throw the ball 35 times, not the way our offense is schemed,"SRUoffensive coordinator Vic Campagna said. "We prefer running it 40 times and throwing it 20 times."

Not on this night.

SRUlost running back Corey Manfull to a knee injury during the game's first series. Ryan Lehmeier and Demarcus Cleckley managed only 77 yards rushing on 21 carries in his place.

"Corey could put weight on his leg on the sidelines, but he couldn't cut on that knee,"Rock coach George Mihalik said. "We weren't going to take any chances. We'll get an MRIdone and see where he's at."

A pair of Frohnapple touchdown passes to Terry Grossetti — covering 15 and 50 yards — and Seton Hill place-kicking woes gave The Rock a 17-13 lead by halftime.

Griffins kicker Ray Wilkins missed a PAT and field goal attempts of 31 and 42 yards in the first half, each kick sailing wide left. A bad snap didn't allow Wilkins to get off a 35-yard attempt early in the third quarter.

After a solid first half, completing eight of 13 passes along with the two touchdowns, Frohnapple struggled in the final two quarters.

He completed just five of 22 passes for 60 yards in the second half. Many of his passes sailed over his receivers' heads.

"He didn't feel comfortable. He was rushing his throws,"Mihalik said. "Brandon was thrown into the fire tonight."

Seton Hill played without its starting quarterback, Matt Dowdell, who is still recovering from off-season knee surgery.

David Wess, a senior transfer from the University of Cincinnati, threw a 31-yard scoring pass to Derek Thompson early in the fourth quarter. R.J. Butler added a 36-yard TDrun and the Griffins had a 27-17 lead with 9:19 to play.'

"I told our guys we took their best shot (in the first half) and we were still in the game,"first-year Seton Hill coach Joel Dolinski said. "Now it was time for us to deliver our best shot."

SRUtook possession at its own 20-yard line with 5:22 left in the game. Frohnapple promptly found Josh Prigorac for a 39-yard completion. A 15-yard facemask penalty at the end of the play moved the ball to the Seton Hill 26.

From there, SRUhad to settle for C.J. Bahr's career-long 42-yard field goal.

Sam Morant's interception and 15-yard return gave The Rock possession at its own 43 with 2:21 to go. On third-and-inches, however, Cleckley fumbled after breaking through the line for a 10-yard gain.

Steve Trent recovered for Seton Hill, effectively sealing the victory.

The teams combined for six turnovers and 180 yards in penalties on the night.

"This is a huge confidence boost for our program,"Dolinski said. "The last couple of years, the talent has been here, but we got off to slow starts and these guys didn't really believe in themselves.

"Beating a program the caliber of Slippery Rock's ... They believe in themselves now."

Mihalik tipped his hat to Seton Hill's athleticism.

"No doubt, they have the athletes,"Mihalik said. "And in the college game, everyone knows how you get athletes."

Campagna was at a loss to explain the struggles of The Rock running game.

"We'll have to look at the film,"he said. "I don't know if our backs were missing the holes, if we were missing blocks or what it was. We did lose a bunch of veteran starters up front.

"Sometimes it takes a new line a game or two to come together."

The loss was just Mihalik's fourth in 25 games against West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC)opponents.

Notes:Wess and Butler graduate Nick Monteleone combined to complete their first 13 pass attempts Saturday night. ... Seton Hill was 11 of 18 on third down, The Rock just 3 of 13. ... Zach Sheridan and Tyler Boudreau combed for 26 tackles, five tackles for loss and two QB sacks for SRU. ... Seton Hill defensive line coach Jeremy George, a Rock graduate, missed the game as his wife was delivering their baby Saturday. ... The Rock travels to Millersville for a 1 p.m. kickoff this Saturday.Seton Hill 27, SRU20

Slippery Rock 3 14 0 3—20Seton Hill 7 6 0 14—27SRU SH13 First Downs 2029-99 Rushes-Yards 51-198192 Passing Yards 18013-35-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 18-24-1291 Total Yards 3783-2 Fumbles/Lost 3-210-82 Penalties-Yards 11-100

First QuarterSRU— C.J. Bahr 29 field goal, 9:34SH— Antwarn Jones 3 run (Ray Wilkins kick), 2:36

Second QuarterSRU— Terry Grossetti 15 pass from Brandon Frohnapple (Bahr kick), 13:18SH— Jones 13 run (kick failed), 10:44SRU— Grossetti 50 pass from Frohnapple (Bahr kick), 8:59

Fourth QuarterSH — Derek Thompson 31 pass from David Wess (Wilkins kick), 13:50SH— R.J. Butler 36 run (Wilkins kick), 9:19SRU— Bahr 42 field goal, 4:05

Individual Statistics

Passing: SRU, Brandon Frohnapple 13-35-192-1. Seton Hill, David Wess 13-17-141-1, Nick Monteleone 4-6-34-0, Ray Wilkins 1-1-5-0.

Rushing: SRU, Ryan Lehmeier 12-41, Demarcus Cleckley 9-36, Corey Manfull 3-26, Brandon Frohnapple 3-2, TEAM1-(-1), Kyle Witman 1-(-5). Seton Hill, Antwarn Jones 26-103, R.J.Butler 8-53, Nick Monteleone 6-32, David Wess 8-5. Calvin Stephens 1-4, DeJuan Corbitt 1-3, TEAM1-(-2).

Receiving: SRU, Josh Prigorac 4-66, Terry Grossetti 3-65,, Jermale Cromerdie 2-31, Ross Hornish 2-23, Devin Goda 1-5, Demarcus Cleckley 1-2. Seton Hill, Derek Thompson 4-54, Calvin Stephens 4-34, Dorian Scott 4-32, Sammy Tranks 2-28, Clayton Shaver 1-11, Antwarn Jones 1-11, Mark Hartz 1-5, DeJuan Corbitt 1-5.