SLIPPERY ROCK — Jono Powell sunk to his knees, placed the crown of his helmet into the damp turf and clasped his hands on his head.

The SlipperyRock High quarterback's scrambling, 35-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Orloski in the back of the end zone at the end of the first half was negated by penalty.

The line of scrimmage was the Sharon 35. Powell let the pass go at the 33.

At the time, nobody knew how truly monumental that erased score was.

At the end of the game, it was obvious as the Rockets lost to the Tigers 17-10 Saturday night in a key early season region matchup.

"He was obviously over the line," said SlipperyRock coach Clyde Conti. "It's OK. We'll bounce back. It's not life threatening to lose a football game."

Both teams threatened to play "top this" in the first half.

Slippery Rock (3-1, 1-1) and Sharon (4-0, 2-0) combined for 325 yards, 19 first downs, zero punts and 27 points in the first two quarters.

The only thing that stopped Slippery Rock was the illegal forward pass.

After Sharon quarterback Todd Rearick put the Tigers on top with an 11-yard run in the first quarter, the Rockets responded with a 10-play 55-yard drive that burned more than five minutes off the clock.

Powell capped it with a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

Sharon took a 10-7 lead when Terry Flauger booted a 30-yard field goal, but Slippery Rock got a 20-yard field goal from Mike Ramirez at the end of a 13-play march that consumed more the seven minutes.

The Tigers used the one big play in the game — at least the one big play that counted — to take the lead for good whenRearick found wideout Mike Tomko streaking down the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 remaining in the first half.

In the second half, though, the long drives and offensive dominance dried up. Neither team could mount much of a threat as Sharon made its 17-10 halftime lead stick.

The Tigers certainly had opportunities to add to their lead.

Sharon started drives in the second half on the SlipperyRock 22 and 20, but could not score.

The two scoring chances ended on a missed 34-yard field goal attempt and a failed run on fourth-and-1.

"We can't shoot ourselves in the foot," said Sharon coach Bob Fromm. "We had plenty of opportunities to capitalize on them, but we didn't do it. Hopefully that's a lesson we learned tonight."

Sharon, though, was able to launch one long drive when it needed it in the second half, killing the final three minutes of the clock.

The Tigers converted three of their four second-half first downs on the final, game-killing drive.

"It was huge," Fromm said. "A couple of times during the (Slippery Rock) timeouts, we went out there, looked each other in the eye and said, 'It's in our hands.' If we want it, we just have to grasp it and take it away from them."

Rearick did most of the grasping and taking away.

Rearick threw for 147 yards and rushed for another 60. He rushed for 15 yards and two big first downs on the final drive.

Powell led Slippery Rock with 88 yards rushing on 16 carries and added another 56 yards through the air. But Powell had just four yards rushing in the second half.

What stung Conti more than the loss was how his team played emotionally.

While the Rockets stayed with the 13th-ranked Class AA team in the state, Conti said his team did not match the Tigers' intensity.

It has been a problem thatConti had tried to address since the start of the season.

"I've been telling you all year, I've been concerned about our energy level. I've been concerned about our spirit," Conti said. "We just have those type of kids. It's not to say they are bad kids, they're just that way.

"They came down here with intensity. I have a couple of those kids, but I don't have a bevy like that place does."

Sharon 17, Slippery Rock 10

Sharon 7 10 0 0—17Slippery Rock 7 3 0 0—10SH SR14 First Downs 1329-122 Rushes-Yards 39-144147 Passing Yards 568-17-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 7-12-0269 Total Yards 2000-0 Fumbles/Lost 3-23-30 Penalties-Yards 3-20

First QuarterSH — Todd Rearick 11 run (Terry Flauger kick), 8:08SR — Jono Powell 1 run (Mike Ramirez kick), 2:38

Second QuarterSH — Flauger 30 field goal, 9:59SR — Ramirez 20 field goal, 2:45SH — Mike Tomko 53 pass from Rearick (Flauger kick), 1:11

Individual Statistics

Passing: Sharon, Todd Rearick 8-16-147-0, Ron Howard 0-1-0-1. Slippery Rock, Jono Powell 7-12-56-0.

Rushing: Sharon, Todd Rearick 12-60, Ron Howard 10-37, Kevin Brown 6-21, Louis Brown 1-4. Slippery Rock, Jono Powell 16-88, Isaac Osborne 12-35, Ayron Gallagher 7-30, Justin Angerett 3-13, Team 1-(-22).

Receiving: Sharon, Mike Tomko 4-78, Ron Howard 3-61, Dustin Norcross 1-8. Slippery Rock, Derrick Orloski 3-10, Isaac Osborne 2-33, Justin Angerett 1-8, Ayron Gallagher 1-5.