SLIPPERY ROCK — The numbers were staggering — 36 first downs, 96 plays, 571 yards of total offense.

And a loss.

Slippery Rock University produced all of that in a season-closing 49-41 college football defeat to 12th-ranked Bloomsburg Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“We gave them all they wanted ... including points,” Rock coach George Mihalik said.

Bloomsburg (10-1) wrapped up a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs, but had to hold on after taking a 42-13 halftime lead.

During the first half, SRU’s Ken Amos caught a 63-yard bomb that would have given The Rock a first down inside the Huskies’ 15, but fumbled the ball away at the end of the play. Akeem Satterfield carried for a 15-yard gain to the Bloomsburg 15 eight minutes later, only to lose a fumble at the end of that play, as well.

Bloomsburg scored the final touchdown of the first half on a blocked punt. The snap bounced back to punter James McCombie, who struggled to gain control of the ball. By the time he did, Gary Postell was able to block his kick and Larry Webster returned it 18 yards for a score.

“When you’re playing a team the quality of Bloomsburg, you can’t afford mistakes like those,” Mihalik said. “Fumbles, blocked kicks, penalties, we did it all in that first half.

“But I’m proud of the way we responded and came out fighting in the second half. We believed we were going to win the game.”

Bloomsburg ate six minutes off the clock on the first possession of the third quarter, but missed a 31-yard field goal attempt.

“All we needed was some points there,” Huskies coach Danny Hale said. “Missing that field goal was a bit deflating for us and opened the door for them. They were fired up.”

The Rock (6-5) put together touchdown drives of 80, 49, 89 and 89 yards in the second half. SRU pulled within 42-34 when Satterfield scored on a 12-yard run with 7:40 remaining.

“The tempo of our no-huddle was getting to their defense,” Mihalik said.

“We were getting worn down,” Bloomsburg linebacker and leading tackler Justin Shirk admitted. “It was hard to catch your breath out there.”

But the Huskies held off The Rock by going 63 yards in six plays after Satterfield’s score. Franklyn Quiteh scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 21-yard run with 5:04 left.

Rock quarterback Jared Buck threw for 341 yards, including a 19-yard TD toss to Andrew Bridgeforth with 45 seconds left. Bloomsburg recovered the onside kick to finally decide the issue.

Buck scored a pair of touchdowns for The Rock, filling in for the injured Nigel Barksdale.

“I was a little rusty, but you always have to be ready,” Buck said. “Nigel and I help each other. We know we can both do the job.”

Satterfield ended his SRU career with 181 yards on 29 carries. He finished among The Rock’s all-time top 10 with 3,593 all-purpose yards, 3,037 rushing yards, 216 points and 36 touchdowns despite being riddled with injuries the past two seasons.

“I think about it every day,” Satterfield said of injuries hampering his career numbers. “But all I can do is what I can do. I gave it my best.”

Notes: Satterfield and fellow seniors Kurt Brackman, Austin Fedell, Jesse Buck, Jack Charles, Josh Gardner, Marquis Knight, Aaron Moul and Jeff Thompson were honored before the game. ... Admire Carter and Mars graduate Austin Miele had interceptions for The Rock. ... Quiteh and Eddie Mateo became the first teammates to rush for 1,000 yards each in successive seasons in PSAC history. Quiteh had 183 yards rushing and leads all of Division II with 1,922 yards on the ground. ... Bloomsburg fell 4 yards short of breaking Millersville’s record of 3,552 yards rushing in a season.

Bloomsburg 49, SRU 41

Bloomsburg 14 28 0 7 — 49

Slippery Rock 6 7 7 21 — 41

B SRU

22 First Downs 36

49-272 Rushes-Yards 51-230

185 Passing Yards 341

10-17-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 30-45-0

457 Total Yards 571

0-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-2

8-64 Penalty Yards 11-102

First Quarter

B — Ryan Dickerson 35 pass from Tim Kelly (Dan Fisher kick), 10:27

B — Franklyn Quiteh 1 run (Fisher kick), 5:57

SRU — Jared Buck 8 run (kick blocked), 1:52

Second Quarter

B — Quiteh 1 run (Fisher kick), 14:15

SRU — Buck 8 run (Brackman kick), 10:01

B — Quiteh 7 run (Fisher kick), 7:20

B — Kyle Fisher 41 pass from Kelly (Fisher kick), 3:57

B — Larry Webster 18 bl;ocked punt return (Fisher kick), 2:29

Third Quarter

SRU — Brett Crenshaw 3 run (Brackman kick), 6:15

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Jaimire Dutrieuille 16 run (Brackman kick), 13:20

SRU — Akeem Satterfield 12 run (Brackman kick), 7:40

B — Quiteh 21 run (Fisher kick), 5:04

SRU — Andrew Brisdgeforth 20 pass from Buck (Brackman kick), :45

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Bloomsburg, Franklyn Quiteh 24-183, Eddie Mateo 17-85, Tim Kelly 4-4, Ryan Maggs 1-2, Brody Myers 1-1. SRU, Akeem Satterfield 29-181, Jaimire Dutrieuille 1-16, Jared Buck 18-16, Jimmy Zubik 1-9, LaQuinn Stephens-Howling 1-5, Brett Crenshaw 1-3.

Passing: Bloomsburg, Tim Kelly 10-17-185-2. SRU, Jared Buck 30-45-341-0.

Receiving: Bloomsburg, Ryan Dickertson 6-113, Dylan Manni 2-18, Kyle Fisher 1-41, Ryan Maggs 1-13. SRU, Jaimire Dutrieuille 7-74, John Schademan 6-67, Andrew Bridgeforth 6-59, Ken Amos 4-71, LaQuinn Stephens-Howling 3-31, Jimmy Zubik 2-14, Robert Joyce 1-16, Akeem Satterfield 1-9.