EDINBORO — A good decision, a good stand and a good start.

They added up to good things for Slippery Rock University in its 44-20 football victory over Edinboro Saturday afternoon at Sox Harrison Stadium.

That win — coupled with California of Pa.’s 35-7 triumph over Gannon — lines up a showdown between The Rock and Vulcans this Saturday for sole possession of first place in the PSAC West. The game will be played at 1 p.m. at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“I guess it’s all set up now,” SRU coach George Mihalik said.

A decision he made before the game helped make it that way.

With a stiff wind blowing, The Rock (7-1, 4-1) won the coin toss, but elected to kick off and take the wind.

“We normally take the ball when we win the toss, but in this case, we wanted the wind at our backs to try to put them in an early hole,” Mihalik said. “We didn’t want to give them a chance to build momentum early.”

The move paid off as the Fighting Scots (4-4, 2-3) went three-and-out to start the game. SRU drove 62 yards on eight plays and got a 25-yard field goal from, Mike Wainauskis.

Another three-and-out by Edinboro resulted in an eight-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a Teddy Blakeman 2-yard touchdown run.

The Rock had a 10-0 lead midway through the opening quarter. Blakeman wound up with 145 yards and three touchdowns rushing on the day.

“I felt like our running game made a statement today,” Blakeman said. “Our offensive line has been great all year. If it wasn’t for those guys, we couldn’t run or pass.”

SRU rushed for 295 yards on the day.

“I was shocked the way they were able to run the ball on us,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said. “The job we did against the run at IUP ... I thought we’d be able to get off our blocks much better than we did today.”

Edinboro managed only 60 net yards in the first half — its lone score a 69-yard punt return by Ben Eisel — and a 12-play, 74-yard TD march gave The Rock a 24-7 lead late in the half.

But The Rock fumbled away a punt at its own 21 and a personal foul penalty by Isaiah Coleman — resulting in his ejection — gave the Scots a first-and-goal at the SRU 3-yard line.

A pass and two running plays were stuffed, however, and Mike Simons missed a 20-yard field goal attempt that may have been tipped by Admire Carter as time expired.

“A game-changer,” Rock defensive lineman Derek Walker said. “That took away any kind of momentum they were looking for.”

Browning agreed.

“Even if we get three points there, it’s a two-possession game,” Browning said. “Our mind-set is much different coming out for the second half.”

Edcinboro ran for 64 yards on 32 running plays and freshman quarterback Jon Girvin struggled with his accuracy much of the day, completing only 20 of 51 passes, five of 21 in the first half.

“We knew we had to stop their run, especially on a day like this,” Walker said. “It takes will to force a team to throw the ball.”

“He’s a freshman,” Browning said of Girvin. “He’s growing. He’s learning.”

The Rock began the second half with a five-play, 73-yard drive ending with a Nigel Barksdale 3-yard scoring run and a 31-7 lead. After throwing for 105 yards in the first half, Barksdale threw for 237 in the second half.

“This was a case where our running game opened up the pass,” Mihalik said. “We didn’t run the ball early because of the wind. We ran the ball because that’s what they were giving us.”

SRU survived four turnovers Saturday. A lost fumble at The Rock’s own 5-yard line set up an easy score for the Scots, who pulled within 31-20 with 13:53 still on the clock.

But two late Rock touchdowns and an interception in the end zone by freshman Derrick Fulmore sealed the win.

“They are much quicker and faster than I thought,” Browning said. “Barksddale is something else and he’s got a great supporting cast. That’s the best team we’ve played this year, no doubt about that.”

Notes: The Rock ran 103 offensive plays. ... Ken Amos had 11 catches for 104 yards. ... John Schademan had five catches for 91 yards despite not catching a pass until midway through the third quarter. He became the fourth Rock receiver to reach 1,000 yards receiving in a season. ... Barksdale had a touchdown pass to tie Nate Crookshank’s single-season SRU record of 23. His 342 passing yards give Barksdale 2,790 for the season, also a school record. ... Mars graduate Austin Miele paced SRU with 10 tackles. Walker had nine tackles.

SRU 44, Edinboro 20

Slippery Rock 10 14 7 13 — 44

Edinboro 0 7 6 7 — 20

SRU E

35 First Downs 15

64-295 Rushes-Yards 32-64

342 Passing Yards 214

27-39-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 20-51-1

637 Total Yards 278

5-3 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

8-74 Penalty Yards 5-47

First Quarter

SRU — Mike Wainauskas 25 field goal,11:21

SRU — Teddy Blakeman 12 run (Wainauskis kick), 7:48

Second Quarter

SRU — Shamar Greene 10 run (Wainauskis kick), 14:45

E — Ben Eisel 69 punt return (Mike Simons kick), 10:40

SRU — Blakeman 2 run (Wainauskis kick), 3:37

Third Quarter

SRU — Nigel Barksdale 3 run (Wainauskis kick), 13:50

E — Darren Massey 71 pass from Jon Girvin (kick failed), 6:34

Fourth Quarter

E — Girvin 5 run (T.J. Hardy kick), 13:53

SRU — Blakeman 2 run (Wainauskis kick), 12:12

SRU — Mike Bongivengo 1 pass from Barksdale (kick failed), 6:58

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Teddy Blakeman 23-145, Shamar Greene 16-92, Nigel Barksdale 19-37, Jimmy Zubik 3-12, Brett Crenshaw 3-9. Edinboro, Jon Girvin 11-29, Jeremy Donaldson 13-21, Darren Massey 4-8, Cameron Sheppard 1-0.

Passing: SRU, Nigel Barksdale 27-39-342-2. Edinboro, Jon Girvin 20-51-214-1.

Receiving: SRU, Ken Amos 11-104, John Schademan 5-91, Drew Scales 4-31, Robert Joyce 2-43, Julian Harrell 2-38, Brett Crenshaw 1-20, Shamar Greene 1-14, Mike Bongivengo 1-1. Edinboro, Darren Massey 8-108, Ben Eisel 5-42, Marcus Johnson 2-17, Kevin Sonnie 2-14, Jordan Williams 1-16, Seth Rolick 1-11, Keith Regis 1-6.