SLIPPERY ROCK — No Shamar Greene? No problem.

Slippery Rock University’s Harlon Hill Trophy candidate was on his way to a stellar evening Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. He had rushed for 130 yards before an ankle injury ended his night with 1:33 left in the first half.

The Rock football team (2-0) went on to rush for 414 yards regardless and used a staunch defense to defeat East Stroudsburg, 34-9, in a driving rain.

“We know we can throw the ball, but we want to be known as a strong running team, too,” SRU tackle Cory Tucker said. “As an offensive line, we all feel proud when any of our running backs do well.”

They all did well Saturday night.

Isiah Neely, who did not carry the ball in the first half, wound up with 12 carries for 152 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown run for SRU’s final score of the night. Julian Durden had 17 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Dante Nania chipped in 56 yards on the ground.

“There’s no fracture in Shamar’s ankle and he should be OK,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “But we’ve got other good backs on this team and saw no reason to put him back out there tonight.”

“All of the running backs are pretty close,” Neely said. “Shamar told me to score a touchdown for him. I was glad I was able to get one.”

East Stroudsburg (1-1) was unable to sustain much offense all night. The Warriors did not score their lone touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.

The visitors managed only seven first downs and 135 yards offensively through the first three quarters. They got 55 of those yards on a run by Robert Healy on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

“That was a schematic mistake on our part. We adjusted quickly and shut them down after that,” Rock linebacker and Butler graduate Bob Vernick said. “We always want to put teams into a situation where they have to throw the ball.”

Harlon Hill candidate Matt Soltes connected on just seven of 22 passes for 74 yards for East Stroudsburg through three quarters before hitting some long passes late.

The game was played in a stiff wind that accompanied the rain for most of the night.

“When you’re playing in rain, you run the ball,” East Stroudsburg coach Denny Douds said. “You throw screens, bubble screens, quick slants ... We didn’t do those things well. We have to play better in the bad weather.

“Slippery Rock is an excellent team, but Matt’s numbers could have been better. We dropped a lot of passes. He was a true warrior out there.”

Soltes injured a leg last week and his mobility was limited Saturday. The Rock sacked him twice and hurried him on numerous occasions.

East Stroudsburg’s offense has been averaging 40 points per game in recent years and struck for 40 in its season opener. The Warriors failed to reach double digits on the scoreboard for the first time since a loss to California (Pa.) in 2007.

“I’m proud of our defense,” Mihalik said. “You never expect to hold an offense like that down the way they did. Our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage.”

The Rock trailed 3-0 early and turned the ball over on downs twice inside the East Stroudsburg 10-yard line before finally cracking through. Nania’s 8-yard TD toss to Greene gave SRU a 7-3 lead with 11:19 left in the half.

“We didn’t want to try field goals because of the conditions,” Mihalik said. “We feared a bad snap, mishandling the ball ... Anything could happen.

“We missed some early opportunities. We could have made things easier on ourselves.”

Still, SRU built a 24-3 lead through three quarters. After their game-opening field goal drive, the Warriors did not get inside The Rock 35 again until a 60-yard pass to Jon Schnaars set up their only touchdown late in the game.

Notes: SRU is 13-3 all-time against East Stroudsburg. ... Jaimire Dutrieuille had four catches Saturday night, moving him into fourth on SRU’s all-time list with 131. ... Derrick Fulmore had his second interception in as many games for The Rock. ... Vernick paced The Rock defensively with eight tackles. ... East Stroudsburg played without cornerback Teron Dobbs, the PSAC’s active interception leader with 13. Warrior cornerback Wesley Pierce, Dobbs’ backup, was carted from the sidelines after suffering a seizure from a prior medical condition. ... SRU tackle and Seneca Valley graduate Dean Ketterer suffered a sprained MCL. His status is unknown. ... SRU is 18-2 in home night games since 2008. The Rock hosts Millersille (0-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday.

[naviga:h3]SRU 34, E.Stroudsburg 9[/naviga:h3]

E.Stroudsburg 3 0 0 6 — 9

Slippery Rock 0 17 7 10 — 34

ESU SRU

16 First Downs 31

31-73 Rushes-Yards 63-414

236 Passing Yards 163

18-44-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 14-32-3

309 Total Yards 577

4-2 Fumbles-Lost 4-1

7-60 Penalty Yards 11-103

First Quarter

ESU — Nicolas Ruiz 23 field goal, 12:03

Second Quarter

SRU — Shamar Greene 8 pass from Dante Nania (Mike Wainauskis kick), 11:19

SRU — Kyle Hall 15 fumble recovery (Wainauskis kick), 5:15

SRU — Wainauskis 27 field goal, 1:02

Third Quarter

SRU— Julian Durden 1 run (Wainauskis kick), 12:51

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Wainauskis 32 field goal, 14:48

ESU — Jon Schnaars 8 pass from Matt Soltes (pass failed), 6:12

SRU — Isuah Neely 30 run (Wainauskis kick), 4:42

Individual Statistics

Rushing: East Stroudsburg, Robert Healy 14-83, Gerald Van de Cruz 9-25, Joe Welk 1-2, TEAM 2-(-9). SRU, Isuiah Neely 12-152, Shamar Greene 19-130, Julian Durden 17-95, Dante Nania 9-56.

Passing: East Stroudsburg, Matt Soltes 18-44-236-1. SRU, Dante Nania 14-32-163-3.

Receiving: East Stroudsburg, Jon Schnaars 7-128, James Bell 4-28, Sean Roth 2-32, Robert Healy 2-25. SRU, Cornelius Raye 6-58, Jaimire Dutrieuille 4-57, Marcus Carter 2-32, Leroy McClain 1-8.