ERIE – Larry Wendereusz took over the Slippery Rock football program four years ago.

He watched the current seniors grow up over those four years, which made Slippery Rock's close loss a little tougher on Saturday.

“It's tough to think about now, but personally, these guys were freshmen when I arrived and it's a tough group to say goodbye to,” Wendereusz said. “It's a good group. It's not a large number, but the group that is here is a good group.”

Slippery Rock put together a solid effort in the second half, but the Rockets couldn't overcome a 17-point deficit and four turnovers in a 26-17 loss to undefeated Harbor Creek in a District 10 Class 3A quarterfinal on Saturday at Veterans Stadium.

“We came out in the second half and gave a better effort,” said Slippery Rock senior leader David Duffalo. “We got ourselves together at halftime and wanted to play another week. We brought 100 percent effort and left everything out there.”

Harbor Creek (10-0) moves on to the semifinals against Sharon, while Slippery Rock ends the season 4-6.

Through big plays in the first half and early in the second, Harbor Creek built a 20-3 lead before the Rockets started to rally.

Slippery Rock went 79 yards on 13 plays with a healthy dose of runs by both Vito Pilosi and Duffalo. Pilosi powered into the end zone from three yards out on fourth down to get the Rockets within 10 points with just 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

The momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as Kid Scarborough intercepted a pass inside the 5-yard line and returned it to the 13.

The Rockets were moving the ball with some urgency early in the fourth quarter, but Pilosi lost his grip on a pass and fired it into the line, which defensive end Jon Boland got his hands on for an interception.

The disappointment was short-lived as Harbor Creek gave the ball back on a fumble on the next play.

Pilosi and Duffalo went back to work and Slippery Rock drove 58 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Nathan Hyatt as the Huskies led 20-17 with 3:35 to play.

Using their timeouts and aggressive defense, the Rockets forced a Harbor Creek punt with 2:20 to go, but Pilosi was intercepted by Ryan Whitman on the first play of the drive.

“I was just so happy for the team and for everyone after getting that interception,” said Whitman, who started the game with a 35-yard touchdown catch. “This win means a lot after losing to them the past two years. I think we really set the tone in the first quarter.”

With one timeout and 2:10 left on the clock, Slippery Rock had a slight glimmer of hope in getting the ball back one more time, but on 3rd-and-3, Harbor Creek 1,000-yard rusher Tyler East broke a 21-yard touchdown run to put the game away.

“The guys played hard, and I thought we gave them short fields in the first half with two big kickoff returns and they took advantage of it,” Wendereusz said. “We were stopped on 3rd-and-2 twice and they capitalized on our mistakes. I think the second half was more of a balanced game and both teams played hard.”

Slippery Rock ran for 332 yards on 53 carries, but Pilosi threw three interceptions and the Rockets lost a fumble as well.

Pilosi had 25 carries for 170 yards and one touchdown, while Duffalo had 73 yards on 14 carries and Hyatt ran for 89 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.

Slippery Rock held Harbor Creek to 280 yards of offense, but quarterback Casey Smith completed 9-of-10 for 169 yards and three touchdowns, including three catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns by Bauer.

“The kids fought back and didn't give in,” Wendereusz said. “They believe in themselves and each other. They believe in what we were trying to accomplish here and didn't waiver from it.”

Wendereusz will say goodbye to 10 seniors, who made the playoffs in all four years of their career with three playoff wins.

“It has been a fun four years, and the camaraderie we formed will never be forgotten,” Duffalo said. “I'll be friends with these guys for the rest of my life. It's just something football builds through two-a-days, the regular season and the playoffs. They are friendships that last a lifetime.”

Slippery Rock 3 0 7 7 — 17

Harbor Creek 13 0 7 6 —26

First Quarter

HC — Ryan Whitman 35 pass from Casey Smith (kick failed)

SR — Nathaniel Willison 22 field goal

HC — Marrick Bauer 18 pass from Casey Smithn (Scott Stanyard kick)

Third Quarter

HC — Bauer 37 pass from Smith (Stanyard kick)

SR — Vito Pilosi 3 run (Willison kick)

Fourth Quarter

SR — Nathan Hyatt 3 run (Willison kick)

HC — Tyler East 21 run (kick failed)

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 25-170, Nathan Hyatt 14-89, David Duffalo 14-73. Harbor Creek, Tyler East 18-68, Cameron Williamson 6-19, Marrick Bauer 2-13, Casey Smith 5-6, Ryan Whitman 1-2, Tyler Habursky 2-2, Tyler Charlton 1-1.

Passing: Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 4-16-28-3. Harbor Creek, Casey Smith 9-10-169-0.

Receiving: Slippery Rock, Ethan Plesakov 2-19, Brendan Earl 2-9. Harbor Creek, Marrick Bauer 3-66, Cody Smith 4-56, Ryan Whitman 2-47.