SLIPPERY ROCK — The approach Slippery Rock University’s defensive front took against Seton Hill’s offensive line during Saturday night’s mutual PSAC West football opener was pretty basic.

“We came in just wanting to beat the crap put of them,” defensive tackle Jeff Marx said. “Talent-wise, we were just better. We are going to face offensive lines much better than that.

“We had a job to do.”

And do it, they did.

Seton Hill (0-1, 0-4) was limited to 106 yards of total offense — including 25 net rushing yards — as The Rock controlled the line of scrimmage all night in a 30-2 victory at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“That’s the most dominant defensive performance we’ve had in a long time,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said.

The Griffins were only 1-for-15 on third down. Griffins quarterback Jake McCormick was sacked six times and hurried on numerous other occasions. SRU turned the ball over four times — including on three consecutive possessions in the second half — but Seton Hill could take advantage of none of those mistakes.

The Griffins did not get inside The Rock’s 40-yard line until a 20--yard interception return by Narrio Walks gave Seton Hill a first down at SRU’s 20 with 4:27 left in the third quarter. A reverse on second down was nailed for an 8-yard loss by cornerback Kevin Hyde, McCormick was sacked on third down and the Griffins wound up punting.

Rock quarterback Noah Grover was sacked and fumbled on the play, the Griffins’ Musa Tama recovering at the SRU 46 late in the third period. Marx had two QB sacks on the ensuing series and Seton Hill punted again.

The Griffins punted 11 times on the night. The Rock (1-0, 4-0) managed only one takeaway all night. Eddie Faulkner IV intercepted McCormick with 37 seconds left.

“Our defense bailed out our offense on those mistakes and that was good to see,” Lutz said. “Sometimes, it has to be the other way around. That’s team football.”

SRU’s offense rolled up 449 yards and Grover threw for 294 and a touchdown. But he was sacked four times, including for a safety in the first quarter, giving Seton Hill a brief 2-0 lead.

“They had some blitz packages we weren’t prepared for,” Grover said. “They brought pressure and I give them credit for that. But we made enough plays to get points on the board.”

“Noah’s a pretty tough kid. He took some hits out there tonight,” Lutz said.

Grover found tight end Max Maciejewski for a 17-yard scoring pass to get SRU on the board late in the first quarter. DJ Opsatnik added a 35-yard field goal and the advantage was 10-2 with 11:53 left in the half.

Seton Hill’s longest drive of the night followed. The Griffins marched 38 yards to The Rock’s 40, but faced fourth-and-9. A deep pass to Todd Phillips was completed inside the 15 on fourth down, but the Griffins were flagged for illegal procedure and had to punt.

SRU marched 86 yards in nine plays on the next possession, Grover scoring on a 1-yard run for a 17-2 halftime lead.

“Definitely, that was a key play,” Seton Hill coach Daniel Day said of the procedure penalty. “At first, the call was offsides on them, then they changed it. That was a big swing.

“Our defense played great tonight, but it’s hard to win football games when your offensive line doesn’t come to play. Our line play improved last week, but we took a major step backward tonight. Slippery Rock’s defensive line played great, but we need to be better up front. It’s been an ongoing problem.”

SRU opened the second half with a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard Isaiah Edwards TD run. Chris Wells tacked on a 2-yard scoring run late.

“I had some good stats tonight and this was one of my stronger games here, but there’s only one statistic I care about — that’s the ‘W’ and we got one tonight,” Marx said.

Notes: LB Brandon Tuck-Hayden led SRU in tackles for the fourth straight game, getting 10 stops, including three tackles, D.J. Adediwura two sacks. ... The Rock is 10-1 against the Griffins since Seton Hill joined the PSAC in 2011. ... SRU has won 27 consecutive night games and is 28-1 in home night games since 2010. ... SRU is 23-1 in PSAC West games since Oct. 21, 2017 ... The Rock travels to undefeated Indiana (Pa.) for a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday. “I’m already thinking about that one,” Lutz admitted. “They embarrassed us at our place last year.”

Seton Hill 2 0 0 0 — 2

Slippery Rock 7 10 6 7 — 30

First Quarter

SH —Jaheim Thomas sacks Noah Grover in end zone for safety, 8:36

SRU — Max Maciejewski 17 pass from Grover (DJ Opsatnik kick), 1:42

Second Quarter

SRU — Opsatnik 35 field goal, 11:53

SRU — Grover 1 run (Opsatnik kick), 2:58

Third Quarter

SRU — Isaiah Edwards 1 run (pass failed), 10:04

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Chris Wells 2 run (Opsatnik kick), 2:35

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Seton Hill, Ky’Ron Craggette 15-40, JaiQuawn McGriff 9-16, Taz Morris 1-9, Eddie Scott 2-4, Hezikah Hawkins 1-(-8), Jake McCormick 6-(-36). SRU, Chris D’Or 9-70, Isiah Edwards 12-50, Cohen Russell 2-45, Chris Wells 2-1, TEAM 1-(-1), Noah Grover 9-(-10).

Passing: Seton Hill, Jake McCormick 12-23-81-1. SRU, Noah Grover 21-37-294-1.

Receiving: Seton Hill, Hezikiah Hawkins 6-53, JaiQuawn McGriff 3-5, Ethan Fame 1-23, Todd Phillips 1-1, Ky’Ron Craggette 1-(-1). SRU, Jacob Odom 5-42, Cohen Russell 4-55, Kyle Sheets 3-49, Max Maciejewski 3-33, Jawon Hall 2-47, Chris D’Or 2-28, Gavyn Barnes 1-27, Isaiah Edwards 1-13.