ERIE — It was a day to overcome.

Four turnovers, 123 yards in penalties, two deficits in the second half, rain, sleet, snow, playing on a field where it had never won before — Slippery Rock University overcame it all in posting a 35-24 victory over Mercyhurst Saturday at Tullio Field.

The win keeps The Rock (6-1, 3-1) in contention for the PSAC West title and sets up a showdown against rival Indiana (Pa.) this Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. IUP (5-1, 4-0) defeated California, 20-15, Saturday.

SRU ran for 252 yards and three touchdowns on a day that featured steady winds and different forms of precipitation much of the afternoon.

“We put this game in the hands of our offensive line and those guys had a great day,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “This was definitely a day to run the football.”

And hang on to it — which both teams had trouble doing. Lakers quarterback Zach Emerick — making his first start of the season while replacing the injured Brendan Boylan — threw three interceptions. SRU lost three fumbles and Rock quarterback Dante Nania was intercepted once.

“We didn’t finish,” Mercyhurst coach Marty Schaetzle said. “We couldn’t put this one away.”

Mercyhurst (3-4, 0-4) rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to tie the game by halftime. A 26-yard Dylan Kondis field goal gave the Lakers a 17-14 lead midway through the third period.

SRU responded with an 11-play, 92-yard drive — all on the ground — to take a 21-17 advantage. Shamar Greene had a 34-yard run to highlight the march, which ended on Julian Durden’s 1-yard plunge with 5:07 left in the quarter.

It was Durden’s second TD of the game. Greene had 26 carries for 167 yards in the contest.

“Our offensive line opened up holes and it was up to me to do my job from there,” Greene said. “Our line play was outstanding. They gave us places to go.”

The Lakers weren’t done yet. Emerick’s third touchdown toss of the day — a 20-yarder to FJ Williams — gave Mercyhurst a 28-24 edge late in the third period.

Emerick completed a school-record 39 passes Saturday. His 412 passing yards were the seventh highest single-game total in school history.

“Zach took advantage of an opportunity today,” Schaetzle said. “He’s an experienced kid. He’s started games for us before and he was ready to go.

“We can’t run the ball right now. It’s as simple as that.”

Emerick threw 62 passes as Mercyhurst was minus 11 in net yardage rushing.

Nania threw for only 154 yards for The Rock, but hit the biggest pass of the day — a 38-yard bomb down the middle that Leroy McClain caught in the back of the end zone with 14:30 left in the game. The catch occurred just five plays after Mercyhurst had regained the lead.

“I don’t know how Leroy got his foot in bounds there,” Mihalik said. “That was right in the back of the end zone. Dante threaded the needle on that one.”

A pair of interceptions — by Tevin Williams on a deflected pass and Derrick Fulmore on an acrobatic play, scooping the ball just before it hit the turf — helped seal the Lakers’ fate.

So, too, did a 46-yard punt out of the end zone by Andrew Huska and a pair of fourth-quarter sacks by Marcus Martin.

“We were close to getting him (Emerick) all day,” said Martin. “It was getting frustrating because we kept getting in there and the ball would float over our hands and someone would catch it behind us.

“Eventually, we caught up to them. This was a physical game, though, as we expected. I’ll be sore tomorrow. A lot of players will be.”

Greene’s 18-yard scoring run with 10:17 left gave SRU an 11-point cushion before Fulmore’s interception.

“The passing yards they accumulated didn’t bother me,” Mihalik said. “Force a team to throw that much and eventually, you’re going to get turnovers.

“We kept them out of the end zone when we had to. That’s what counted.”

Notes: SRU evened the all-time series with Mercyhrst 4-4 and won at Tullio Field for the first time in four tries. ... The Rock was driving for a potential 21-0 lead in the first quarter when receiver Taishan Tucker lost a fumble at the Lakers’ 16. TV replays showed Tucker was down by contact before the ball came out. ... Seneca Valley graduate and Laker fullback Donny Holl had two catches for 20 yards during a Mercyhurst scoring drive. ... Alfon Cook had an interception for The Rock in the first half and Fulmore’s pick was his fourth of the year. ... Williams had 11 tackles and a sack for SRU, Martin 10 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. ... The Rock-IUP game will be at 6 p.m. Saturday.

SRU 35, Mercyhurst 24

Slippery Rock 14 0 7 14 — 35

Mercyhurst 0 14 10 0 — 24

SRU M

26 First Downs 23

55-252 Rushes-Yards 15(-11)

154 Passing Yards 412

16-26-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 39-65-3

406 Total Yards 401

4-3 Fumbles-Lost 0-0

11-123 Penalty Yards 8-93

First Quarter

SRU — Julian Durden 1 run (Andrew Huska kick), 11:56

SRU — Isiah Neely 9 run (Huska kick), 6:00

Second Quarter

M — Jaquan Williams 25 pass from Zach Emerick (Dylan Kondis kick), 13:32

M — T.J. Latimer 16 pass from Emerick (Kondis kick), 2:35

Third Quarter

M — Kondis 26 field goal, 8:28

SRU — Durden 1 run (Huska kick), 5:07

M — FJ Williams 20 pass from Emerick (Kondis kick), :52

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Leroy McClain 38 pass from Dante Nania (Huska kick), 14:30

SRU — Shamar Greene 18 run (Huska kick), 10:167

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Shamar Greene 26-167, Julian Durden 17-65, Dante Nania 8-13, Isiah Neely 2-10, TEAM 2-(-3). Mercyhurst, Richie Sanders 3-21, Brandon Brown-Dukes 9-(-16), Zach Emerick 3-(-16).

Passing: SRU, Dante Nania 16-26-154-1. Mercyhurst, Zach Emerick 39-65-412-3.

Receiving: SRU, Drew Scales 6-48, Leroy McClain 4-66, Taishan Ticker 2-26, Cornelius Raye 1-10, Marcus Carter 1-9, Dante Nania 1-(-2), Jaimire Dutrieuille 1-(-3). Mercyhurst, FJ Williams 10-97, Jaquan Williams 8-137, Brandon Brown-Dukes 7-58, T.J. Latimer 4-36, Richie Sanders 3-37, Donny Holl 2-20, Dylan Bongiorni 2-13, Brad Novak 2-4, John Materazzo 1-10.