SLIPPERY ROCK - On a night of unusual occurrences, Slippery Rock University football coach George Mihalik was still searching for the answer to his most troubling question.

"I still can't believe we lost that one," he said.

But his team did, falling to Bloomsburg 20-17 in a game that featured a lot of electricity - both on and off the field at N. Kerr Thompson stadium Friday night.

It also contained a good bit of controversy, as The Rock defense appeared to have sealed a win in the waning moments of the game with a goal-line stand, only to see a pass interference penalty on fourth down give Bloomsburg new life and the victory.

"It's just a disheartening loss," Mihalik said.

Not all the electricity came from the field. Some of it came from the skies.

The game was suspended for nearly two hours because of frequent lighting. At the time, The Rock had just pulled into a 7-all tie with the Huskies after a six-run touchdown run by Josh Kniess with 11:51 left in the second quarter.

"When we came out after the delay, we were flat," Mihalik said. "We had total momentum, then the delay occurs."

Bloomsburg took advantage of that and grabbed a 12-7 lead after a field goal and the second Slippery Rock special teams snafu of the game led to a safety when the ball was snapped over punter Ray Rotell's head and through the end zone.

Earlier in the game, Rotell had a punt blocked that led to Bloomsburg's first touchdown.

But on the last play of the first half, Slippery Rock wrested the momentum away.

Quarterback Nate Crookshank threw a desperation pass down the left side of the field that Bloomsburg safety Tyler Trettin tried to bat down. But instead of hitting the turf, the football bounded into the hands of Rock receiver Luke Wetzel, who was in a dead sprint for a 51-yard touchdown as the gun sounded.

"It's one of those plays where the kid is too coached up," said Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale. "He went to intercept it, but remembered to just bat it down, and he got caught in between."

The score sent The Rock into the half on a high and the team maintained it for most of the second half.

SRU's defense was dominant, holding Bloomsburg to just one first down until the Huskies' final drive of the game.

Bloomsburg quarterback Jack Lydic threw for 60 of his 108 yards on that final drive, quickly putting the Huskies in a first-and-goal from the 8.

But as it had earlier in the contest, the Huskies' offense sputtered inside the 10 and faced a fourth-and-goal at the 8 with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter.

Lydic's fourth-down pass intended for Nick Kurtz was high, but The Rock was called for pass interference.

Freshman tailback Jamar Brittingham scored from the 2 on the next play to cap an 81-yard drive.

The Slippery Rock bench protested the interference call with fervor, but to no avail.

"It was totally uncatchable," Mihalik said. "Let the players decide the game. .... You hate to let people take it away. If the other team does, that's fine."

The Rock had one more chance, but Crookshank was intercepted for the third time to cinch the win for Bloomsburg.

The loss spoiled a big game by Kniess, who gained 176 yards on 30 carries.

Kniess was running in an offense that resembled the one that featured him as a senior at Slippery Rock High School in 2000. That year, in a single-back attack, he gained more than 2,000 yards.

"It was a real comfort zone out there for me," Kniess said. "I really can't say enough about the line and the receivers blocking down field. The holes were there and they were big."

Kniess' running helped The Rock control the football. SRU held the ball for 38 minutes to 22 for Bloomsburg.

"That's usually the way we play," Hale said. "They did a great job controlling the game and the clock. We couldn't get into any kind of synch on offense."

Lydic was erratic throwing the ball for the Huskies. And Hale knew it.

"He was bad," Hale said. "And I'm going to tell his mom he was bad."

The only thing bad for The Rock is the feeling in its gut after coming so close to knocking off a team from the PSAC East that begins into the season with lots of hoopla.

"We played well enough to win," Mihalik said. "Our staff did a great job. Our players did a great job. You just hate to see it taken from you."

Bloomsburg 7 5 0 8-20Home 0 14 0 3-17First QuarterB - Jamar Brittingham 3 run (Garrett Bloom kick), 9:36Second QuarterSRU - Josh Kniess 6 run (Ryan Daniel kick), 11:51B - Garrett Bloom 31 field goal, 8:51B - Safety, ball snapped through end zone, 4:48SRU - Luke Wetzel 51 pass from Nate Crookshank (Daniel kick), 0:00Fourth QuarterSRU - Daniel 47 field goal, 6:50B - Brittingham 2 run (Nick Kurtz pass from Jack Lydic), 1:29Individual StatisticsPassing: Bloomsburg, Jack Lydic 9-22-108-1. SRU, Nate Crookshank 11-19-151-3Rushing: Bloomsburg, Mike Ceroli 11-63, Jamar Brittingham 10-41, Tyson Hale 2-23. SRU, Josh Kniess 30-176, Valdez Hails 7-26, Nate Crookshank 13-6.Receiving: Bloomsburg, Nick Kurtz 5-66, Steve Burke 2-19, Brad Brown 1-22, Matt Hamm 1-1. SRU, Luke Wetzel 4-94, Brandon Richardson 3-28, Steve Fullerton 2-14, Matt Tack 1-8, Josh Kniess 1-7