Rockets slain by Dragons
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock had kept Warren's big-play capabilities in check for most of the first three quarters on Friday.
Then along came the fourth.
Trailing by nine points, Warren scored on a 73-yard pass play on the second snap of the quarter and used a 62-yard run to set up another score.
Add to that a fumble recovery and an interception, the latter coming inside the Warren 10-yard line in the closing seconds, and it was enough for the Dragons to snare a 27-23 District 10-Section 5-AAA victory at Slippery Rock University's N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
Warren (5-5, 4-1) must wait to see if it will qualify for the district playoffs while the loss knocked the Rockets (3-7, 2-3) from playoff contention.
"It was exciting. This has been our M.O. since mid-October," said Warren coach Brandon Falk. "I'm proud of the way our kids came back and got the win."
Slippery Rock coach Clyde Conti was equally impressed with his squad.
"I think our kids played very well," said Conti. "Warren is an extremely athletic and really talented team. What I look for from us is maximum effort and maximize potential. It's not always about championships."
One of the Dragons' stars was quarterback Jeff Eaton, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 174 yards, including the 73-yard pass play to Christian Wood with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter to pull Warren to 23-20.
Eaton also led the Dragons in rushing with 93 yards, including a 62-yard run on the first play of Warren's last scoring drive, then scored from 1-yard out with 4:53 left to give the Dragons the lead for good.
After Warren had pulled to 23-20, the Rockets ran three plays and punted. The
Dragons got a 41-yard pass to Cole Boje from Eaton to give the team a first-and-goal at the SR 7.A three-yard loss, an incompletion and a sack by Slippery Rock's Dan Dillman made it fourth down, then a trick-play pass by Tyson Himes on fourth down was picked off by the Rockets' Andrew Novak in the end zone to end the threat.On the ensuing possession, the Rockets were driving, using a 26-yard run by quarterback Jonathan Powell and a roughing-the-passer penalty on a third-and-10 play to place the ball at the Warren 39.But on the next play, Ryan Ferguson fumbled the ball and the Dragons recovered. Eaton then ran the ball 63 yards on the next two plays.The Rockets' last chance came with 1:20 remaining and the ball at their own 10.A 20-yard pass play to Derrick Orloski, a pass interference on a fourth-and-15 and a 25-yard run by Powell on a third-and-10 helped the Rockets move to the Warren 35 with 13 seconds left.On the next play, however, Warren's Ben Paul picked off Powell's pass in front of receiver Vince Papley to halt the drive.The Rockets had used a Jesse Kniess 1-yard run and a Craig Bicehouse 35-yard field goal to take a 9-0 lead through one quarter.Jon Zigler's 42-yard scoring run with 8:03 left before halftime pulled the Dragons closer, but Ryan Ferguson's 1-yard run with 1.3 seconds left before the half gave the Rockets their nine-point lead back."Everything Slippery Rock did in the first half worked," said Falk.Eaton added a 25-yard scoring run with 5:43 left in the third quarter, but Slippery Rock answered with a 4-yard run by Kniess with 16.7 seconds left in the frame for a 23-14 lead.Powell led all rushers with 111 yards and led a Rockets ground game that carried 57 times for 284 yards."We were concerned because they've got some super playmakers," said Conti. "That's not a knock on my kids. We're not real fast, but big on heart. This bodes well for their future."<B>Notes:</B> Chase Conti added 82 yards on 10 carries for the Rockets, who also churned out 21 first downs. ... The teams combined for 85 carries for 469 yards and 703 total yards.
