MILLERSVILLE — Slippery Rock University's uniforms were so soggy Saturday, they were dripping with pride.

The Rock overcame two special teams mistakes, driving rain and strong winds to rally past Millersville, 28-24, in college football Saturday at Biemesderfer Field.

"Now I know what it's like to play football on the edge of a hurricane,"SRUcoach George Mihalik said. "That was the worst rain and wind conditions I've been involved with in my coaching career."

Mihalik said rain fell throughout the game, at times as a downpour being blown sideways by the wind. The Rock (1-1) still produced 28 first downs to Millersville's eight and ran off 88 offensive plays to the Marauders' 43.

But with two minutes remaining, SRU found itself trailing, 24-21.

"Our special teams errors kept them in the ballgame. We really made it hard on ourselves," the coach admitted.

John Banzhof opened the scoring with a 41-yard field goal for Millersville (0-2). After Rock punter Kyle Witman couldn't handle a snap — giving the Marauders a short field — Millersville quarterback Jamal Smith found Brad Lantz for an 18-yard touchdown pass and a 10-0 lead.

Ryan Lehmeier — who had 34 carries for 201 yards — answered with a 12-yard scoring run for The Rock. But Andy Tischbein's 47-yard punt return for a touchdown with 1:36 left in the half gave the hosts a 17-7 lead at intermission.

Rock quarterback Brandon Frohnapple directed a 13-play, 80-yard drive and a nine-play, 74-yard march in the second half. He threw touchdown passes of five yards to Ross Hornish and nine yards to Justin Guadagni to give SRUa 21-17 lead with 13:13 to play.

"Brandon grew up Saturday,"Mihalik said. "He played an outstanding game under very adverse conditions. And I give Vic (offensive coordinator Campagna) a lot of credit for adjusting our play-calling to the weather."

Still, the win nearly floated away.

Anthony Walls couldn't control a Millersville punt at his own 5-yard line, the loose football bouncing into the end zone. Derrick Bass recovered for the Marauders, giving his team a 24-21 lead with 7:32 remaining.

"The hearts just sank on our sideline when that happened,"Mihalik said.

SRU began its final possession from its own 26-yard line, going into the heavy wind, with two minutes left and no timeouts.

Lehmeier ended the game-winning drive with a 13-yard run with 22 seconds to play.

"Ryan wasn't going to be denied on that run. Simple as that,"Mihalik said.

Despite the adverse weather, neither team lost a fumble or interception. The Rock offensive line allowed no sacks.

"Our O-line played a tremendous game,"Mihalik said. "This is just what we needed, now that we're getting ready for our home opener."

Notes:Redshirt freshman linebacker Zach Sheridan led The Rock in tackles for the second straight game, recording nine stops. ... .The Rock hosts Kutztown at 6 p.m. Saturday at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.SRU28, Millersville 24

Slippery Rock 0 7 7 14—28Millersville 3 14 0 7—24SRU M28 First Downs 857-274 Rushes-Yards 33-176128 Passing Yards 2214-31-0 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-10-0400 Total Yards 1983-1 Fumbles/Lost 4-07-97 Penalties-Yards 4-51

First QuarterM — John Banzhof 41 field goal, 1:43

Second QuarterM — Brad Lantz 18 pass from Jamal Smith (Banzhof kick), 8:38SRU— Ryan Lehmeier 12 run (C.J. Bahr kick), 4:43M — Andy Tischbein 47 punt return (Banzhof kick), 1:36

Third QuarterSRU — Ross Hornish 5 pass from Brandon Frohnapple (Bahr kick), 3:05

Fourth QuarterSRU — Justin Guadagni 9 pass from Frohnapple (Bahr kick), 133:12M — Derrick Bass fumble recovery in end zone (Banzhof kick), 7:32SRU— Lehmeier 13 run (Bahr kick), :22

Individual Statistics

Passing: SRU, Brandon Frohnapple 14-30-128-0, Kyle Witman 0-1-0-0. Millersville, Jamal Smith 4-10-22-0.

Rushing: SRU, Ryan Lehmeier 34-201, Damarcus Cleckley 16-52, Brandon Frohnapple 7-21. Millersville, Matthew Booker 12-78, Darnell Johnson 13-54, Jamal Smith 13-41, Brad Lantz 1-3.

Receiving: SRU, Josh Prigorac 4-49, Terry Grossetti 3-30, Ross Hornish 3-26, Dallas Richardson 1-11, Justin Guadagni 1-9, Damarcus Cleckley 1-2, Devin Goda 1-1. Millersville, Brad Lantz 3-23, Darnell Johnson 1-(-1).