Off and running
SLIPPERY ROCK— Corey Manfull proved to be more than a handful to the Seton Hill defense Thursday night.
The Slippery Rock University junior running back, who missed all of last season with a serious hand injury, had 25 carries for 145 yards and four touchdowns in The Rock's 51-24, season-opening victory at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
Manfull had 14 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.
"That was a guy running with an attitude,"Rock coach George Mihalik said. "He'd been away from the game for a year. He was hungry to play some football again, and it showed."
Seton Hill coach Chris Snyder only shook his head when thinking about how many tackles Manfull broke during the course of the evening.
"He's not the kind of kid you're gonna tackle with one guy, that's for sure,"Snyder said.
Manfull's touchdown runs were on jaunts of 3, 1, 8 and 5 yards. His longest run from scrimmage was 24 yards.
"Everything worked out the way I hoped it would,"Manfull said. "I've gotten a lot stronger over the past year. I've put on some muscle while maintaining my speed, which always helps."
The Rock amassed 487 yards of offense — 288 on the ground — in getting past the pesky Griffins. Seton Hill, a third-year program, trailed only 30-24 after three quarters.
The visitors scored on big plays, including a 64-yard bomb to Derek Thompson on their first play of the game. Thompson also caught a 37-yard touchdown pass and return specialist Samuel Tranks had 248 yards in kickoff and punt returns.
"Big plays kept them in this game,"Mihalik said. "That program offers 30 full scholarships. You can get some players that way. They're a lot better than the public thinks."
The Rock ran off 79 offensive plays, however, including 54 running plays, and the Griffins appeared to be tired in the fourth quarter.
SRUtook control of the game in the final quarter when Nate Crookshank's 9-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Richardson ended a nine-play, 49-yard drive early in the period.
A bad snap high over the punter's head resulted in a 36-yard loss and gave The Rock possession at the Griffins 13-yard line moments later. Two Manfull carries put the ball in the end zone.
The final scoring drive was an 8-play, 88-yard march, highlighted by a 35-yard run by Damarcus Cleckley and a 33-yard touchdown run by former North Hills High School quarterback Ryan Lehmeier.
Crookshank threw for 187 yards and a pair of scores. SRUscored four touchdowns and a field goal on their first five possessions before struggling to move the ball in the third quarter.
<embed src="/assets/mov/BE2652491.MOV " width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" align="right"></embed>"We couldn't get field position and their defense made some nice adjustments,"Crookshank said of the third period. "Then we adjusted to their adjustments and took things over."<B>The 51 points marked the most in a game by SRUsince a 58-28 win over Shippensburg late in the 2005 season. The Rock hasn't scored this many points in a season opener since posting a 54-0 win over Brockport State in 1972.</B>SRU51, Seton Hill 24Seton Hill 7 14 3 0—24Slippery Rock 20 10 0 21—51SH SRU12 First Downs 2732-91 Rushes-Yards 54-288229 Passing Yards 19913-25-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 13-25-0320 Total Yards 4870-0 Fumbles/Lost 1-06-52 Penalties-Yards 5-43<B>First Quarter</B>SRU— Paul Favers 18 pass from Nate Crookshank (C.J. Bahr kick), 12:20SH— Derek Thompson 64 pass from Matt Dowdell (Ray Wilkins kick), 12:03SRU— Corey Manfull 3 run (kick blocked), 8:11SRU— Manfull 1 run (Bahr kick), 2:45<B>Second Quarter</B>SRU— Bahr 23 field goal, 9:52SH— Thompson 37 pass from Dowdell (Wilkins kick), 8:07SRU— Manfull 8 run (Bahr kick), 7:45SH— Rashad Campbell 4 run (Wilkins kick), 1:14<B>Third Quarter</B>SH— Wilkins 23 field goal, 1:27<B>Fourth Quarter</B>SRU— Dallas Richardson 9 pass from Crookshank (Bahr kick), 14:12SRU — Manfull 5 run (Bahr kick), 12:24SRU— Ryan Lehmeier 33 run (Bahr kick), 6:57<B>Individual Statistics</B><B>Passing:</B> Seton Hill, Matt Dowdell 13-25-229-1. SRU, Nate Crookshank 12-24-187-0, Brad Galvan 1-1-12-0.<B>Rushing:</B> Seton Hill, Antwarn Jones 23-98, DeJuan Corbitt 5-25, Rashad Campbell 2-7, Matt Dowdell 1-(-2), Team 1-(-37). SRU, Corey Manfull 25-145, Damarcus Cleckley 14-92, Ryan Lehmeier 4-52, Travis Sarver 5-9, Justin Guadagni 2-2, Nate Crookshank 3-(-11), Team 1-(-1).<B>Receiving:</B> Seton Hill, Derek Thompson 3-109, Clayton Shaver 3-45, Samuel Tranks 2-23, Dorian Scott 1-16, Tony Mitchell 1-10, Calvin Stephens 1-9, DeJuan Corbitt 1-9, Dan Krchmar 1-8. SRU, Terry Grossetti 4-82, Colin Golden 4-37, Paul Favers 2-55, Dallas Richardson 2-21, Travis Sarver 1-4.Sept. 8: Millersville at SRU<br>Video by Brandon Gerthoffer
