Rolling Rock
SLIPPERY ROCK — The game wasn't a game for very long.
Slippery Rock University scored touchdowns on its first 10 possessions — a 77-yard Jermaine Wynn Jr. punt return for a score mixed in as well — in cruising to a 75-0 PSAC West football victory over Clarion Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The Rock (5-0, 2-0) used its second-team unit and beyond in the entire second half after building a 55-0 lead by halftime.
“Honestly, we're not even thinking about our opponent while we're out there right now,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “For us, it's just about getting better.
“We need to be at our best when we face the good teams coming up on our schedule if we expect to beat them.”
Clarion fell to 0-5, 0-2 in dropping its 11th consecutive regular season game, dating back to last year. The Golden Eagles have surrendered 193 points in their past three games.
Clarion coach Chris Weibel declined comment after the game.
The shutout was The Rock's first since posting a 49-0 win over Millersville in September of 2019.“Our No. 2's came through in protecting that goose egg for us,” SRU defensive end Garrett de Bien said. “We let a couple of them (shutouts) slip away late this year. I'm proud of them for protecting this one at the end.“(Defensive coordinator) Dom Razzano is a great coach. We want to get him shutouts whenever we can. He deserves this.”Clarion's offense never got into the red zone all night. Its deepest penetration was The Rock 30 on the Golden Eagles' final possession. They turned the ball over on downs there with 1:28 remaining.The 75-0 final marked SRU's largest margin of victory since a 76-0 shutout of Lock Haven in 1973. The Rock reached 75 points with 14:11 left on the clock Saturday, but possessed the ball only one more time. It turned the ball over on downs at Clarion's 39 with 6:45 remaining.Examples of how dominant SRU was Saturday night include:The Rock amassed 588 total offensive yards and allowed 81.Clarion managed seven first downs, including three by penalty.Andrew Koester threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers — all in the second quarter.Koester and backup QB Noah Grover combined to complete 31 of 35 passes for 442 yards and seven touchdowns.During a stretch of the first half, 50 consecutive plays — both teams combined — were snapped in Clarion territory.Tight end Max Maciejewski, hampered by injuries the past two seasons, returned to the lineup Saturday and caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half.He caught a 38-yard pass on SRU's first offensive play of the night.“We wanted to get him involved right away,” Lutz said. “Max offers another dimension to our offense. He's a big guy who can get downfield. We can line him up in the slot if we want to.”Maciejewski proved to be a matchup problem for Clarion from the start.“We put some tight end sets in our formation I'm sure (Clarion) hasn't seen from us,” Maciejewski said. “I was able to break open a lot. Andrew saw me and got me the ball.“It felt good just to be out on the field again. It felt great to be so involved.”Koester is taking Saturday's lopsided win in stride.“There are still things we can improve upon,” the quarterback said. “We're a good team right now. We want to become a great team. We're not there yet.“Our receivers are making plays and our offensive line is giving us time. It's all working right now.”Lutz admitted to being unhappy with the running game and the amount of penalties SRU continues to take.Reis Watkins, SRU's top rusher with 57 yards Saturday, was a defensive end before this week. Devin Sims, a defensive back, rushed for 38 yards and his first career touchdown.The Rock was flagged 12 times for 126 yards Saturday. Many of those were unsportsmanlike conduct calls.“Our running game has to improve. It's not where we need it to be,” Lutz said. “As for the penalties ... we can't over-celebrate and we have to keep our composure.“That all starts with me. I have to clean that up.”Notes: Clarion replaced starting QB Taylor Eggers with freshman Zech Sanderson in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles threw for only 54 yards. ... Seneca Valley graduate Connor Lyczek, a true freshman, saw time in the defensive backfield and starts on special teams for Clarion. ... The Rock claimed the Milk Jug — given to the SRU-Clarion winner — for the 10th time in 11 tries. ... The Rock had three takeaways, Savion Harrison and Josh Stokes recovering fumbles, DaShaun Wright getting an interception. ... SRU had 27 players make at least one tackle Saturday, led by de Bien's six. Ten Rock players caught passes. ... SRU has won 18 consecutive PSAC West games and plays at Edinboro at 2 p.m. Saturday.Clarion 0 0 0 0 — 0Slippery Rock 20 35 13 7 — 75First QuarterSRU — Tim Smith 6 run (DJ Opsatnik kick), 8:38SRU — Jermaine Wynn Jr. 77 punt return (Opsatnik kick), 6:01SRU — Smith 1 run (kick blocked), 2:14Second QuarterSRU — Wynn Jr. 36 pass from Andrew Koester (Opsatnik kick), 14:53SRU — Cinque Sweeting 5 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 12:21SRU — Max Maciejewski 36 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 7:24SRU — Kyle Sheets 19 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 3:17SRU — Henry Litwin 14 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 1:07Third QuarterSRU — Chris D'Or 16 pass from Noah Grover (kick failed), 9:06SRU — D'Or 4 pass from Grover (Opsatnik kick), :09Fourth QuarterSRU — Devin Sims 4 run (Opsatnik kick), 14:11Individual StatisticsRushing: Clarion, Khyre Marshall 12-35, Jalen Smith 3-11, Quinn Zinobile 4-6, Ty Corbin 1-4, Khalil Owens 11-4, Zech Sanderson 3-(-12), TEAM 1-(-21). SRU, Reis Watkins 9-57, Chris D'Or 7-45, Devin Sims 3-38, Tim Smith 9-13, Noah Grover 3-(-4).Passing: Clarion, Zech Sanderson 6-15-41-1, Taylor Eggers 2-6-13-0. SRU, Andrew Koester 20-22-328-0, Noah Grover 11-13-114-0.Receiving: Clarion, Ty Corbin 3-11, Terrell Ford 2-17, Quinn Zinobile 2-14, Jimmy Johnson 1-12. SRU, Cinque Sweeting 6-50, Max Maciejewski 5-100, Chris D'Or 4-79, Jermaine Wynn Jr. 4-66, Kyle Sheets 4-60, Henry Litwin 3-57, Mike Beneski 2-9, John Eakin 1-11, Tyler Settle 1-9, Kenyon Johnson 1-1.
