CLARION — A day that started with frustration wound up in celebration.

After falling behind 8-0 at Clarion late in the first quarter while squandering red zone opportunities, the Slippery Rock University football team exploded for a 45-8 victory Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

That win, coupled with California’s 59-49 loss at Mercyhurst, lands The Rock (8-2, 7-2) in the PSAC championship game for the third time in four years. SRU will host Bloomsburg for the league title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Rock dropped last year’s PSAC title game at Bloopmsburg.

“We’re in ... third time in four years. That’s quite an accomplishment for these seniors,” SRU coach George Mihalik said.

After coughing up a 79-yard scoring drive to Clarion (2-8, 2-7) and allowing a two-point conversion pass to slip through its fingers, SRU rallied for a 17-8 halftime lead.

Four other possessions in the first half, however, took SRU inside the Golden Eagles’ 25-yard line and resulted in no points.

Shamar Greene lost a fumble at the Clarion 9-yard line to kill one drive and fumbled the ball through the end zone to end another. Mike Wainauskis had a 38-yard field goal attempt blocked and an illegal hands to the face penalty snuffed out a would-be first down at the Clarion 1-yard line and resulted in a turnover on downs.

“I was a little bit vocal at halftime,” Mihalik admitted. “We were beating ourselves and keeping them in the game.”

The Rock never showed signs of panic, however, and took care of business in the second half. SRU outscored Clarion 28-0 over the final two quarters.

“We knew what we were doing was working,” quarterback Jared Buck said. “All we had to do was eliminate the mistakes.”

The Rock ran 101 plays to Clarion’s 57.

“At the pace they play at, you can’t allow them 90-plus plays in a game,” Clarion coach Jay Foster said. “Your defense has to get off the field and your offense has to sustain drives.

“We didn’t do either. They just wear you down.”

Buck threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns. Two of the TD tosses went to slot receiver Jamire Dutrieuille, who had seven catches for 126 yards on the day.

Dutrieuille’s second touchdown catch was a 65-yard bomb deep down the middle on a third-and-2 play that gave SRU a 24-8 third-quarter lead. Dutrieuille entered the game with 35 catches for 346 yards and two catches.

“He’s had a quiet year, in a way, but he was noisy today,” Mihalik said.

“It’s all about the team for me,” Dutrieuille said. “You just have to be ready when your number’s called. Today was my turn.

“It’s a little frustrating when things don’t go well early, but I’m one of the seniors on this team who has to make sure everyone keeps calm and doing his job. Sooner or later, the dam was gonna break.”

The Rock rolled up 600 yards of total offense. Greene rushed for 114 yards, giving him 1,343 for the season. He needs just 54 yards rushing to move into third place on SRU’s all-time single-season rushing list.

Clarion was limited to 148 total yards, only 30 rushing. The Golden Eagles completed just eight of 29 passes.

“We dropped passes again, misfired on a few others ... That’s the way it’s been going,” Foster said. “We just haven’t been connecting.”

Foster was a defensive coordinator under Mihalik at SRU for 17 years before taking over at Clarion.

“That’s a family over there,” Foster said of The Rock. “I’m happy for them, but I’m pissed off for us.”

Defensive end Marcus Martin had three sacks for SRU, increasing his single-season school record to 16. The PSAC record is 18.

“Just get down and get after it,” Martin said. “I’m aware of those records. Yeah, they motivate me.”

The Rock survived three turnovers Saturday, including Buck’s first interception of the year. SRU’s Derrick Fulmore intercepted a pass late in the first quarter and returned it 25 yards to the Clarion 11. The play set up SRU’s go-ahead touchdown.

Notes: Seneca Valley graduate Nick Dahlstrom and Martin shared SRU’s lead with six tackles Saturday. Julian Howsare had 16 tackles for Clarion. ... SRU claimed the milk jug for the fifth straight year and leads the series with Clarion 51-23-3. The Rock won at Clarion for the 11th straight time and has defeated the Golden Eagles overall in 10 of their last 11 meetings.

SRU 45, Clarion 8

Slippery Rock 14 3 14 14 — 45

Clarion 8 0 0 0 — 8

SRU C

29 First Downs 6

60-202 Rushes-Yards 28-40

398 Passing Yards 108

27-41-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 8-29-1

600 Total Yards 148

5-2 Fumbles-Lost 2-0

5-55 Penalty Yards 8-63

First Quarter

C — Zach Deitrick 22 pass from Connor Simmons (Jaron Moorer pass from Simmons), 4:31

SRU — Jaimire Dutrieuille 18 pass from Jared Buck (Mike Wainauskis kick), 2:42

SRU — Drew Scales 8 pass from Buck (Wainauskis kick), :45

Second Quarter

SRU — Wainauskis 30 field goal, 6:56

Third Quarter

SRU — Dutrieuille 65 pass from Buck (Wainauskis kick), 8:44

SRU — Leroy McClain 33 pass from Melvin German (Wauinauskis kick), 3:19

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Isiah Neely 1 run (Wainauskis kick), 14:35

SRU — Zack Newsock 1 run (Wainauskis kick), 4:43

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU — Shamar Greene 26-114, Isiah Neely 16-56, Teddy Blakeman 3-15, Jared Buck 7-10, Dominic Dingle 3-8, Melvin German 1-6, Julian Durden 1-1, Zack Newsock 3-(-8). Clarion, Delrece Williams 6-32, Bobby Thomas 9-20, Darelle Carson 1-5, TEAM 1-(-1), Connor Simmons 11-(-16).

Passing: SRU, Jared Buck 22-35-345-1, Melvin German 2-3-36-0, Zack Newsock 3-3-17-0. Clarion, Connor Simmons 8-28-108-1, Darelle Carson 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: SRU, Jaimire Dutrieuille 7-126, Drew Scales 6-42, Leroy McClain 3-81, Melvin German 3-76, Taishan Tucker 3-14, Julian Harrell 1-32, Shamar Greene 1-8, Brandon Akins 1-8, Teddy Blakeman 1-7, Marcus Carter 1-4. Clarion, Zach Deitrick 2-29, Matt Lehman 2-26, Gage Clark 1-44, Jaron Moorer 1-8, Bobby Thomas 1-5, Delrece Williams 1-(-4).