CLARION — Too much Josh Kniess. Too little offense.

That proved a lethal combination and spoiled Senior Night for the Clarion University football team Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Kniess had 38 carries for 273 yards — both career highs — and scored three touchdowns as Slippery Rock closed its 2005 campaign with a 28-10 victory over the Golden Eagles.

"He had a great game and he's a great back," Clarion coach Malen Luke said. "But we had no offense. That hurt us the most."

Kniess had only one fewer yard than Clarion's entire offensive unit.

Clarion (3-7) penetrated inside the SRU 30-yard line on just two possessions all night. The first time was because SRU punted from its own end zone and gave the Eagles possession on The Rock 30-yard line.

The offense moved 11 yards in seven plays before settling for a 37-yard Kyle Snoke field goal — only his second successful three-pointer in 12 tries this season.

Snoke's kick gave Clarion a 10-7 lead with 7:34 left in the first half. The Eagles had tied the game when SRU's Paul Favers muffed a punt near his own goal line and Clarion's James Charles recovered the ball in the end zone.

Favers was in to receive the punt because Kniess was feeling sick on the sidelines.

"It was nausea," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "Josh just wasn't feeling well."

Nerves were the reason.

"I was so nervous before this game," Kniess said. "I tried playing through it early, but it caught up with me. I was all worked up.

"I knew this was it for me. I wanted to go out big."

He went out huge.

Nate Crookshank's 8-yard scoring run had capped a 61-yard drive in the first quarter for The Rock's first touchdown. Offensively, the rest of the day belonged to Kniess.

He scored on a 49-yard run late in the second quarter to give The Rock a 14-10 halftime lead.

His 54-yard run highlighted a 70-yard scoring drive and set up his own 4-yard TD run with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

Clarion had an opportunity to take the lead on the previous possession as Brandon Dando's 56-yard pass reception gave the Eagles a first down at the SRU 20-yard line.

A holding penalty set them back on second down from there and Josh Zeisloft and Cory Lacek combined to sack quarterback Erik Yonish. A fourth-and-20 pass fell harmlessly to the turf.

"Our defense was outstanding all night," Mihalik said.

Kniess completed the scoring with a 44-yard touchdown run with 2:04 left in the game — on his last collegiate carry.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without football," Kniess said. "I've been playing it for 11 years now.

"I'm glad I scored a touchdown on my last carry. The first time I ever touched the ball, when I was 11 years old, I returned a kickoff for a touchdown. I guess it all fits."

Mihalik gushed over the performance of his senior running back.

"Josh Kniess was our offense tonight," he said. "That kid is the best of the best. I don't know what we're gonna do without him."

With him, The Rock finished the season 5-5 overall and tied for third in the PSAC West at 4-2. SRU won five of its final seven games.

"We have momentum going into next season," Mihalik said. "I'm excited about next season. Our seniors held things together this year and they're to be commended.

"We broke that (two-year) run of losing seasons. We had to do that. That's an important step."

As for Kniess:

He finished the season with 1,270 yards rushing, becoming the seventh SRU back to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

He rushed for more than 100 yards in each of his final seven collegiate games.

He finished his career with 5,148 all-purpose yards and 775 rushing attempts, both school records.

He rushed for 15 touchdowns this season, a career-best.

He finished his SRU career second on the school's all-time list with 46 touchdowns and third with 3,527 rushing yards.

"I'm probably considered too small to play anywhere at the next level," Kniess said. "I'll keep my options open, though. If anybody calls me, I'm there."

Kniess graduates in December with a degree in marketing.

Notes:

Lacek had two quarterback sacks and led the PSAC with 12. … SRU's Jim D'Amico had an interception and Clinton Forsha recovered a fumble. … Dando, who was Clarion's quarterback until three weeks ago, had six catches for 115 yards. … SRU's Nick Carimi had four catches for 51 yards at H-Back as Colin Golden missed the game due to injury.