SLIPPERY ROCK — As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Slippery Rock High football coach Clyde Conti turned to the crowd and thrust his arms into the air.

It was a victory as emotional as it was huge. It was a win that was as dramatic as it was desperately needed.

Zack Ejzak took a short pass from Jonathan Powell, made two tacklers miss and turned it into a 36-yard touchdown catch and run with a little more than a minute left on the clock.

The touchdown gave the Rockets a 13-6 home win over region rival Meadville Saturday night.

"This is going to make our team believe and step up even more," said Powell, who was brilliant with his arm and his feet. "We're going to be able to practice a lot tougher and be a little happier."

The win puts SlipperyRock in second place in the region and on the inside track toward a District 10 Class AAA playoff berth.

It was by no means easy.

Slippery Rock (4-4, 3-1) overcame two lost fumbles on its first three offensive plays and a 6-0 deficit that lasted into the third quarter.

"Say something about the heart of the Slippery Rock boys," Conti said. "The kids hung in there and we won. We won."

It was typical Slippery Rock football: three yards and a cloud of dust — until the fourth quarter when the Rockets saved the big plays for when they needed them the most.

Slippery Rock's longest play until the final quarter covered a mere 13 yards.

But as the Rockets wore down the Meadville defense, the yardage became easier to gobble up.

That's when Powell took over.

The junior quarterback rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries — his third 100-yard rushing game of the season — and threw for 84 yards and two touchdowns to spark Slippery Rock.

He made a dazzling run on the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter when he sprinted to the right, faked a pitch, then split two defenders for a 20-yard gain.

"That was all instinct," Powell said. "This was everything we've ever worked for right here and we needed to come together as a team."

Ejzak caught four passes for 60 yards, none bigger than his touchdown reception with time running down.

"I can't take much credit for that," Powell said. "I just threw it out there for him and he made the rest of it happen."

Meadville jumped out early, thanks to a lost fumble on the Rockets' second play of the game.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 3-2) marched 39 yards on six plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jarrod Kilburn to Preston Heagy.

Slippery Rock lost another fumble on its next offensive play at its own 34, but Meadville failed to get a first down.

"That might have been the biggest thing in the game," Powell said. "If they go up by two scores, the chances of us coming back were pretty slim.

"But we got our heads together at halftime and came up with what we needed to do to win."

Apparently throwing caution to the wind was what the Rockets needed to do.

After failing on a fourth-down play at the Meadville 5 in the first half, Conti once again went for it on fourth-and-goal at the Bulldog 6 in the third quarter.

This time, Powell found Derrick Orloski on a slant in the end zone for a touchdown and a 6-6 tie.

Later in the half, Conti kept his offense on the field on a fourth-and-1 from his own 33.

"It was just a gut feeling," Conti said. "I was mad. We thought we'd have to do some different things to win."

Ryan Ferguson added 68 yards on 18 tough carries for the Rockets. He was also part of a swarming defense that limited Meadville to 163 yards and intercepted Kilburn twice in Slippery Rock territory.

Kilburn came into the game with just one pick in 62 passing attempts.

<B>Meadville 6 0 0 0—6Slippery Rock 0 0 6 7—13M SR</B>9 First Downs 1337-130 Rushes-Yards 43-15836 Passing Yards 844-11-3 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 7-14-0163 Total Yards 2421-0 Fumbles/Lost 2-28-48 Penalties-Yards 1-5<B>First Quarter</B>M — Preston Heagy 6 pass from Jarrod Kilburn (kick failed), 8:30<B>Third Quarter</B>SR — Derrick Orloski 6 pass from Jonathan Powell (kick failed), 8:13<B>Fourth Quarter</B>SR — Zack Ejzak 36 pass from Jonathan Powell (Josh Powell kick), 1:04<B>Individual Statistics</B><B>Passing:</B> Meadville, Jarrod Kilburn 4-10-36-2, Jon Roncolato 0-1-0-1. Slippery Rock, Jonathan Powell 7-14-84-0<B>Rushing:</B> Meadville, Mike Prystaloski 18-59, Tony Phillips 10-37, Jon Roncolato 7-33, Jarrod Kilburn 2-1. Slippery Rock, Jonathan Powell 20-100, Ryan Ferguson 18-68, Andrew Novak 1-5, J.R. Thompson 2-(-13), Team 2-(-2)<B>Receiving:</B> Meadville, Tony Phillips 1-14, Aaron Barton 1-12, Preston Heagy 1-6, Jon Roncolato 1-4. Slippery Rock, Zack Ejzak 4-60, Derrick Orloski 3-24