Slippery Rock football’s offense stalls after strong start in home loss to Harbor Creek
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Capability and potential.
Slippery Rock High’s football team was weighed down by the frustrating side of both of those words Friday night.
On the Rockets’ two scoring drives against Harbor Creek — one coming early in the first quarter and the other in the fourth — they scored touchdowns on a combined 20 plays that covered 159 yards.
The rest of the game, the Rockets amassed just 104 yards and five first downs on 32 plays in a 20-14 loss at Troy-Alan Stadium.
After taking an early lead, they went three-and-out on three straight offensive series, gaining a mere 11 yards in the process.
“I’ll have to watch the film to see exactly what happened, but Harbor Creek made some adjustments and it took our guys a while to get acclimated,” Rockets coach Larry Wendereusz said.
The Huskies (3-3) scored the next 20 points to take a 20-7 lead early in the fourth period. Slippery Rock came to life once again, marching 82 yards and getting a 5-yard scoring run from Kole Scott to cut its deficit to six points with 4:59 left.
Zach Lasko recovered his own onside kick, but the Rockets (2-4) turned the ball over on downs at Harbor Creek’s 46 and the Huskies ran out the clock.
Slippery Rock’s fast start was spurred by Doug Popovec’s 53-yard pass to Sawyer Allen, which led to the former’s 9-yard scoring run just 2:23 into the game.
On their second drive of the game, the Huskies’ versatile ground game began to establish itself. Four different players carried the ball on a 61-yard drive that ended with Joe Wagner’s 23-yard field goal.
“Slippery Rock is physical up front, and anytime you’re the road team, there’s a fear of what might happen,” Harbor Creek coach John Angerer said. “We had an hour-and-45-minute drive, and for some of our kids, this was the longest trip they’ve had to make for a game.
“Once we got right, we played well.”
After the Huskies took a 10-7 lead on a 27-yard scoring run by Brady Powers with just over three minutes left in the first half, they made the Rockets pay for a grave mistake.
Facing a fourth-and-2 from their own 35, the Rockets lined up, trying to draw the Huskies offside. Popovec was in the shotgun formation and was surprised when the ball was snapped. The play led to a loss and turnover on downs.
Two plays later, Gavin Zillman hit Powers for a 31-yard scoring pass, and Slippery Rock trailed by 10 at the break.
“That was on me,” Wendereusz said of the fourth-down play. “My rule is do not run anything in a game that we haven’t worked on in practice, and we didn’t work on that. I told my quarterback and center that the blame is on me.”
Wagner added a 32-yard field goal for a 20-7 edge four seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Huskies totaled 199 rushing yards, with Zillman, Powers and Thomas Gunther each gaining at least 50 yards.
“We’re progressively building toward what we believe this offense can be,” Angerer said. “It’s nice to have a number of guys who can get the job done.”
Scott rushed for 102 yards and the touchdown on 21 carries. Popovec added 58 yards and one score.
“Whether it’s with Doug, Kole or Owen (Long), running the ball is our identity,” Wendereusz said. “We want to build off of that.”
Slippery Rock dives back into District 10, Region 4 play next week when it travels to Conneaut.
“Sometimes you go through a tough spell and you can lose kids. They can bail and start thinking about other things,” Wendereusz said. “That’s not happening with this group. They still have the right mindset.”
Harbor Creek 0 17 0 3 — 20
Slippery Rock 7 0 0 7 — 14
First quarter
SR — Doug Popovec 9 run (Zach Lasko kick), 9:37
Second quarter
HC — Joe Wagner 23 field goal, 9:44
HC — Brady Powers 27 run (Wagner kick), 3:06
HC — Powers 31 pass from Gavin Zillman (Wagner kick), 1:42
Fourth quarter
HC — Wagner 32 field goal, 11:56
SR — Kole Scott 5 run (Lasko kick), 4:59
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Harbor Creek, Gavin Zillman 13-53, Thomas Gunther 14-50, Brady Powers 9-53, Cameron Herman 5-37, Eoin Eighmy 1-6; Slippery Rock, Owen Long 4-22, Kole Scott 21-102, Doug Popovec 13-58, Peyton Reich 2-(-1).
Passing: Harbor Creek, Gavin Zillman 3-5-48-0; Slippery Rock, Doug Popovec 5-13-74-1.
Receiving: Harbor Creek, Cameron Herman 2-17, Brady Powers 1-31; Slippery Rock, Sawyer Allen 1-53, Kole Scott 2-13, Owen Long 2-8.
