SRU secures victory over Lock Haven in Saturday football game
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Talk about taking care of business early.
No. 7 Slippery Rock University scored on all five of its first-half possessions Saturday, building a 45-0 lead by halftime, before rolling to a 66-7 PSAC West football victory over Lock Haven at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
SRU (8-0, 5-0) clinched at least a share of the PSAC West title with the victory. The Rock also clinched a spot in the PSCC title game by virtue of Clarion’s loss at Seton Hill.
Lock Haven (4-4, 3-2) would have taken over first place in the division had it won this game.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said of the lopsided win. “I mean, Lock Haven comes in here with a chance to be in the driver’s seat in the West with a win, and we blew them out. We have to enjoy this.”
The Rock rolled up 517 yards of total offense, including 217 on the ground against a Bald Eagle defense that had been limiting foes to 100 yards rushing per game. Lock Haven also entered the game with the most prolific passing offense in the PSAC.
The Bald Eagles were limited to 133 yards in the air Saturday, completing 15 of 33 passes. Starting quarterback Robert Footman Jr. completed only four of 17 passes.
“Their starting quarterback was leading the PSAC in completion percentage and they pulled him in the second quarter because he couldn’t do anything,” Lutz said. “This was unbelievable.
“Offense, defense, special teams ... This was our most complete game of the year so far.”
Freeport graduate and senior safety Ben Lane credited the coaching staff with his team’s defensive performance.
“The coaches put us in the right position to make plays,” Lane said. “We love playing teams that have the reputation of passing a lot because it gives us more opportunities to get our hands on the ball.
“We were up to the challenge today.”
JayJay Jordan returned punts of 75 and 71 yards for touchdowns in the first half. They were the first two scores on punt returns for SRU this season.
Jordan scored three touchdowns overall, setting the SRU single-season record with 23 TDs this year. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the season. He would have had a fourth touhchdown, but a 63-yard scoring run in the third quarter was wiped out by a holding penalty.
“It was character check time for our punt return unit,” Jordan said. “We’ve been coming close to breaking one. Today, we got two. I had great blocking downfield and was able to get loose.
“I was hoping to get that (touchdown record) this year. It became reality, thanks to the offensive line and our receivers’ downfield blocking. Our receiver blocking has made a big difference this year.
“On this team, anything can happen. That’s how we all feel right now.”
Quarterback DaOne Owens threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 95 yards and a pair of scores. Qualil Goode and Telly Palmer shared the team lead with 70 receiving yards.
“We just have so many weapons,” Owens said. “Telly’s been a backup, and he was a featured guy today. That’s how it is with this offense. You never know who it’s going to be.”
Slippery Rock High graduate John Sabo got SRU on the board with a 31-yard touchdown reception four minutes into the game. Owen Suah intercepted a pass for the second straight game and Kwalil Shepperson returned a interception 71 yards to set up a score.
Lock Haven fell to 4-4, 3-2 with the loss. The Rock has defeated the Bald Eagles 28 consecutive times and is 34-0-1 against Lock Haven in their last 35 meetings.
Lock Haven 0 0 0 7 0 0 - 7
Slippery Rock 28 17 14 7 - 66
First Quarter
SRU - John Sabo 31 pass from DaOne Owens (Connor Macek kick), 11:01
SRU - JayJay Jordan 71 punt return (Macek kick), 9:11
SRU - Owens 15 run (Macek kick), 4:58
SRU - Jordan 4 run (Macek kick), :26
Second Quarter
SRU - Telly Palmer 16 pass from Owens (Macek kick), 11:56
SRU - Macek 36 field goal, 5:07
SRU - Jordan 75 punt return (Macek kick), 1:19
Third Quarter
SRU - Owens 10 run (Macek kick), 8:14
SRU - Luke McCoy 6 run (Macek kick), 2:04
Fourth Quarter
LH - Artie Poindexter 5 pass from Carson Nagle (Caden Bauer kick), 9:31
SRU - Brad Hoffman 2 run (Macek kick), 2:35
Individual Statistics
Passing: Lock Haven, Robert Footman Jr. 4-17-35-1, Carson Nagle 9-15-83-1, Cole Transue 2-3-15-0. SRU, DaOne Owens 17-26-267-0, Brad Hoffman 4-4-33-0.
Rushing: Lock Haven, Ezequiel Johnson 8-29, Mekhi Watson 1-16, Cureem Hathcock 5-13, Chase Gorman 2-6, Cole Transue 1-6, Tucker Teats 1-0, Robert Footman Jr. 3-(-2), Carson Nagle 4-(-8). SRU, DaOne Owens 6-95, JayJay Jordan 15-69, Caden Halajcio 7-36, Luke McCoy 4-15, Brad Hoffman 1-2.
Receiving: Lock Haven, Ezequiel Johnson 3-19, Artie Poindexter 3-18, Jake Roberts 2-30, Aaron Baker 2-21, Jayvon Tucker-Scott 2-20, Mekhi Watson 1-22, Chase Gallagher 1-3, Tucker Teats 1-0. SRU, Qalil Goode 4-70, Telly Palmer 4-70, John Sabo 3-45, JayJay Jordan 3-17, Reggie Fleurima 2-24, Hamilton Gates 2-22, Luke McCoy 1-32, Dylan Maddox 1-14, Vincent Berardi 1-8, Lou Swartz 1-(-2).
