SLIPPERY ROCK — With the pressure on, the Rockets exploded.

Slippery Rock (4-3, 1-2) defeated Conneaut Area (5-3, 2-2) in an important District 10 Region 5 matchup, 48-14, on Friday night.

“We knew if we lost, we weren't going to make the playoffs, so it was a must-win,” said Slippery Rock running back Nathan Hyatt.

Slippery Rock ran the ball 56 times for 459 yards. Hyatt led the Rockets with 174 yards and three touchdowns.

“That felt great, but our line was blocking, so I had to give credit to them,” Hyatt said.

Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz Jr. agreed.

“You gotta be careful not mentioning those guys up front,” Wendereusz said. “I think our guys up front did a great job out there tonight.

“They did as we hoped they would do.”

Wendereusz said the team performed well on both sides of the ball, but he noted that Conneaut was down players due to injury.

“That's a tough one when you get beat up like that,” he said. “But, we still had to come out and play, and their kids played hard.”

Conneaut coach Patrick Gould said this will be a tough stretch for his team, but they need to play better moving forward.

“I think defensively we struggled making open-field tackles, making reads and filling gaps like we needed to,” he said. “Offensively I think we struggled making reads, sometimes at the line. We just didn't make plays.”

Gould said his team will try to get healthy and compete in the weeks ahead. He said losing to the Rockets shows the competitiveness of the conference.

“We're going to battle through it and do the best we can,” Gould said.

“In theory, if we were tied, (Slippery Rock would) have the nod to go on in the playoffs, so we need to win next week.”

Hyatt said his team has to carry forward Friday night's intensity if it wants to keep its playoff hopes alive.

“It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,” he said.

Conneaut 0 8 0 6 — 14

Slippery Rock 14 14 14 6 — 48

First Quarter

SR — David Duffalo 26 run (Nathaniel Willison kick), 7:34

SR — Brendan Earl 52 pass from Vito Pilosi (Willison kick), 3:11

Second Quarter

SR — Nathan Hyatt 4 run (Willison kick), 9:52

SR — Duffalo 58 run (Willison kick), 6:57

CA — Devin Neal 24 run (Mason Mihoci pass from Nathan Bortnick), 4:42

Third Quarter

SR — Hyatt 1 run (Willison kick), 9:44

SR — Hyatt 24 run (Willison kick), 2:01

Fourth Quarter

SR — Shane Thompson 5 run (kick failed), 6:43

CA — Bortnick 12 run (pass failed), 2:47

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Conneaut, Devin Neal 16-110, Nathan Bortnick 15-94. Slippery Rock, Nathan Hyatt 17-174, David Duffalo 13-111, Vityo Pilosi 14-101, Shane Thompson 6-39, Brett Galcik 6-35.

Passing: Conneaut, Nathan Bortnick 2-10-11-0. Slippery Rock, Vito Pilosi 6-11-96-1.

Receiving: Conneaut, Mason Mihoci 2-11. Slippery Rock, Brendan Earl 2-66, Ethan Plesakov 3-14, Nathan Hyatt 1-6.