Seton Hill hosted #14 Slippery Rock on a perfect Saturday afternoon for football at Offutt Field in Greensburg.  The day turned out to be a perfect one for the Griffin football team as they were able to upset Slippery Rock by the score of 41-38 in PSAC West action.  The win over Slippery Rock is the highest ranked opponent ever beaten by a Griffin football team.  The previous highest ranked team the Griffins defeated was #20 WV State in 2008.  SHU improves to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in PSAC West play while Slippery Rock falls to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in PSAC West play. 

Slippery Rock went 75 yards on 9 plays on their opening drive after taking the opening kickoff and scored on a 1 yard TD pass to take an early 7-0 lead.  SHU responded right back with a 79 yard drive in 6 plays.  Christian Strong hit Eric Brown with two passes of 35 and 36 yards setting up a 6 yard touchdown pass to Jarvis McClam to tie the score at seven.  The Rock answered right back with a 78 yard drive that took 13 plays and scored on a 2 yard TD run to take a 14-7 lead with 5:44 to play in the first quarter.  SHU did not take long to respond as on their second play of their next drive, Strong hit Ardell Brown with a 75 yard bomb to tie the score at 14.  Both teams then went three and out on their next two possessions and the game remained tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter. 

 

On the second play of the second quarter, Logan Carns blocked a Rock punt to give the Griffins the ball at the Rock 21 yard line.  After an incompletion, Strong hit Larry Joshua for a 21 yard touchdown strike to put SHU ahead 21-14 early in the second quarter.  The Seton Hill defense forced another three and out on the next Rock possession and the Griffins took over on their 27 yard line.  Strong hit Ardell Brown for 24 yards to move into Rock territory.  After four rushing plays, Strong found Eric Brown for a 30 yard touchdown pass to extend the Griffins lead to 28-14 midway through the second quarter.  The Rock only took one play to cut the lead in half as they scored on a 58 yard TD pass to trim the lead to 28-21 with 8:31 to play in the half.  SHU was stopped on downs on their own 45 on their next drive.  The Rock then drove to the SHU 13 but Jeremy Dixon blocked a 30 yard field goal attempt giving SHU the ball back at the 7 yard line.  On their second play, the Griffins were picked off, giving the Rock the ball at their own 45.  SRU scored on a 46 yard TD run to tie the score with 2:47 to play in the half.  SHU was picked off on their next possession but the defense held and the game was tied at 28 heading to the halftime break.

The Griffins went three and out on their first two possessions of the second half.  Slippery Rock drove 56 yards in 8 plays on their second possession of the half and hit a 28 yard field goal to take a 31-28 lead with 9:01 to play in the third.  The Griffins came right back with a 75 yard, 6 play drive to retake the lead.  The big play on the drive was a 55 yard pass to Joshua.  Brandon Stout punched the ball in from 1 yard out and SHU led 35-31 with 6:08 left in the third.  Robert Brown picked off a Rock pass on their next drive and returned the ball to the Rock 23 yard line, giving the Griffins great field position.  SHU was not able to take advantage and had to settle for a 39 yard field goal from Jesser Boulnemour to extend the lead to 38-31 with just under four minutes to play in the quarter.  The Rock missed from 33 yards out on a field goal try and the Griffins held a 38-31 lead at the end of the third quarter. 

 

SHU drove 61 yards on their first possession of the fourth quarter and Boulnemour hit from 22 yards out to extend the SHU lead to 10 points at 41-31 with 12:17 to go in the game.  The Rock drove to the SHU 28 on their next possession but two QB hurries from Nicholas Boynton on third and fourth downs forced incompletions to turn the ball back over to the Griffins at their own 28.  The Griffins then drove 54 yards but Boulnemour missed from 35 yards out.  SHU was able to burn 5:30 off the clock on the drive.  Slippery Rock then went 80 yards on 6 plays in just 1:09 to cut the lead to 41-38 with 4:15 to go in the contest.  SHU was picked off on their next possession with the Rock taking over on the Griffins 29 yard line.  The defense was able to step up again as they held the Rock out of the end zone after a first and goal at the six yard line.  The Rock attempted a 22 yard field goal but it was wide right with 1:00 to play in the contest.  The Griffins were able to take three knees to end the game with the Rock only having one timeout left and the Griffin bench and fans exploded as the time expired off the clock and the Griffins upset the 14th ranked Rock.

Slippery Rock held the advantage in the stats book as they had 28 first downs to just 16 for SHU.  The Rock also had 630 yards of total offense to 526 for the Griffins but the only stats that really mattered were the points scored which the Griffins won 41-38.  Christian Strong finished the game 29-52 for 472 yards and 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.  The 472 yards are the second most ever thrown for by a Griffin quarterback in a single game (Andrew Jackson 543 yards vs St Anselm - 2012).  The four touchdowns are also the second most in a single game in school history.  Ardell Brown pulled in 6 catches for 134 yards and 1 touchdown.  Jarvis McClam also had 6 receptions and a touchdown.  Eric Brown had 4 catches for 123 yards and 1 touchdown.  Phillip Moreland led the Griffins with 14 tackles including 11 solo.  Theron Eison and Nicholas Boynton added 13 tackles.  Josh Falatovich finished the game with 12 tackles. 

SHU returns to action next Saturday when they travel to California (PA) for another PSAC West battle with the 1-0 Vulcans.  Kickoff is set for 1 PM.