SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Playing in front of a charged-up atmosphere, 12th-ranked Slippery Rock got off to a fast start on its home field and never looked back in a 42-21 victory against IUP on Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Boasting the top offense in the league and one of the best in the nation, Slippery Rock (5-0, 2-0) scored early and often, building a 28-0 in the first half. IUP (3-2, 1-1) posted 15 points in the fourth quarter, showing some life as the game wound down.
SRU racked up 485 yards of offense against the league's top defense, posting nearly eight yards per play. The Rock capped off four touchdown drives in the opening half on the ground before
Dayjure Stewart put IUP on the board with 3:07 left in the opening half.
The dynamic receiving duo of Kyle Sheets and Cohen Russell combined for 217 receiving yards. Brayden Long went 18-23 and 277 yards, posting a stellar QB rating of 179.4. Defensively,
Darius Bruce posted eight tackles (five solo) for the Crimson Hawks, matching the output of LB
Drew DiNunzio-Biss. Jordan Dangerfield racked up 12 stops for SRU, which continued its impressive run during home night games.
SRU added a back-breaking 45-yard run from Khalid Dorsey in the third quarter. IUP responded in the fourth quarter with a pair of rushing touchdowns by
Karst Hunter, which trimmed the IUP deficit to 35-21.
Quinn Zinobile paced IUP in the receiving game with four catches for 64 yards.
Playing catchup throughout the second half,
JD Younger ripped off 39 yards on four carries. Finishing with 217 rushing yards, Stewart rumbled for 89 yards and Hunter added 88 more yards on the ground. Dorsey closed out the scoring for The Rock with an eight-yard score with just over six minutes left in the contest.
Notes
In an evenly-played series of late, IUP and Slippery Rock have split the last eight meetings entering tonight… IUP is now 24-4 on the road under head coach
Paul Tortorella since 2017… Slippery Rock enters the game averaging nearly 39 points/game… Hunter has recorded 168 rushing yards over the last two games for IUP… The 42 points allowed is the most for IUP in the regular season since last October at Gannon (43)…
Cyair Clark raced for a 39-yard kickoff return for IUP to begin the second half.
Up Next
IUP looks to turn the page on Saturday, October 7 for Homecoming and the 14th Annual Coal Bowl against California (Pa.). Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
Follow
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