2008 Woodie Awards
Rock prepares for daunting task against PSAC powerhouse
By Adam Brewer
Rocket Sports Editor
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Sports Extra
The Slippery Rock University football team seeks to stay alive in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Divisional title race when it travels to Edinboro in a pivotal matchup tomorrow.
"It's championship week for us," coach George Mihalik said. "If we want to win the conference championship, we've got to beat Edinboro. There is a lot of excitement and energy around this game."
The PSAC West is currently a log jam right now. With three weeks left in the regular season, four teams still have a legitimate shot of becoming PSAC West champions.
The Rock (3-4 overall, 2-1 PSAC West) is currently in fourth place in the PSAC West as hosting Edinboro (5-2, 3-1) is currently in second place with California holding the first place position. Edinboro and California have identical records, but because of a 36-26 victory, the Vulcans hold first place.
IUP is in third place with the same record at SRU, but because of IUP's 38-17 victory over the Rock two weeks ago, the Rock trails in the division race. Earlier in the season, the Rock beat California by the score of 28-21 as last week Edinboro beat IUP by the score of 20-10. IUP and Cal will meet in the last week of the season, and that game could prove to be the deciding factor in the PSAC West.
The Rock is winless on the road this season with a mark of 0-3, while Edinboro are 4-0 at home.
The Rock's winless road record doesn't seem to bother Mihalik as he prepares his team to go into a hostile environment at Edinboro.
"It's just the nature of the game, you got to play extra hard on the road to be successful," Mihalik said.
Edinboro has the second-ranked rush defense in Division II and first ranked rush defense in the PSAC as it allows only 52.3 rushing yards per game this season. The Rock comes into the game averaging 212 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the PSAC.
"Edinboro has an excellent defense and on paper they have some great statistics behind them," Mihalik said. "We must try to play our game and be physical."
"It's championship week for us," coach George Mihalik said. "If we want to win the conference championship, we've got to beat Edinboro. There is a lot of excitement and energy around this game."
The PSAC West is currently a log jam right now. With three weeks left in the regular season, four teams still have a legitimate shot of becoming PSAC West champions.
The Rock (3-4 overall, 2-1 PSAC West) is currently in fourth place in the PSAC West as hosting Edinboro (5-2, 3-1) is currently in second place with California holding the first place position. Edinboro and California have identical records, but because of a 36-26 victory, the Vulcans hold first place.
IUP is in third place with the same record at SRU, but because of IUP's 38-17 victory over the Rock two weeks ago, the Rock trails in the division race. Earlier in the season, the Rock beat California by the score of 28-21 as last week Edinboro beat IUP by the score of 20-10. IUP and Cal will meet in the last week of the season, and that game could prove to be the deciding factor in the PSAC West.
The Rock is winless on the road this season with a mark of 0-3, while Edinboro are 4-0 at home.
The Rock's winless road record doesn't seem to bother Mihalik as he prepares his team to go into a hostile environment at Edinboro.
"It's just the nature of the game, you got to play extra hard on the road to be successful," Mihalik said.
Edinboro has the second-ranked rush defense in Division II and first ranked rush defense in the PSAC as it allows only 52.3 rushing yards per game this season. The Rock comes into the game averaging 212 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the PSAC.
"Edinboro has an excellent defense and on paper they have some great statistics behind them," Mihalik said. "We must try to play our game and be physical."
