Rock soars past Clarion

Slippery Rock University's offense was lead by a strong passing attack in a 27-13 victory over Clarion University of Pennsylvania.    

Senior quarterback Cody Endres was 27 for 35 while throwing for a season-high 305 yards and three touchdowns.

"I felt good tonight," Endres said. "As the game progressed, I felt good rhythm-wise and we had a good two-minute drive at the end of the first half."

    Head coach George Mihalik continues to see improvement in Endres' game.

"He had great poise tonight," Mihalik said. "He made some great reads and some of the completions were his second and third reads. He has confidence in any of our receivers."

Senior receiver Devin Goda again was Endres' favorite target as Goda recorded his third straight game of over 100 yards.

"I'm continuing to build confidence," Goda said. "There is still more room for improvement."

Junior tight end Josh Gardner caught the other two touchdowns from Endres.

The Rock offense continues to perform at a high level as they registered 453 yards of total offense and held the ball for 40:53, as opposed to 19:53 by Clarion.

"Forty minutes is a great time of possession," Mihalik said. "With that said, holding the ball for 40 minutes, we should have scored more points."

The Rock offensive line for the second straight week gave up no sacks while paving the way up front for 148 rushing yards.

"The offensive line did great," Mihalik said. "They created enough holes on the ground and did a great job in pass protection. We thought ‘why not take what's there,' so that's why we passed a lot tonight."

The running game was lead by sophomore Jimmy Zubik who gained 84 yards on 13 carries. Akeem Satterfield also chipped in 64 yards on 17 carries and was limited due to a leg injury.

"Akeem was a kickoff decision," Mihalik said. "He aggravated a leg injury and we didn't know if he could go, that's why we rotated throughout the game."

The Rock defense came into the game ranked No. 2 in Division-II in total defense and held the Golden Eagles to a mere 199 yards, 62 rushing and 137 passing.

"The defense played fantastic on all three levels," Mihalik said. "When you look at the score you think the defense gave up points when they didn't.

Clarion scored on a blocked punt and an interception return. I'm confident our defense can go out there and make a stop and get the ball back to the offense."

The Green and White defense was led by junior defensive end Jeff Thompson who registered 11 tackles and also had one kickoff return for 32 yards.

"I try to be a ball hawk," Thompson said. "I'm a playmaker and I try to get the team motivated with talking and my play."

Special teams was also a factor as junior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman booted two field goals from 28 yards and 30 yards to contribute to the Rock scoring.

Slippery Rock (4-1, 2-0) goes on the road to face No. 25-ranked Edinboro University (4-1, 1-1) Saturday at 2 p.m.