No. 22 Slippery Rock football defeated Clarion on Saturday to retain the Milk Jug trophy, 42-23.
Slippery Rock’s defense, coming off a bye week, was slow out of the start. Clarion, who entered the contest ranked sixth in the nation in passing efficiency, moved the ball down the field with ease on their opening drive. On second down and 10, quarterback Jase Ferguson found Ray Jackson for the 13-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, returner Evan Harper fumbled while trying to hurdle a Clarion defender. After a scramble for the football, SRU’s Christian Werling came out of the pile with the ball.
In a similar fashion to SRU’s previous game against IUP, it would only take one play for running back JayJay Jordan to find the equalizer. From their own 33-yard line, Jordan took the handoff and found a hole up the middle, going untouched into the end zone for the 67-yard score.
“I feel like I start the game,” said Jordan. “When that happens, it’s kind of like ‘now we can take a deep breath.’ I’m always confident I can take the ball and go.”
The junior from Reading, Pa. has amassed 1,167 yards on the season, leading the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
The quick response would not deter the Clarion offense, as the Eagles responded with another nine play, 75-yard drive, capped off by an 11-yard strike from Ferguson to Dominik Thomas in the middle of the end zone.
After driving the football down to the Clarion six-yard line, it appeared as though the Eagles defense held The Rock to a field goal, with kicker Kevin Roberts heading out to attempt the chip shot on fourth down.
However, looking to catch the Eagles sleeping, holder Cory Butts took the direct snap and fought his way into the end zone, tying the game.
“They were overloaded inside and left the middle open,” said Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz. “We worked on this all week. I mean, all week.”
Following the score, both offenses would fail to find momentum, resulting in an exchange of punts.
Clarion would produce another solid drive, before a pair of incompletions forced by the Rock defense held the Eagles to a 44-yard field goal from Andrew Kurtas.
The White and Green would response with their longest drive of the day, with an 18-play, 80-yard series, ending with a one-yard rushing touchdown from offensive lineman Joe Cooper.
Following halftime, SRU’s offense stayed hot when quarterback DaOne Owens found Xander McClure for a 13-yard touchdown, extending the Rock lead to 28-17.
“I just think this is the best game [Owens] played all year. I don’t care about the stats,” said Lutz. “He’s looking like he’s almost where we need him to be.”
Clarion, desperate to find a response, put together a solid drive, moving the ball as far as the Rock 18-yard line. However, on second down and 14, Ferguson’s pass would be intercepted by Tyler Cain, putting a stop to the threat.
Despite the turnover, Slippery Rock would be unable to capitalize on the mistake. Following a 16-play, 75-yard drive, Robert’s 38-yard attempt missed wide left, keeping the game at an 11-point difference.
Faced with a fourth and long from SRU’s 29-yard line, Ferguson’s pass sailed just out of the reach of intended receiver Davon Jones. However, with a penalty marker in the backfield, Rock linebacker Jett Franz was called for roughing the passer, giving the Eagles a fresh set of downs.
Just two plays later, running back Khalon Simmons took a handoff from Ferguson across the goal line. The Eagles attempted a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three, but strong coverage from Teddy Gregory and Kanye Thompson forced the incompletion.
Clarion, looking to replicate SRU’s success with trick plays, attempted an onside kick before being recovered by Eryck Moore-Watkins at the 48-yard line.
“Why did we onside kick? Did it look to you like we could stop them? They were running the ball well, passing the ball well. We weren’t stopping them,” said Clarion head coach Raymond Monica.
Slippery Rock would take advantage of the short field opportunity, when Owens connected with Latrell Sutton for the 16-yard touchdown.
With just over a minute remaining, SRU safety Michael Henwood jumped in front of a pass from Ferguson, taking the ball 53 yards into the end zone.
“That was the first pick-six I’ve ever had,” said Henwood. “To do this on senior day feels surreal. Facing a team that throws the ball a lot is exactly what I want to be a part of.”
Owens finished the game 19-of-34 for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Slippery Rock converted 12-of-16 third downs, as opposed to Clarion’s 8-of-15.
McClure led The Rock with 85 yards on six receptions, with Sutton adding five receptions for 73 yards.
On the ground, Jordan ran for 176 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts, averaging 9.3 yards per carry.
In addition to Cain, Trever Valenti, Jett Franz and Spencer Barninger all recorded sacks in the victory.
“Now we’re gonna go on the road to Edinboro,” said Lutz. “It’s going to be a tough one, but we’ve gotta be ready to go.”
Slippery Rock will look to keep their playoff hopes alive next Saturday when they travel north to take on the Fighting Scots at noon.
