No. 11 Slippery Rock football stayed undefeated Saturday with a 70-10 victory over Millersville University, posting over 700 yards of total offense and scoring a touchdown on their first ten drives of the game.
The Rock opened the afternoon with a quick defensive stop, forcing a three‑and‑out before the offense immediately took control. On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback DaOne Owens found Hamilton Gates for a 19‑yard gain into Marauders territory. Moments later, on third down, Owens connected with Butler native Ethan Trettel for the senior’s first career touchdown, putting SRU ahead 7-0 early.
Millersville briefly flipped field position with a strong return from Kah’Dyn Gann‑Luckett, but SRU’s defense responded with another stop, forcing a 17‑yard punt. Owens and the offense worked toward midfield, and the junior quarterback broke free for a 50‑yard sprint to the end zone. The score was erased by an unsportsmanlike penalty, but running back JayJay Jordan finished the drive a few plays later, extending the lead to 13-0 after a blocked extra point attempt.
SRU appeared to grab even more momentum when corner Carmen Metcalfe intercepted a pass on the first play of the next drive, but a holding call on Owen Suah wiped it away. The defense answered again with another punt, and Owens hit Dylan Maddox for 15 yards on third‑and‑17 to set up a manageable fourth down. True to their aggressive identity, the coaching staff kept the offense on the field, and Jordan powered ahead to move the chains. Four plays later, he broke loose for an 18‑yard touchdown to make it 20-0.
Millersville’s attempt to build momentum lasted only one play. Metcalfe recovered a fumble forced by linebacker Teddy Gregory deep in Marauder territory, and Owens quickly capitalized. After a 20‑yard completion to Vincent Berardi, he found Gates for a 15‑yard touchdown, the first of Gates’ collegiate career, stretching the lead to 27-0.
Jordan nearly added another explosive score when he took the first snap of the next drive 80 yards to the end zone, but a holding penalty brought it back. Undeterred, The Rock marched downfield again, and Jordan punched in a 15‑yard touchdown, his third of the half. Bad appeared to become worse for Millersville when a fumble on the ensuing kickoff was returned into the end zone by SRU, but officials ruled the runner down before the ball came loose. Despite a challenge from head coach Shawn Lutz, the call stood.
The Rock defense continued to dominate against Millersville, forcing yet another short punt to set up the offense on the Marauders’ side of the field. Jordan capped the half with his fourth touchdown, stretching across the goal line from eight yards out to make it 41-0. Millersville finally found points before halftime, converting a drive into a 19‑yard field goal to trail 41-3 at the break.
Slippery Rock wasted no time keeping their pace in the second half. On the first possession, Owens hit Gates again, this time for a 71‑yard strike, to push the lead to 48-3. After another defensive stop, Luke McCoy broke free for a 32‑yard touchdown, and Jordan added his fifth score of the day on a 6‑yard rush to make it 63-3.
With the game well in hand, SRU turned to its second unit. Quarterback Brad Hoffman delivered on fourth‑and‑six from the Millersville 8-yard-line, finding freshman receiver QaLil Goode for his first career touchdown, joining Trettel and Gates in reaching the milestone.
Slippery Rock finally failed to find the end zone on a drive with 8:49 remaining, when Dominic Berarducci was stopped a yard short on fourth‑and‑two. Millersville followed with its lone touchdown of the afternoon when Eddie Corkery connected with Jayden Walters, who broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone.
SRU attempted to drain the remaining clock behind quarterback David Bahm and running back Marco Cirigliano, who accounted for all nine plays on the final drive before turning the ball over on downs with 22 seconds left. Millersville ran one final play, stuffed at the line by Luke Gerovac and Mell Mitchell, and the clock expired on a 70-10 Rock victory.
Slippery Rock finished with 703 yards of offense, compared to Millersville’s 231, and scored touchdowns on its first 10 drives before the backups entered. Owens went 20‑of‑25 for 307 yards and three touchdowns while adding 55 rushing yards on two attempts. Hoffman finished 4‑of‑6 for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan led the ground attack with 142 yards on 21 carries and five touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. McCoy added 55 yards and a score on six carries, while Cirigliano and Berarducci combined for 52 yards on 14 attempts. Gates led all receivers with 105 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. Trettel added four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown, and Berardi hauled in six passes for 55 yards.
Defensively, Juju Johnson and John Frangos each recorded their first career sacks. Johnson and Gregory led the team with five tackles apiece, followed by Jacob Snow and Aaron Scales Jr. with four. The Rock held Millersville to just 19 rushing yards, 1.0 yards per carry and zero rushing first downs.
Slippery Rock returns to the western side of the state on Sept. 26 to face rival California (Pa.), wrapping up a lengthy road trip before returning home Oct. 3 to host Gannon University.
