No. 8 Slippery Rock football remained undefeated Saturday, defeating Gannon University 49-10 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium behind a dominant second half in which the Rock outscored the Golden Knights 35-0.
After forcing Gannon to punt on its opening possession, Slippery Rock’s nationally-ranked offense quickly went to work. On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback DaOne Owens connected with breakout wide receiver Hamilton Gates for a 45-yard gain.
A few plays later, Owens found John Sabo in the end zone for the opening touchdown, giving The Rock an early 7-0 lead.
The teams exchanged three-and-outs before Gannon found the end zone late in the first quarter. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Gannon running back Nasean Hill recovered a fumble in the end zone to tie the game at 7 with four seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Facing fourth-and-1 from its own territory, Slippery Rock kept the offense on the field, with Owens converting on a quarterback sneak. The decision paid off several plays later when Owens connected with Ethan Trettel for a touchdown, putting The Rock back in front, 14-7.
Gannon responded with a lengthy drive that consumed the final 8:15 of the first half. The Golden Knights converted a pair of fourth downs before kicker Gavin Carney connected on a short field goal, cutting the deficit to 14-10 heading into halftime.
The second half, however, belonged entirely to Slippery Rock.
Telly Palmer immediately gave The Rock’s offense favorable field position with a 63-yard kickoff return, taking the ball to the Gannon 31-yard line.
Six plays later, running back JayJay Jordan found the end zone for the first time of the night. Connor Macek’s extra point extended Slippery Rock’s lead to 21-10.
The Rock’s defense then delivered its first major blow of the half. On third down, Gannon quarterback Andre Underwood’s pass was intercepted by Evan Harper.
Slippery Rock capitalized on the turnover, with Owens once again finding Sabo, this time for a 16-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 28-10.
Harper struck again on Gannon’s next possession, intercepting Underwood in the end zone on third-and-goal to stop another potential scoring drive.
The Rock needed just two plays to turn the second interception into another touchdown. Jordan broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run, extending Slippery Rock’s advantage to 35-10.
“JayJay is so competitive,” football coach Lutz said. “They did a nice job in the first half, but the thing about it, if he’s not going, he can turn one into a home run. When he gets going, he’s hard to stop.”
Gannon turned the ball over again on its next possession when Teddy Gregory Jr. forced a fumble that was recovered by Nick Frisco.
“He has that knack of making those plays,” Lutz said. “Those are big change plays and something that our coaches have those guys work on. So, really proud of Teddy.”
Jordan continued his second-half dominance from there, finding the end zone for the third time in the half on a 13-yard rushing touchdown.
With the game firmly in control, Slippery Rock’s offense continued to roll after another Gannon punt. Owens found tight end Carson Heckathorn for another touchdown, giving The Rock a 49-10 advantage.
After forcing one final punt, Slippery Rock kneeled out the clock to secure the 49-10 victory.
Owens turned in another efficient performance, completing 23 of 27 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception or taking a sack. He also added 17 rushing yards.
“I’m proud of him,” Lutz said. “Four incompletions, four touchdowns. He’s been through some adversity. He weathered it. He wasn’t the starter opening the season. He didn’t panic. He stayed the course.”
While Owens controlled the passing game, Trettel delivered a career performance through the air. The senior recorded his first 100-yard receiving game, finishing with eight catches for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Lutz highlighted Trettel as one of the team’s unsung contributors following the win.
“The unsung hero, Ethan Trettle. Man, what a story,” Lutz said. “Butler guy from around here. Walked onto the team and he had eight catches for 118 yards.”
The Rock’s defensive performance was just as impressive as its offensive production. Slippery Rock forced four turnovers in the second half, including two interceptions from Harper and two forced fumbles.
The victory also continued Slippery Rock’s recent dominance against Gannon. The Rock improved to 14-7 all-time against the Golden Knights and 11-1 in the last 12 meetings.
Slippery Rock also continued its success under the lights, improving to 40-1 in its last 41 night games that kicked off at 4 p.m. or later. Since lights were installed at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in 2003, The Rock is now 50-10 in home night games.
Slippery Rock will return to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium to take on Seton Hill University on Oct. 10.
“We’re just going to worry about us and continue to get better,” Lutz said. “We’re just going to work on getting better this week in practice and we’ll see what happens on Saturday night.”
