West Chester Holds Slippery Rock For 21-20 Win
By BILL ALBRIGHT
November 11, 2006

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA- One point isn't much, but Saturday afternoon at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium, it was worth a thousand to West Chester as the Rams walked off the field with a hard-fought 21-20 victory over Slippery Rock University in a crucial PSAC tilt.

"That one point seems like a whole lot right now," said West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan. "That was a heckuva football game between two outstanding football teams who battled it out until the last few seconds. Both teams gave it everything they had and fortunately for us, we had a little more in the end."

The Rams got on the board first and they used a bad snap from center in punt formation and a questionable pass interference call to get the job done.

Taking over on the SRU 23 following a 33-yard loss for the bad snap, the Rams were faced with a fourth-and-goal from the Rock 18 following two running plays and an incomplete pass.

Quarterback Bill Zwaan lofted a pass toward the end zone, the receiver and defender got their feet tangled up, and SRU was flagged for interference for a first-and-goal on the 3-yard stripe.

On the first play following the interference call, Brent Steinmetz carried the mail into the end zone, and Alex Walsh's PAT made it 7-0 Rams with 48 seconds left in the opening period.

Trailing 7-0, The Rock defense stiffened in the second period to force a pair of punts and a "hold" at the Rock 19. While all of that was taking place, Slippery Rock took a 10-7 lead on a Ryan Daniel 25-yard field goal and a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nate Crookshank to Terry Grossetti.

But hold the phone because the Rams had a couple more calls to make before halftime.

Taking over on their own 9-yard line, Zwaan picked the Rock's prevent defense apart, moving the Rams downfield until he hit Mike Washington with a 15-yard scoring pass. Walsh's PAT made it 14-10 Rams.

"I screwed it up because I thought it was fourth down instead of third," explained Zwaan. "I thought we needed to get some points on the board and my son (quarterback Bill Zwaan) talked me into it and Mike made a great, great catch. It was just an unbelievable catch."

Eight seconds isn't a lot of time, but it was enough for the Rams to score again before the break.

Alex Walsh scooted the kickoff down the field, the ball went through Anthony Walls' hands, and when Walls tried to return the ball out of the end zone, Mike Dell forced a fumble and Brett Paterson fell on the bobble just inside the end zone for the quick score with no time on the clock. Walsh made it 21-10 West Chester as the jubilant Rams and stunned Rock left the field for the halftime breather.

"That break just before the end of the first half was huge for us," said Zwaan. "Everything you could manage was going through my mind. I screw it up because I thought it was fourth down instead of third. We played that squib kick and I called that play," Zwaan said chuckling.

Paterson admitted that he was just fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time.

"I was just coming down on him as hard as I could," said Paterson. "I didn't think he was going to take it out, and when the ball popped loose, I just jumped on it as quickly as I could."

Down, but not out, SRU did all of the scoring in the second half.

The Rock cut the Ram lead to 21-17 when they marched 97 yards on just six plays, the big play in the march a 47-yard jaunt by A. J. Saunders to the West Chester 5-yard line.

With less than four minutes remaining, the Rock cut the Ram lead to just a single point on a 42-yard field goal, but the Rams still had a few bullets to dodge down the stretch.

"I don't feel like the best out there today won the game," said veteran SRU coach Dr. George Mihalik. "We made too many mistakes against a good team and you can't do that. If there was a turning point in the game, it was right before the half. The pass interference call gave them a touchdown and then the mistake on the kickoff following that score really hurt."

In the final four minutes, two interceptions in three plays left the Ram defense with its back to the wall, but the unit withstood the challenge to preserve the win.

"Our kids hung in there defensively and that is probably as good as we played defensively all year," said Zwaan. "I have to give them all the credit in the world. But make no mistake about it, they (SRU) are an outstanding football team and that defense we faced today is the best we have seen all year, including Delaware's"

With the win, the Rams move to 8-3 as they head for the NCAA playoffs, while The Rock finished its campaign at 7-4.

West Chester        7    14    0    0    --    21
Slippery Rock        0    10    7    3    --    20

WC -- Brent Steinmetz 3 run (Alex Walsh kick)
SR -- Ryan Daniel 25 FG.
SR -- Terry Grossetti 9 pass from Nate Crookshank. (Daniel kick)
WC -- Mike Washington 9 pass from Bill Zwaan. (Walsh kick)
WC -- Brett Paterson fumble recovery in end zone. (Walsh kick)
SR -- Luke Wetzel 8 pass from Crookshank. (Daniel kick)
SR -- Daniel 42 FG.

Team Statistics                WC            SR
First Downs                        16            15
Rushes-Yards                42-125        32-168
Passing Yards                213            131
Passing                          15-26-4      15-30-1
Fumbles-Lost                  0-0               2-2
Penalties-Yards               8-89            4-40
Punts-Average                4-39           5-40

Slippery Rock Celebrates Homecoming 2006 With 35-0 Shutout over Lock Haven
By BILL ALBRIGHT
October 21. 2006

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA - After watching his squad play solid football in narrow losses to IUP and Shippensburg the last two weeks, LHU coach John Klacik was hoping for possibly even bigger and better things from his team as the Bald Eagles invaded N. Kerr Thompson Saturday for a PSAC-West meeting with Slippery Rock.

However, as it turned out, it was a long afternoon for Klacik, his players and assistant coaches as The Rock tossed a 35-0 shutout at the Bald Eagles.

"What it boiled down to was that they (Slippery Rock) came out and were more physical than we were on both sides of the ball," said LHU coach John Klacik. "Once they were in control of the line of scrimmage, we weren't able to do much of anything. We have had problems on offense with a multitude of injuries up front and several other things, but our defense had been playing much better than it did today. I thought their defensive line was pretty good coming into the game, and they proved that today."

SRU set the tone of the game early and they did it both offensively and defensively.

With the game scoreless early in the first period, it appeared as though LHU had stopped The Rock short of the sticks with SRU facing a fourth-and-17 at the LHU 38.

Electing to try and pick up the first down, SRU fullback Travis Sarver not only moved the chains, he went the distance for a 38-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

"We were going into the wind and he (Sarver) had just run for 20 yards earlier on the same play," explained SRU coach Dr. George Mihalik. "Our coach on the sidelines felt that we had a chance of gaining 15 of 16 yards, and if we punted and it goes into the end zone, we only gain 15 or 16 yards so why not go for it."

Following the Sarver TD, the Bald Eagles had more misfortunes appear on the scene as quarterback Ilio DiPaolo had his pocket picked by Corey Lacek at the LHU 32.

Seven plays later, tailback A. J. Saunders went in from four yards out for the score, and with Ryan Daniels' second of five PATs in the game, The Rock lead had quickly grown to 14-0.

"When you have your opponent fourth-and-17 and they convert and on your next possession, you throw an interception that results in your being down 14-0, that makes things tough," said Klacik. "

As though the Bald Eagles hadn't had enough problems in the first dozen minutes of the game, another key event took place in the final three minutes of the opening half when it appeared that they got a big break.

Faced with a fourth-and-long, the Bald Eagles punted, and when a SRU defender backed into the ball, Todd Smoker pounced on the ball at the SRU 21.

However, having been given a golden opportunity, the Bald Eagles were unable to capitalize on the SRU miscue as they were held short of the sticks on a fourth-and-one at the Rock 12, and the long day was off-and-running.

"After we made the first couple of big mistakes, what really hurt us is when we didn't get it (the ball) in (the end zone) when we had it down there," Klacik said. "If we could have scored and made it 14-7, maybe things would have calmed down a little bit. But when you look at it, I don't think we did a good job handling any adversity we faced today."

Following the game, Mihalik admitted that he was surprised with the ease his team was able to handle the Bald Eagles on both sides of the ball.

"I said to our players at halftime, hey, look at their last two games," Mihalik said. "Look how they played IUP tough and what they did to Shippensburg. That just shows you the impact of the psychological preparation and the mindset going into a game. They (Lock Haven) are a good team, but this is what we can do if we eliminate mistakes and don't have turnovers. We had too many penalties (7-for-62), but I think the psychological approach and the state of mind were very evident for us out there today."

Taking the 14-0 lead into the second period, The Rock doubled their advantage with a pair of touchdown passes by quarterback Nate Crookshank before they scored the final points of the afternoon in the final quarter when A. J. Saunders skirted his own left end from 16 yards out to set the final.

Not only did SRU dominate the numbers on the scoreboard, they also had definite advantages in the final stats as they held huge advantages in first downs (22-3), yards rushing (238-minus 11), total offense (420-45) and time of possession (36:09 to 23:51).

With the result, LHU falls to 1-7 overall, 0-4 in the PSAC-West, while the win lifts Slippery Rock to 5-3 overall, 2-2 in the conference.

Slippery Rock Humbles Mansfield, 46-0
By BILL ALBRIGHT
September 16, 2006

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA- For the first 10 minutes of both the first and second half, the Mansfield Mountaineers held their own with Slippery Rock.

However, for the remaining 40 minutes, the wheels came off the Mountaineer wagon as they fell 46-0 to The Rock at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium Saturday night in a PSAC crossover contest.

"We just couldn't capitalize on some of the opportunities we had and you can't not do that, " said MU coach Jim Shiffer. "You have to take advantage of opportunities when they are there because once they get by you, you never get them back. That is something we have talked with our players about in all phases of the game. We made some mistakes, but I thought our effort level was good and the kids played hard."

The Mountainners wasted a golden opportunity in the first five minutes of the game when they recovered a SRU fumble at the Slippery Rock 16.

However, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on the turnover when Garrett Kensy's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Anthony Walls.

After an exchange of possessions, The Rock was set up in good shape when Paul Favers returned a punt 17 yards to the Mansfield 38.

Three plays later, Travis Sarver went in from three yards out for the score. The PAT was no good, but SRU had a 6-0 lead and they never looked back.

With the Mountie offense unable to move the ball coupled with an interception by The Rock's Anthony Walls, The Rock took advantage of the situation as they put four more scores on the board before the intermission to hold a comfortable 25-0 lead.

Scoring touchdowns for The Rock were Luke Wetzel on a 27-yard pass from Nate Crookshank, A. J. Saunders on a 1-yard run, Ryan Daniel with a 41-yard field goal and a team safety.

"That really hurt us, but I guess it is a part of the growing process," Shiffer said. "It was a sudden change, but it is something you can't really work on in the same way it happens in the live situation. It doesn't help the defeat and it doesn't do much for the guys who have been in the program for a number of years, but hopefully it will help our young guys grow and mature."

Facing the 25-point deficit, the Mounties began the second half just as they did the opening half. They drove inside the SRU 10-yard line, only to come away from the well with an empty bucket.

Just as is the case many times, The Rock struck on the second play following the defensive stand as Crookshank hit Paul Favers in stride for a 95-yard scoring strike before they tacked on a couple more scores to set the final.

With the 35-0 loss to Shippensburg to open the season, the Mountaineers needed to get into the end zone in some way regardless of how it happend. However, with the 46-0 shutout, it just didn't happen.

"We had a couple of good opportunities and execution is always a part of making those things happen, but in those instances, we just didn't do that," said Shiffer. "But the fact remains that we have to find a way to get into the end zone and put some points on the board to get our enthusiasm on the offensive side up there."

Now 0-2, the Mountaineers return to Karl Van Norman Field Saturday when they roll out the red carpet to the Lock Haven Bald Eagles in Homecoming 2006.

NOTES: The meeting between Mansfield and Slippery Rock was the first between the two schools since 1991. In that meeting, the Mountaineers defeated SRU by a 33-23 final at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.....The first meeting between the two schools was 80 years ago. In that game, SRU almost duplicated Saturday night's score with a 45-0 shutout of the Mounties.....Tucker Berry led the Mansfield offense with 85 net yardson 19 carries. Quarterback Tyler Blakeslee, who came off the bench in relief of starter Garrett Kensy, completed 6-of 15 passes for 101 yards. He was picked off twice. Kensy failed to complete a pass, going 0-for-7 with a pair of interceptions.

The Rock Opens the Season Against Youngstown State

August 31, 2006

YOUNGSTOWN, OH - The Rock opens the 2006 campaign with the annual trek to perennial NCAA Division I-AA power Youngstown State.

ROCK-PENGUINS SERIES: The Rock has never beaten YSU in 10 tries, all on the Penguins home turf The backyard rivalry began in 1991. The teams did not meet in 1992 or 1993, then butted heads for four successive seasons before skipping a season (1998), playing each of the next two seasons, skipping two more seasons (2001 and 2002) and then meeting each of the last three seasons. This will mark the sixth time in the series that SRU and YSU will meet in The Rock’s season-opening game.

Scores of Rock vs Penguins games to date are as follows:
2005: Youngstown State 44, The Rock 14
2004: Youngstown State 35, The Rock 13
2003: *Youngstown State 45, The Rock 12
2000: *Youngstown State 24, The Rock 10
1999: *Youngstown State 44, The Rock 14
1997: *Youngstown State 33, The Rock 9
1996: *Youngstown State 22, The Rock 0
1995: Youngstown State 28, The Rock 12
1994: Youngstown State 52, The Rock 17
1991: Youngstown State 40, The Rock 21
* = season-opening game

LAST YEAR’S MEETING: The Penguins scored the first 27 points en route to a 44-14 victory on Sept 1, 2005. Nate Crookshank (Nanty-Glo/Bishop Carroll HS) was 13-of-22 passing for 134 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown, a seven-yarder to Colin Golden (Factoryville/Lackawanna Trail HS), who had a team-best five receptions for 57 yards.

LAST YEAR: The Rock won five of its final seven games to finish with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division competition that earned SRU a tie for third place in the division. Youngstown State won seven of its first eight games (only loss was at Pittsburgh) en route to an 8-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Gateway Football Conference competition that earned the Penguins a share of the conference championship. YSU was denied in its bid for an NCAA playoff berth.

THE COACHES: Rock head coach Dr. George Mihalik owns a 120-73-4 career record in 18 seasons and has been involved in all 10 Rock vs YSU games since 1991. He needs six wins to tie the late N Kerr Thompson for the most wins by a Rock football coach.

Penguins head coach Jon Heacock has compiled a 32-24 record in five
seasons and is 3-0 against The Rock.

MIHALIK IN SEASON OPENERS: Rock head coach Dr George Mihalik has a misleading 7-11 mark in season-opening games. Seven of those losses, it must be pointed out, came against NCAA Division I-AA foes (Youngstown State, South Florida and Eastern Kentucky). Coach Mihalik is 4-2 in season-opening games played at home on Bob DiSpirito Field at N Kerr Thompson Stadium.

CHALLENGING BIG BROTHER: The season opener at YSU marks the 14th time a Dr. George Mihalik-coached Rock team has challenged an NCAA Division I-AA opponent. The Rock is 1-12 against its big brothers, the only win coming in the 2001 season-opening game at Florida Atlantic (40-7). All the games vs I-AA foes have been road games for the Rock.

Supplied by Bob McComas - Director, Sports Promotion & Information.