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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football team will open the NCAA Division II playoffs with a first round game Saturday at No. 15 West Chester. Kickoff is slated for 12:06 p.m.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information about tickets, tailgating, live streaming coverage and live television coverage, as well as detailed information about the game, including complete game notes.

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LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Video Stream
• Live Stats  |  Provided by West Chester sports information.
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler).
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.

TELEVISION COVERAGE
• The game will be aired live on the PCNC cable channel in the Pittsburgh Region
• Armstrong Cable in Pittsburgh Region: Channel 41  |  Comcast Cable in Pittsburgh Region: Channel 35
• Game coverage is scheduled to begin at Noon with a 12:06 p.m. kickoff.
• Game will also be aired by WPHL in the Philadelpia Region; WETM in Northern PA; Blue Ridge Cable Network in Lancaster, the Poconos and Northern PA; WPMT in Central PA; and Tribune Broadcasting.

TICKETS (To purchase tickets in advance, call West Chester ticketing at 610-436-2266)
• Reserved Seats - Purple - $11 (In West Chester section)
• Reserved Seats - $10 (In West Chester section)
• Adult General Admission - $8 (Advised for SRU fans wishing to sit on visiting side)
• Students - $3 (Must have valid ID)
• Tickets can be purchased on game day.
• For ticket reservations or questions, call 610.436.2266. Will call reservations are available.

TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed two hours before kickoff
• No alcoholic beverages are allowed in West Chester campus lots.
• Adhere to all West Chester tailgating rules found HERE.

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THE GAME
Saturday's game features the No. 4 seed in Super Region One, West Chester, hosting the No. 5 seed, Slippery Rock. The winner of the game will advance to the second round and travel to No. 1 Concord next Saturday, Nov. 29. This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2011 and only the 14th meeting all-time. West Chester, ranked No. 15 in the AFAC Division II poll this week, finished second in the PSAC Eastern Division this year and owns a 10-1 overall record with its lone loss coming to Bloomsburg, 41-10. Slippery Rock, unranked but receiving votes in the AFCA poll this week, won the PSAC Western Division and then defeated then fifth ranked Bloomsburg in the PSAC Championship game last week to claim to overall league title. The Rock brings a 9-2 overall record into Saturday.



ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock and West Chester have met just 14 times in a series that began in 1929. The teams are even at 7-7 against each other and have not met since the third week of the 2011 season, a 20-13 victory for West Chester. The teams have played only five times since 1996 and only twice since 2010. SRU won the 2010 meeting 33-27 at home.
 
First Meeting: 1929 (SRU won 13-6)
Last Meeting: 2011 (WCU won 20-13)
Current Streak: West Chester +1
at West Chester: WCU leads 5-3
at Slippery Rock: SRU leads 4-2
Most Points Scored (WCU): 36 (1963)
Biggest Win Margin (WCU): 36-6 (1963)
Most Points Scored (SRU): 33 (2010)
Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 28-14 (1973)
Last SRU Win: 2010 at SRU (33-27)
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach George Mihalik is in his 27th season at the helm of The Rock program, where he has racked up 185 victories. That win total ranks fourth in PSAC history and fourth among all active Division II head coaches in the nation. Mihalik is 185-108-4 (.630) in his career and has led SRU to the NCAA playoffs five times.
 
West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan is in his 12th year as the head coach of the Golden Rams and his 18th year as a collegiate head coach. He went 54-14 in six seasons at Division III Widener before moving to West Chester in 2003. He is 100-46 at West Chester (.685) and ranks ninth all-time in PSAC wins and fifth among active DII head coaches.
 
MIHALIK UP TO FOURTH
Slippery Rock head coach George Mihalik moved into fourth on the PSAC all-time wins list three weeks ago when he passed former Indiana (Pa.) coach Frank Cignetti's 182 wins. Mihalik now has 185 career wins.
 
APPROACHING GAME NO. 300
Mihalik will coach his 298th game as the head coach at Slippery Rock on Saturday at West Chester. The Rock would need to reach the regional final for Mihalik to get to career game No. 300 this season.
 
FOND MEMORIES OF WEST CHESTER
The last collegiate game George Mihalik played in during his undergraduate career at Slippery Rock was the 1973 PSAC Championship game at West Chester. Mihalik was the starting quarterback and led The Rock to a 28-14 win to claim a second straight league title over the Golden Rams.
 
THE ROCK IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
Slippery Rock is making its second consecutive and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, all under current head coach George Mihalik. The Rock owns a 3-4 record in NCAA games with the most recent game being a 27-20 loss at Winston-Salem State in the first round of the playoffs last year. All three of SRU's NCAA wins have come at home. The Rock is 3-1 at home and 0-3 on the road in the NCAA playoffs.
 

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2013	1	at Winston-Salem State	L, 20-27
1999	1	vs. Indiana (Pa.)	L-OT, 20-27
1998	2	vs. Grand Valley State	W, 37-14
1998	3	vs. Shepherd	W, 31-20
1998	4	at Carson-Newman	L, 21-47
1997	1	vs. Ashland	W, 30-20
1997	2	at New Haven	L, 21-49

 
ROCK WINS PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP  |  Recap  |  Highlight Video
Slippery Rock did what no other team on Bloomsburg schedule could this season, defeated the fifth ranked Huskies 28-26 to claim the PSAC title last weekend at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. The Rock put up 508 yards of total offense and 233 rushing yards against the fifth ranked defense in Division II, both the highest allowed this season by BU.
 
Jared Buck was named the MVP of the game after throwing for 256 yards and two touchdowns and running for 59 yards and one touchdown. Shamar Greene ran for 116 yards, more than any back against BU this season. Melvin German caught five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown and Jaimire Dutrieuille caught seven passes for 75 yards.
 
Austin Miele and Isaiah Coleman each recorded 12 tackles and Miele added 3.0 tackles for loss. Derrick Fulmore picked up his team-leading sixth interception of the year and The Rock defense finished with seven pass breakups. Bloomsburg was held to its second lowest rushing total of the season at 144 yards and finished with 437 yards of offense.
 
ROCK CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Slippery Rock has won at least a share of the PSAC-West title 14 times, including seven times under head coach George Mihalik. The Rock has claimed the outright PSAC Championship 10 times after last week's win.


 
#10 RUSHER IN THE NATION
Slippery Rock's Shamar Greene ranks 10th among all running backs in Division II and first in the PSAC with 1,459 rushing yards through 11 weeks. He ranks 11th in the nation in average rushing yards per game at 132.6. Greene is the first SRU running back since Akeem Satterfield in 2010 to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He has doubled his previous career-high of 727 yards set last season. Greene is 142 yards shy of the SRU single-season rushing record of 1,601 yards.
 
BUCK PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Slippery Rock quarterback Jared Buck was named the PSAC-West Offensive Player of the Week this week after his performance in the PSAC title game. It was the fourth straight week an SRU player was honored after Marcus Martin won the defensive award the last two weeks and Joe Phillips won it three weeks ago. It was the eighth weekly award of the season earned by a Rock player. Shamar Greene has earned the Offensive Player of the Week honor three times and Austin Miele has one Defensive Player of the Week honor to his name.
 
RUN DEFENSE EXCELS
The Slippery Rock rush defense has been outstanding this season. The Rock ranks seventh among all Division II programs in that area, allowing just 87.2 yards per game. SRU has held opponents under 75 rushing yards in six of 11 games. The Rock defense has allowed just 263 rushing yards in the last four games combined (65.8 yards per game) in wins over Indiana (Pa.), Edinboro, Clarion and #5 Bloomsburg.
 
POTENT OFFENSE
Slippery Rock, led by the offensive line of Cory Tucker, Kirk Nypaver, Joe LoSchiavo, Kyle Henderson, Bill Whitaker and Nate Ehrlich, all returning starters from last fall except Ehrlich, has recorded total offensive outputs of more than 475 yards in 16 of the 23 games dating back to the first game of 2013. The Rock has gone for more than 500 yards in 14 of those 23 games and more than 600 yards seven times. SRU is averaging 488.3 yards per game and 37.7 points per game in 11 games this fall.
 
BUCK UNDER CENTER
Slippery Rock started Jared Buck at quarterback each of the last five weeks after Buck had not started since the last game of the 2012 season against Bloomsburg. Buck sat behind PSAC-West Offensive Player of the Year Nigel Barksdale last year and suffered an injury during preseason camp this fall that took him out of contention for the starting role.
 
Buck is completing 64% of his passes at 81-of-127 for 1,103 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 175 yards and was named the MVP of the PSAC Championship game.
 
MARTIN SETS SACK RECORD
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Marcus Martin is having a monster season in his first year of collegiate competition. After his 10.0 sacks the last four weeks, Martin now leads the PSAC in sacks and tackles for loss with 16.0 sacks for a loss of 118 yards and 22.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 136 yards. He ranks third among all players in the nation in total sacks and sacks per game and ranks first in lost yardage from sacks. He has 6.5 more sacks than any other player in the PSAC and 3.0 tackles for loss more than any other PSAC player. Martin set a new single-season sack record at SRU, breaking the previous record of 12.0 held by SRU Hall of Famer Matt Kinsinger from 1997 and Tyler Boudreau in 2007.
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Marcus Martin's impressive season was recognized by the coaches in the PSAC Western Division as he was named the Freshman of the Year and selected to first team All-PSAC honors. Martin is also a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award for the best small college defensive player in the country.
 
WANNY'S BREAKOUT YEAR
Placekicker Mike Wainauskis is enjoying the best season of his career at Slippery Rock, ranking third in the PSAC in field goal accuracy at 83.3 percent. He has connected on 10-of-12 kicks, including a career-long 41-yarder and a memorable field goal at Michigan Stadium. His 10 made field goals rank fifth on the single-season ledger at SRU. His 51 extra points made this year rank second in school history, one behind his record of 52 set last season. His 103 made extra points rank fourth on the career list at SRU. He can move into third with two more made kicks this week.
 


CARTER'S CORNER
Admire Carter has been The Rock's best cornerback this season and has the numbers to prove it. The senior has 16 pass breakups and three interceptions, including a crucial red zone pick late in the game in a 3-point win over Gannon and two picks against Edinboro. He ranks fourth among all players in Division II in passes defended (breakups + interceptions) with 1.9 per game. His 16 breakups this season rank second on the single-season ledger at SRU and his 35 career breakups also rank second on the all-time list at SRU.
 
SCALES ELECTRIC IN RETURN GAME
Kick returner and wide receiver Drew Scales is averaging 27.2 yards per kickoff return and ranks 14th in the nation in combined return yards with 625 yards on kickoff returns and 173 yards on punt returns for 798 combined yards. He also has a 91-yard kickoff return for a TD this year and has three career return TDs. Scales also ranks second on the team with 42 catches for 446 yards and two touchdowns.
 
BIG PLAYS
Slippery Rock has nine different receivers that have caught a pass that went for 25 or more yards and five different players that have a 50+ yard reception. The Rock has scored 16 touchdowns on plays that went for 30 or more yards. Shamar Greene has three touchdown runs of more than 50 yards, Melvin German has five touchdown grabs of more than 25 yards and five catches of more than 38 yards, including a season-long 74-yard TD last week against Bloomsburg. Greene, Leroy McClain, Jaimire Dutrieuille and Drew Scales also have 50+ yard catches.
 
HUSKA'S QUIET YEAR
Rock punter Andrew Huska is quietly having a good sophomore season after joining SRU as a transfer from Concord. He has punted 58 times for 2,186yards, an average of 37.7 yards per kick, with eight touchbacks, 18 fair catches, 18 punts inside the 20-yard line and five kicks of 50 or more yards. The Rock has also not had a punt blocked this season.
 
MIELE ADJUSTING
With all seven starting defensive lineman and linebackers from 2013 not returning for The Rock this fall, All-PSAC safety Austin Miele was asked to move up to the outside linebacker spot. He adjusted well and is leading The Rock in tackles with 86, including 11.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also has three interceptions, 11 pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery. Miele was named to first team All-PSAC honors Wednesday.
 
TRY TO KEEP UP
Slippery Rock runs a quick strike, no-huddle offense that often times has fans, announcers and defenses struggling to keep up. The Rock has run more than 90 plays in six games this year and is averaging 84 offensive plays per game. SRU has only had seven drives all year that lasted more than four minutes. A total of 39 drives have lasted 60 seconds or less. Slippery Rock ran a season-high 101 plays at Clarion and is averaging 5.8 yards per play on 925 total offensive plays this season.
 
TOUCHDOWN TEDDY
Teddy Blakeman has rushed for at least one TD in 14 of 21 games he has played in at SRU. All together, Blakeman has accounted for 24 total touchdowns in his 21 games as a member of The Rock.
 
SUPER REGION ONE PLAYOFF PICTURE
Undefeated Concord took the No. 1 spot in the regional rankings, followed by No. 2 Bloomsburg, both of which have byes this week. Virginia State surprisingly jumped all the way to No. 3 and will host No. 6 LIU Post, also a surprise entry in the field after no ranking in the top 10 the week before. West Chester surprisingly dropped to the No. 4 seed and Slippery Rock earned the No. 5 seed.
 

1. Concord (11-0)	Bye Week
2. Bloomsburg (10-1)	Bye Week
3. Virginia State (9-2)	vs. LIU Post (Sat. at Noon)
4. West Chester (10-1)	vs. Slippery Rock (Sat. at Noon)
5. Slippery Rock (9-2)	at West Chester (Sat. at Noon)
6. LIU Post (8-3)	at Virginia State (Sat. at Noon)

2014 ROCK ALL-PSAC SELECTIONS  |  Complete Release
Slippery Rock landed 10 total players, five on the first team and five on the second team, on the All-PSAC West team announced this week.
 

Team	Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
1st Team	Cory Tucker	RT	6-4	285	R-Jr.	South Park, Pa.
1st Team	Austin Miele	OLB	6-0	200	Sr.	Valencia, Pa.
1st Team	Shamar Greene	RB	5-9	185	R-So.	Duquesne, Pa.
1st Team	Marcus Martin	DE	6-3	235	R-Fr.	West Mifflin, Pa.
1st Team	Admire Carter	CB	5-9	170	R-Sr.	Beaver Falls, Pa.
2nd Team	Kirk Nypaver	RG	6-2	285	R-Sr.	Scenery Hill, Pa.
2nd Team	Joe LoSchiavo	C	6-3	290	R-So.	Lakewood, Ohio
2nd Team	Mike Wainauskis	PK	6-0	180	R-Jr.	Jefferson Hills, Pa.
2nd Team	Joe Phillips	DT	6-3	250	So.	Washington, Pa.
2nd Team	Derrick Fulmore	FS	5-11	185	So.	West Mifflin, Pa.

WEST MIFFLIN GRADS PRODUCING
Slippery Rock features three players that were high school teammates at West Mifflin near Pittsburgh and all three are having breakout years as major contributors this season. Running back Shamar Greene, defensive end Marcus Martin and free safety Derrick Fulmore were all named to All-PSAC honors this week. All three are in their first or second year of collegiate action. Martin is a freshman and Greene and Fulmore are in their sophomore years.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock appeared in both the AFCA and D2football.com national rankings early in the year, reaching as high as No. 19 in the AFCA poll before dropping out. The Rock received votes in the final AFCA regular season poll this week after beating No. 5 Bloomsburg and moved back into the D2football.com poll at No. 25 this week. West Chester has been ranked in both polls all year and is No. 15 in this week's AFCA poll and No. 9 in the D2football.com poll (complete polls on page 6 of notes).
 
SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS
Slippery Rock's four-year seniors are among the most successful classes to come through The Rock program, having claimed three PSAC-West titles, reached the PSAC Championship game three times in four years, won one title and reached the NCAA playoffs twice.

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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
West Chester is led by quarterback Sean McCartney, who was named Wednesday of this week as the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year to go along with his first team All-PSAC recognition. McCartney is a super senior with loads of experience and is having the best season of his career. He is one of 11 players from Super Region One to be nominated for the Harlon Hill this year (as is Slippery Rock's Shamar Greene).
 
McCartney is completing 60 percent of his passes this season at 202-of-335 for 2,998 yards. He has thrown a PSAC-best 34 touchdowns and been intercepted just eight times. McCartney averages 272.6 passing yards per game. He is more of a pure passer, rarely leaving the pocket to run with just 25 carries this year for negative 75 yards after sack yardage is counted against his rushing numbers.
 
IT'S AN ALL-STAR TEAM  |  West Chester All-PSAC Release
West Chester boasts a PSAC best nine first team All-Conference selections, one better than the eight All-PSAC Western Division players California (Pa.) was awarded and three better than their rival and PSAC East champion Bloomsburg. The Golden Rams boast six first team All-PSAC players on offense and nine total offensive players, as well as three first team defenders and one second teamer.
 
Along with McCartney, running back Brandon Monk, tackle Doug Gilbert, guard James Colivas, center Derek Schatz and tight end Tim Brown are all first team offensive selections. Guard Antoine Bland is a second teamer, making four of their five linemen All-PSAC. Backup running back Eddit Elliott and wide receiver Mike Doty were also named to second team honors.
 
Defensively, lineman Andrew Cohen, linebacker Ronell Williams and defensive back Al-Hajj Shabazz were named to first team honors, while lineman Mike Culbreath was named to the second team.
 
NATIONAL SEMIFINALIST LAST YEAR
West Chester is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA playoffs and is coming off its best performance, reaching the national semifinals. The Golden Rams won the Super Region last year by beating American International in the first round (38-7 at home), Bloomsburg in the second round (40-38 away) and Shepherd in the quarterfinals (28-7 away). Lenoir-Rhyne bounced the Rams from the playoffs in the semifinals with a 42-14 victory in Hickory, N.C.
 
BLOOMSBURG'S SUCCESS
The biggest surprise of the year in the PSAC East might have been the runaway 41-10 victory Bloomsburg had over West Chester after the two teams entered the game both ranked in the top 10. The Huskies ran all over the Rams to the tune of 454 rushing yards on 47 carries, an average of 9.7 yards per carry. On the other side of the ball, Bloomsburg's defense allowed just 114 rushing yards and 170 passing yards and forced six turnovers, four interceptions and two fumbles.
 
RUSH DEFENSE
West Chester has performed admirably against the run overall this year, allowing 151.1 yards per game, but has struggled significantly against the top rushing teams it has faced. Shippensburg is currently No. 2 in the PSAC in rushing (237.8 ypg) and ran for 322 yards against West Chester. Bloomsburg is No. 4 in rushing in the PSAC (228.7) and ran for 454 yards for a total of 776 yards in the two games against top five rushing offenses. Slippery Rock is No. 3 in the league, averaging 231.2 yards per game on the ground.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
SRU and West Chester played seven common opponents this season with each team going 6-1 against those schools. A breakdown of the results against each opponent is below. (H-A-N = Home, Away, Neutral)
 

Opponent	WCU RESULT	SRU RESULT
Mercyhurst	H: W, 38-14 (Sept. 13)	N: L, 23-45 (Oct. 18)
Seton Hill	A: W, 45-10 (Sept. 20)	H: W, 63-19 (Sept. 27)
Millersville	H: W, 62-7 (Sept. 27)	A: W, 46-17 (Sept. 10)
Kutztown	A: W, 29-7 (Oct. 9)	H: W, 37-26 (Sept. 6)
Bloomsburg	A: L, 10-41 (Oct. 25)	H: W, 28-26 (Nov. 15)
E. Stroudsburg	A: W, 35-24 (Nov. 8)	A: W, 56-24 (Sept. 13)
Indiana (Pa.)	A: W, 28-17 (Nov. 15)	A: W, 31-21 (Oct. 25)