SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football team improved to 2-0 with a thrilling 49-42 win over No. 24 West Chester University Saturday evening at MIhalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The win marked the third straight year that SRU has defeated West Chester and was the 11th straight win for The Rock over a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference  Eastern Division team in regular season competition. The Golden Rams, which were ranked 24th in the coaches poll and 20th in the media poll this week, drop to 1-1 on the year.
 
The Rock scored the first points of the game and opened up a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter, but West Chester responded with 14 straight points to tie the game in what would become the theme of the night.
 
Slippery Rock went 60 yards in just 33 seconds to retake the lead 28-21 just before halftime and scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to open up a 42-21 lead with 7:27 to play in the third, but again West Chester rallied. The Golden Rams scored 21 unanswered points to tie the game at 42-42 with 6:42 to play, setting up a wild finish.
 
The Rock marched down the field with a nine-play, 81-yard drive on the next possession, capped by a 23-yard pass from Tanner Garry to Milly Raye that put SRU up 49-42 with 2:53 to play.
 
West Chester, which moved the ball at will for most of the second half, failed to gain a single yard on its final possession as The Rock defense slammed the door and sealed the win.
 
SRU ran 20 less plays in the game as West Chester ran 79 plays for 498 yards. The Rock averaged more yards per play than the Rams, finishing with 59 plays for 394 yards, but still needed special teams plays to put the game away.
 
Marcus Johnson scored three touchdowns in three different ways, returning a kickoff for a TD, a punt for a TD and catching a TD.
 
West Chester ran for 237 yards, becoming the first team to rush for more than 200 yards against a Slippery Rock defense since the 2013 PSAC title game against Bloomsburg. The Rams added 261 yards through the air and turned the ball over just once. Slippery Rock threw for 304 yards and ran for 90 yards, while turning the ball over three times.
 
Tanner Garry was 16-of-29 for 304 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Johnson caught five passes for 100 yards and one score and Raye caught five passes for 136 yards with two touchdowns, including a 90-yarder that featured another of his patented spin moves. Johnson finished with 274 all-purpose yards after also returning a kickoff 96 yards for a TD and a punt 47 yards for a score. Raye added 120 return yards to finish with 256 all-purpose yards.
 
Chacar Berry paced the ground game with 56 yards and one score, while Isiah Neely added 49 yards and had one 67-yard TD called back for a hold.
 
The Rock defense was led again by Marcus Martin, who tied his career-high with 3.5 sacks. He finished the game with 4.5 tackles for loss, four additional QB hurries and one forced fumble. Martin now has 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks through two games this year. He now needs just 1.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks to break the Division II career records in each category.
 
Anthony Williams led the team in tackles with 10 after coming on in a reserve role after Kyle Hall left the game. Tavarus Sample added eight tackles and Dylan Whiteman recorded eight tackles and had a half-sack. Delmar Henderson and Sean Doran each registered five tackles, as did Hall.
 
West Chester was led by running back Jarel Elder, who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Paul Dooley was 19-of-38 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Tyler Karpinski caught five passes for 107 yards and one score and Rasheem Jones caught seven passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Slippery Rock is set to remain home next week and will welcome Lock Haven Saturday night for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
 

 

Notes: SRU head coach Shawn Lutz improves to 9-4 … West Chester was the unanimous favorite to win the PSAC East in the preseason coaches poll ... SRU defeated West Chester for the third straight year to improve to 10-8 in the all-time series … this marked the first time WCU has played in Slippery Rock since 2010 … Marcus Martin recorded 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss and now ranks second in Division II history in tackles for loss with 76.5 and third in Division II history in sacks with 45.0 … the records for Division II are 77.0 TFL and 46.5 sacks … Marcus Johnson's 96-yard kickoff return for a TD was the first kick return TD for an SRU player since Drew Scales against Seton Hill in 2014 … Johnson's punt return TD was the first for an SRU player since Jaimire Dutrieuille's against Clarion in 2015 … Milly Raye now has 127 career catches for 1,746 yards and 18 touchdowns … he ranks 6th in catches, seventh in yards and sixth in TDs in SRU history … Johnson ranks tied with him for sixth with 18 TD catches and has now gone over 100 yards in three straight games and scored at least three touchdowns in three straight games … Jake Chapla was 7-for-7 on extra point tries and is 13-for-13 on the year … SRU won its 11th straight home night game and is now 36-5 at home since the beginning of the 2010 season.



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