Rock solid
SLIPPERY ROCK — Not that he needed one, but Slippery Rock University quarterback Zack Newsock found a new toy to play with Saturday.
Newsock connected with receiver Melvin German — a transfer from Division Florida Atlantic University — for touchdown passes of 45, 28 and 34 yards to key SRU's 63-19 homecoming romp over Seton Hill at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The game marked the first time The Rock (4-0, 3-0) scored 60 points in a contest since a 61-21 win at West Virginia Wesleyan in 2000. SRU hadn't scored 60 points at home since a 76-0 triumph over Lock Haven in 1973.
German caught his first two touchdown passes in the second quarter, helping his team secure a 28-0 lead at the half. He had four catches for 114 yards on the day. He had seven catches for 98 yards in The Rock's first three games.
“I knew all of the plays,” German said. “This is the fastest-paced offense I've ever played with and it took me a while to transition into that.”
SRU ran 91 plays Saturday — the third time in four games it surpassed the 90-play mark.
Newsock threw for career-highs of 299 yards and four touchdowns. He also connected with Drew Scales for a 33-yard TD toss.
“He (German) wasn't the go-to guy on those plays. I was just going through my reads and he was there,” Newsock said. “He's a big target and he gets open. And I know he's going to make the catch.”
German was a quarterback at Florida Atlantic before the team moved him to receiver late in his career there.
“I had never played receiver before in my life,” German said. “But I'm an athlete. I adjust.”
Scales returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. He had 246 all-purpose yards: 137 on kick returns, 72 receiving, 37 on punt returns.
“That opening kick return was huge,” Rock coach George Mihalik said. “It got our motor running right away.”Seton Hill (1-3, 1-2) converted only one of 13 plays on third down all day and was limited to 30 net yards rushing on 27 attempts. Tailback Brandon Stout netted 20 yards on 17 carries.“When you can't sustain drives against a team like this, you're in trouble,” Griffins coach Isaac Collins said. “By the fourth quarter, we had to sub out our starters too much.“Our back-ups were playing too many minutes. We don't have the kind of depth to get away with that.”Seton Hill's passing game did come to life in the third quarter. Drew Jackson completed 13 of 19 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns during that frame.Besides that output, the Griffins produced 137 yards the rest of the game. Seton Hill pulled within 42-19 with 4:05 left in the third quarter.“The other team practices, too,” Mihalik said. “They were hitting plays. Our guys were right there, but he (Jackson) was making good throws and their receivers made things happen.”Seton Hill was on the march again late in the third period. Dan Pietrangelo, the team's other quarterback, converted a fourth-and-3 with a 4-yard run to the SRU 37-yard line. But before Jackson could get back in the game, The Rock delivered the final blow.Pietrangelo's pass toward the left sideline was intercepted by Mars graduate Austin Miele, who returned the theft 42 yards. On the next play, Newsock found German for a 34-yard TD strike down the middle.“Drew got dinged up late in the third quarter and we knew we'd get him back in there, but he needed some time,” Collins said. “Unfortunately, we made a mistake during the interim and they capitalized.”Miele's interception was SRU's first takeaway of the day. Seton Hill punted eight times in the first half.“We needed someone to step up, make a play and snatch back the momentum,” Mihalik said. “A returning all-conference player came through and did that for us.”The Rock tacked on two more touchdowns following German's third TD catch.Shamar Greene led SRU's ground attack with 22 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He has rushed for 747 yards and eight TDs through four games after rushing for 727 yards all of last year.“I know what I'm capable of doing,” Greene said. “We have a lot of weapons on offense. Everybody helps everybody else out.”Notes: SRU is 23-4 in homecoming games under Mihalik ... Butler graduate Bob Vernick and Joe Phillips had eight tackles for SRU. ... Tyler Zimmer had 14 tackles and an interception for Seton Hill. ... The Rock's Erik Johnson recovered a fumble forced by teammate Sam Funk in the fourth quarter, setting up a 13-play, 52-yard touchdown drive. ... The Rock is averaging 318 yards per game on the ground while allowing only 57. ... SRU hosts Gannon in a battle of undefeated teams at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.SRU 63, Seton Hill 19Seton Hill 0 0 19 0 — 19Slippery Rock 14 14 14 21 — 63SH SRU23 First Downs 2927-30 Rushes-Yards 55-261359 Passing Yards 32227-47-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 26-36-2389 Total Yards 5832-1 Fumbles-Lost 0-07-79 Penalty Yards 5-44First QuarterSRU — Drew Scales 91 kick return (Mike Wainauskis kick), 14:47SRU — Shamar Greene 2 run (Wainauskis kick), 8:10Second QuarterSRU — Melvin German 45 pass from Zack Newsock (Wainauskis kick), 7:46SRU — German 28 pass from Newsock (Wainauskis kick), 3:54Third QuarterSH — Erik Kerns 39 pass from Drew Jackson (kick blocked),10:37SRU — Drew Scales 33 pass from Newsock (Wainauskis kick), 9:16SH — Marcus Peterson 20 pass from Jac kson (kick blocked), 8:10SRU — Greene 14 run (Wainauskis kick), 5:43SH — Eric Brown 37 pass from Jackson (Jesser Boulnemour kick), 4:05Fourth QuarterSRU — German 34 pass from Newsock (Wainauskis kick), 14:45SRU — Julian Durden 4 run (Wainauskis kick), 9:03SRU — Brett Crenshaw 1 run (Wainauskis kick), 4:43Individual StatisticsRushing: Seton Hill, Brandon Stout 17-20, Patrick Jackson 4-16, Khalil Howard 2-5, Dan Pietrangelo 1-4, Brent Blacharczyk 1-0, Jarvis McClam 1-0, Drew Jackson 1-(-15). SRU, Shamar Greene 22-128, Brett Crenshaw 4-42, Teddy Blakeman 15-41, Julian Durden 6-35, Isiah Neely 2-9, Trae Cook 3-7, Dominic Dingle 1-1, Zack Newsock 2-(-2).Passing: Seton Hill, Drew Jackson 23-38-343-0, Dan Pietrangelo 4-9-16-1. SRU, Zack Newsock 23-33-299-2, Josh Weakland 3-3-23-0.Receiving: Seton Hill, FJ Williams 6-104, Brandon Stout 6-33, Jarvis McClam 5-32, Eric Brown 3-76, Erik Kerns 2-50, Larry Joshua 2-26, Logan Carns 2-10, Marcus Peterson 1-20. SRU, Jaimire Dutrieuille 8-91, Drew Scales 7-72, Melvin German 4-114, Shamar Greene 4-22, Marcus Carter 2-12, Cornelius Raye 1-11.
