GREENSBURG — An early pass went awry.

After that, it was smooth sailing through the air for Slippery Rock on its way to a 41-17 PSAC West college football win over Seton Hill Saturday at Offutt Field.

SRU quarterback Andrew Koester threw a career-high five touchdown passes — three to Henry Litwin, two to Jermaine Wynn Jr. — as The Rock (4-0, 1-0) was able to pull away by halftime.

“They (Seton Hill) kept loading the box and playing single coverage on our wide receivers,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “They couldn’t stay with our guys, so we kept throwing the ball to them.”

Koester completed 18 of 33 passes for 323 yards. A pass early in the first quarter was intercepted by the Griffins (2-2, 0-1), setting up a brief 25-yard scoring drive. Logan Wiland scored from 2 yards out and Seton Hill had a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

“That throw really wasn’t Andrew’s fault,” Lutz said. “The ball looked like it went through Cinque Sweeting’s hands, right to the defender.

“It was a tough way to start a game on the road, but I loved the way we responded.”

SRU drove 70 yards in seven plays on its next possession, Koester finding Litwin for a 9-yard TD pass. Litwin caught three touchdown passes and had 130 yards receiving in the first half alone.

Litwin had nine catches for 148 yards, Wynn five catches for 111 yards on the day.

The Rock had a 41-10 lead through three quarters. Wiland scored his second rushing touchdown with 1:23 remaining to account for the final score.

Peyton Remish returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown for SRU. Selvin Haynes picked off a pass as well.

“Our defense was exceptional,” Lutz said. “They couldn’t do much against us at all.

“(Butler graduate) Tim Vernick had an outstanding game for us. Our pass defense shut things down.”

Vernick led The Rock in tackles for the second straight week. He made 11 stops Saturday. Garrett de Bien, Chad Kuhn and Munchie Johnson had quarterback sacks.

For the third time in four games, SRU’s opponent managed fewer than 100 yards passing. Seton Hill threw for 99 yards Saturday.

The Rock returns home to host Clarion (0-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“We’re playing a lot better, but we know there’s more work to do,” Lutz said. “But this was a nice win.”

Notes: Seton Hill gave up 35 total points in its first three games before allowing 41 Saturday. ... The teams combined for 227 penalty yards on 21 flags. SRU had nine penalties for 107. ... SRU has won 24 straight night games and has not lost a game starting at 4 p.m. or later since Sept. 29, 2012. ... The Rock is 10-2 all-time against Seton Hill. ... SRU has won 17 straight PSAC West games ... Litwin needs 36 catches and 536 yards to break Greg Hopkins’ career Rock records in both categories. ... Koester has thrown for 1,245 yards and 11 touchdowns through four games.

Slippery Rock 14 13 14 0 — 41

Seton Hill 10 0 0 7 — 17

First Quarter

SH — Logan Wiland 4 run (Luke Hauger kick), 12:36

SRU — Henry Litwin 9 pass from Andrew Koester (DJ Opsatnik kick), 9:17

SH — Hauger 47 field goal, 5:49

SRU — Jermaine Wynn Jr. 7 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 3:02

Second Quarter

SRU — Litwin 1 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 11:44

SRU — Litwin 13 pass from Koester (kick blocked), 7:17

Third Quarter

SRU — Wynn 29 pass from Koester (Opsatnik kick), 5:48

SRU — Peyton Remish 26 interception return (Opsatnik kick), :00

Fourth Quarter

SH — Wiland 2 run (Hauger kick), 1:23

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Chris D’Or 8-50, Tim Smith 7-24, Jermaine Wynn Jr. 2-23, Cinque Sweeting 1-0, TEAM 1-(-2), Andrew Koester 6-(-12). Seton Hill, Logan Wiland 22-92, JaiQuawn McGriff 7-27.

Passing: SRU, Andrew Koester 18-31-323-1, Noah Grover 4-8-33-1. Seton Hill, Kiani Freeman 4-11-66-1, Chris Jones 6-11-33-1.

Receiving: SRU, Henry Litwin 9-148, Jermaine Wynn Jr. 5-111, Kyle Sheets 3-45, Gavyn Barnes 2-23, Tim Smith 2-16, Cinque Sweeting 1-13. Seton Hill, Taiyon Battle 3-48, Taro Gaither 2-26, Todd Phillips 2-14, Uriah Rajkumar 1-12, Daniel Kasmier 1-2, John Makell IV 1-(-3).