SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University’s football team got the quick start it was looking for Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Rock also got the big finish it needed.

After jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, SRU found itself leading only 24-17 when Mercyhurst’s Nevan Novitski recovered a Rock fumble at the SRU 26 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. The Rock defense allowed only three yards on four downs, however, regaining possession and paving the way for a 31-17 PSAC West victory over the Lakers.

“Huge stop right there,” Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “That was probably the difference in the game. Give credit to Mercyhurst. They just kept on coming.”

After the defensive stop, SRU’s offense put together a 13-play, 73-yard drive that ate 6:07 off the clock. Tight end Max Maciejewski caught a 6-yard touchdown pass — quarterback Noah Grover’s third TD toss of the night — with 11:08 left in the game.

Fourth-quarter interceptions by Jalen Dangerfield and Ali Abdul-Hakim sealed the victory for the Rock (5-1, 2-1). Mercyhurst (2-4, 0-3) dropped its fourth straight game.

“Those interceptions stalled us late,” Mercyhurst coach Ryan Riemedio said. “I liked the fight we showed tonight. Even with the way the game started, I always felt like we were going to come back.”

SRU’s Jawon Hall opened the game by returning the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

“I felt like we were gonna get one,” Hall said of the touchdown return. “We were talking about it before the game. The hole just opened up.”

SRU’s lead opened up as well.

DJ Opsatnik’s 26-yard field goal capped a 20-play, 89-yard drive that took 9:07 off the clock and gave SRU a 10-0 lead. Grover’s 16-yard TD pass to Kyle Sheets competed an 81-yard drive on the next possession and increased the margin to 17-0. A Brian Alsobrooks 30-yard field goal got Mercyhurst on the board late in the half.

“We had not allowed a kick return for a touchdown in at least ten years,” Riemedio said. “Obviously, not the way you want to start a game. But we never lost composure or the confidence we could come in here and compete.”

“I thought our defense dominated the first half,” Lutz said. “We didn’t come out with a good showing in the third quarter. That part of it was disappointing.”

Mercyhurst put together scoring drives of 83 and 68 yards in the third quarter — the former on the first possession of the second half — to get back in the game.

SRU used a power running game and short passing attack to engineer scoring drives of 20, 12 and 13 plays during the contest. The Rock rushed for 200 yards despite the absence of rushing leader Chris D’Or, who left the game with an injury after only two carries early.

Chris Wells had 10 carries for 70 yards, Isaiah Edwards had 15 carries for 68 yards. Tim Smith added 38 yards on eight carries.

“Isaiah had a quietly effective game and you saw the emergence of Chris Wells tonight,” Lutz said. “We ran the ball effectively. We have a lot of quality backs we can put in there.”

The Lakers netted only 31 yards rushing on 19 carries as The Rock continues to have the best rushing defense in the PSAC East. Only one running back — IUP’s DayJure Stewart, 30 carries for 91 yards — has rushed for more than 62 yards against SRU this season.

“This turned into a back-and-forth game,” Mercyhurst linebacker and Seneca Valley graduate Jacob Holl said. “Their offense is really good. Their line comes off the ball hard and the quarterback is good.

“They (SRU) are a top-20 ranked team for a reason.”

Grover completed 24 of 30 passes for 203 yards and the three scores. The Rock was plagued by penalties all night.

“We’re at home, defending PSAC West champions,” Lutz said. “We had nine penalties for 98 yards, they had two penalties for 20 yards. I’ll leave it at that.”

Notes: SRU defeated Mercyhurst for the seventh straight time and leads the series between the teams, 10-4. ... Saturday marked The Rock’s 28th consecutive win in games that started at 4 p.m. or later. ... LB Brandon Tuck-Hayden led the Rock defense in tackles for the sixth straight game, tallying nine stops. Jeff Marx had two quarterback sacks. ... Former SRU gridders Brandon Fusco and LaMonte Coleman were among those inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday and were recognized at halftime. ... SRU hosts Gannon for homecoming at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Mercyhurst .. 0 3 14 0 — 17

Slippery Rock 7 10 7 7 — 31

First Quarter

SRU — Jawon Hall 97 kick return (DJ Opsatnik kick), 14:47

Second Quarter

SRU — Opsatnik 26 field goal, 12:29

SRU — Kyle Sheets 16 pass from Noah Grover (Opsatnik kick), 8:44

M — Brian Alsobrooks 30 field goal, 3:17

Third Quarter

M — Cameron Barmore 4 pass from Joe Carter (Alsobrooks kick), 11:24

SRU — Hall 16 pass from Grover (Opsatnik kick), 6:11

M — Dustin Shoaf 1 run (Alsobrooks kick), 3:51

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Max Maciejewski 6 pass from Grover (Opsatnik kick), 11:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Mercyhurst, Dustin Shoaf 8-23, Diondre Cooper 3-13, Joe Carter 7-0, TEAM 1-(-5). SRU, Chris Wells 10-70, Isaiah Edwards 15-68, Tim Smith 8-38, Jawon Hall 1-10, Noah Grover 7-8, Chris D’Or 2-7, TEAM 1-(-1).

Passing: Mercyhurst, Joe Carter 23-45-242-2. SRU, Noah Grover 24-30-203-1.

Receiving: Mercyhurst, Justin Hill Jr. 7-76, Trevon Tate 5-95, Makai Burris 3-41, Cameron Barmore 2-10, Darin Mizgorski 2-10, Jason Armstrong 1-9, Jaylen Butera 1-6, Diondre Cooper 1-2, Joe Kerbacher 1-(-7). SRU, Kyle Sheets 6-70, Max Maciejewski 4-14, Cohen Russell 3-46, Jawon Hall 3-28, Isaiah Edwards 2-12, Tyler Settle 2-7, Tim Smith 1-11, Chris Wells 1-7, Chris D’Or 1-7, Kenyon Johnson 1-1.