SLIPPERY ROCK — The field cleared and the only ones left on the field were the Slippery Rock seniors, who were singing and dancing. They were chanting “Ole, ole, ole” only 15 minutes after they had played their final home regular season game.

The game couldn’t have gone any better for them. It seemed like every single senior made a big play in their 41-13 football win against the Wilmington Greyhounds on Friday night.

Those impact plays started just seconds into the game. It took the Rocket offense just a minute and 14 seconds to find the end zone for the first time. William Mokel hooked up with John Sabo for what would be his first of five touchdown passes on the night. Four of those came in the first quarter and three of five went to Sabo.

“If you take the last four years and the time and commitment that [these seniors] put into the program, you always want them to be able to go out on a high note,” Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz said. “For them to enjoy tonight and set some personal feats, I think that’s always a nice thing for them to be able to achieve.”

Mokel’s touchdown passes came fast and furious in the first quarter. After hitting Sabo on their first drive of the game, he went his way again to give the Rockets a 13-0 lead. Before the Greyhounds could even blink, they found themselves down two scores.

“I thought that Slippery Rock came out and played a solid game in all three phases, they got off to a fast start,” Wilmingtoncoach Brandon Phillian said. “I give them a lot of credit for how they came out tonight.”

The next score came just as quick as the first two did for Slippery Rock. Lucas Allison caught Mokel’s third touchdown pass in less than 10 minutes of action. Two minutes later, Sam Schwartz caught a 37-yard bomb in the end zone as the clock to the first quarter expired.

At the half, the Rockets walked into the locker room up 34-0, with the fifth score of the game coming off of an 80-yard Maddox Allen scamper.

The third quarter was oddly quiet, but that was mostly due to the Greyhounds taking up a chunk of six minutes on the opening drive of the quarter. Keeping the Slippery Rock offense off the field turned out to be the best form of defense for Wilmington.

The Greyhounds finally put some points on the board a couple of minutes into the fourth period of play. Ty Milliron hauled in a 16-yard touchdown from Tuff McConahy. But it was too little, too late.

Slippery Rock answered back with a drive that saw both Mokel and Sabo set personal

milestones. Sabo caught his 100th career pass only three plays before he caught his 101st pass that resulted in a touchdown and also helped Mokel hit 4,000 career passing yards.

“All the credit goes to my quarterback, we’ve been here every morning trying to get better,” Sabo said. “It’s been a blessing to play with [Mokel].”

The touchdown kicked the mercy rule into effect, but before the clock ran out, McConahy found Davis Phanco for a touchdown that turned out to be the final score of the game.

For Slippery Rock, the win propelled itinto the playoffs, but to Wenderusz, that’s just the beginning.

“The goal is not to get into the playoffs, but rather to compete in them and make a run,” the coach said.

Slippery Rock 27 7 0 7 — 41

Wilmington 0 0 0 13 — 13

First Quarter

S — John Sabo 22 pass from William Mokel (Nick Kingerski kick), 10:46

S — Sabo 18 pass from Mokel ( kick failed), 5:00

S — Lucas Allison 3 pass from Mokel (Kingerski kick), 2:15

S — Sam Schwartz 37 pass from Mokel (Kingerski kick), 0:00

Second Quarter

S — Maddox Allen 80 run (Kingerski kick), 5:37

Fourth Quarter

W — Ty Milliron 16 pass from Tuff McConahy (kick failed), 10:23

S — Sabo 19 pass from Mokel (Kingerski kick), 7:43

W- Davis Phanco 49 pass from McConahy (Seth Arblaster kick), 3:06

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Slippery Rock, Maddox Allen 8-142, William Mokel 2-24, Owen Long 1-11, Cooper Alleman 1-2, Rico Esquivel 1-2. Wilmington, Ben Miller 27-108, Ty Milliron 7-34, Tuff McConahy 3-6.

Passing: Slippery Rock, William Mokel 15-19-271. Wilmington, Tuff McConahy 13-18-128-1.

Receiving: Slippery Rock, John Sabo 7-122, Lucas Allison 2-81, Maddox Allen 1-28, Sam Schwartz 2-21, Sal Mineo 2-19. Wilmington, Davis Phanco 5-65, Ben Miller 5-38, Ty Milliron 2-22, Michel Chrastina 1-4.