SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock had its homecoming party spoiled, falling to Hickory by a score of 48-14 on Friday night.

Hickory (4-2, 2-2) used a dynamic rushing attack to take an early lead and never looked back. Five different Hickory rushers — Sean Kennedy, Zander Telesz, Keenan Scullin, William Acrie and Kelvin Morrison — all found the end zone. The Hornets used a total of 11 ball carriers to rush for 325 yards. Morrison led the way with 131 yards on just eight touches.

“They just beat us up, up front,” Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz said.

Hickory’s lone passing touchdown came on a 21-yard pop pass to Luke Nevil.

Rockets quarterback Eli Anderson broke free for a 70-yard touchdown late in the first half that stood as the only offensive points of the night for Slippery Rock.

“We’ve got to do a better job of giving him a chance to do that early on,” Wendereusz said. “That’s two weeks in a row he’s done it later in a game or later in a half. We need to do that earlier in a game, in a better situation.”

Defensive back Cole Pearson returned an interception for 89 yards to get Slippery Rock (1-5, 1-3) on the board in the second half.

“We got a lot of young kids that are playing, when you see a young kid — like Cole did — jump in front of a pass and take off for a run, you always get excited for that kid,” Wendereusz said. “He can tell that story for the rest of his life … You always want kids to experience that. It’s exciting for him, it’s exciting for us to see that we got a kid that’s listened to what we’re doing, doing what we’re asking. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Senior defensive lineman Ian Fair also recorded a take-away for Slippery Rock, but Wendereusz emphasized that his team needed to do a better job in the turnover battle.

“You got to go get turnovers and you got to coach protecting the ball,” Wendereusz said. “We didn’t do either one well tonight.”

Hickory forced three turnovers in a stellar defensive performance. Jadon Phillips tied the team lead in interceptions with a take-away in the first half. The Hornets also forced two fumbles.

“We got three [games] left, you got to stay positive,” Wendereusz said. “It doesn’t show but we’re getting better.”

Slippery Rock 0-7-0-7 --- 14

Hickory 17-17-14-0 --- 48

First Quarter

Hickory — Sean Kennedy 6 run (Lukas Jones kick good) 9:25

Hickory — Zander Telesz 4 run (Jones kick good) 6:42

Hickory — Lukas Jones 24-yard field goal 1:52

Second Quarter

Hickory — Lukas Jones 33-yard field goal 10:42

Hickory — Keenan Scullin 3 run (Jones kick good) 9:10

Slippery Rock — Eli Anderson 70 run (Zach Lasko kick good) 4:25

Hickory — William Acrie 10 run (Jones kick good) 1:13

Third Quarter

Hickory — Kelvin Morrison 60 run (Jones kick good) 2:54

Hickory — Luke Nevil 21 from Zander Telesz (Jones kick good) 2:20

Fourth Quarter

Slippery Rock — Cole Pearson 89 interception return (Lasko kick good) 1:44

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Hickory, Kelvin Morrison, 8-131, Sean Kennedy, 5-53, Zander Telesz, 6-42, William Acrie, 11-46, Jamal Calhoun, 2-25, Jadon Phillips, 1-16, Parker Hilliard, 1-7, Keenan Scullin, 1-3, Robert Mainor, 1-2, Bryson Applegarth, 1-0, Brody Bishop, 1-0. Slippery Rock, Eli Anderson, 7-60, Dominick Zandi, 10-31, Owen Long, 9-25, Cole Alleman, 3-14.

Passing: Hickory, Zander Telesz, 6-15-138-0, Jack Mikulas 0-0-0-1. Slippery Rock, Eli Anderson, 6-17-28-1.

Receiving: Hickory, Tylon Cousin, 3-58, Luke Nevil, 2-47, William Acrie, 1-33. Slippery Rock, Dominick Zandi, 2-17, Zac Frederick, 1-5, Sam Schwartz, 1-6, Douglas Popovec, 2-0.