No. 8 Slippery Rock, led QB Brayden Long’s game-winning drive, stuns No. 21 IUP in final seconds
INDIANA — It required a last-minute miracle touchdown heave from Brayden Long to Mike Solomon.
In a game that featured just about everything a fan could ever want out of 60 minutes of football, No. 8 Slippery Rock University defeated No. 21 Indiana University of Pennsylvania 33-32 Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium.
The hotly-anticipated game lived up to the hype, featuring a 21-point comeback and four lead changes in the fourth quarter.
“I’m just really proud of our guys,” Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz said. “They never quit, they never give up and they keep fighting to the end.”
Slippery Rock (5-0, 2-0 PSAC West) retained its undefeated standing and took control of the West Division. It was the eighth time the two teams played while both nationally ranked in 98 meetings.
SRU was forced to mount a last-minute comeback after IUP quarterback Karst Hunter drove the Crimson Hawks (4-1, 1-1) 62 yards on eight plays to put them ahead 32-27 with 1 minute, 35 seconds remaining. The drive was capped with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Hilton Ridley.
Slippery Rock had only one timeout.
But Long took advantage of a Hawks defense that was playing in prevent formation, driving The Rock 55 yards in 90 seconds and firing the game-winning, 11-yard touchdown pass to Solomon with 12 seconds left.
“We run it every day in practice. There’s always a two-minute drill,” Solomon said. “This was really nothing to us. We just felt like it was another practice. We just do what we do, stay poised, and play Slippery Rock football.”
The drive was kept alive by a fourth-and-4 conversion with 20 seconds remaining, as Long threw a 21-yard completion to Kam Kruzelyak, followed by a targeting penalty on the Hawks which brought the ball closer to the goal line.
“We had a penalty that hurt us,” IUP head coach Paul Tortorella said. “And then they hit that pass in the corner of the end zone. We had a guy there that misplayed it.”
A last desperate 54-yard field goal attempt from IUP kicker Nick Andrasi on the game’s final play fell short, and Slippery Rock hung on for a one-point victory.
For The Rock, it was a near-repeat of the previous week, when they took a 28-0 lead against Edinboro at home and nearly blew the game, only barely holding on to win 28-23.
“We’ve got to get better as a third-quarter team,” Lutz said. “Once we’ve stomped on somebody, we’ve got to learn to get that killer instinct and choke them out.”
Long finished 22 of 31 for 205 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Solomon caught four balls for 23 yards and two scores, and Kylon Wilson finished with six catches for 92 yards and a TD.
The Rock stormed out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Long scored the opening touchdown a 10-yard run off an option pitch. He then threw a short slant to sophomore Wilson, who caught the ball in the middle of the field and outran the entire IUP defense for a 74-yard touchdown.
D’Or, who finished with 88 yards on 12 carries, scored on a 3-yard run on the second play of the next drive to cap the early run.
IUP’s offense finally came to life near the end of the first half and went on to score 26 straight points for a 26-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Hunter hit Brandon Ross for a 2-yard TD and the Hawks tacked on a field goal to make it 21-10 at halftime.
Hunter scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. Then Andrasi kicked his second field goal to cut the Rock’s lead to one.
After Long’s second turnover of the half on a fumbled snap, IUP completed the comeback. Hunter threw a 36-yard touchdown to Maurice Massey on a spectacular double-reverse flea flicker to make the score 26-21 (a two-point attempt failed).
Slippery Rock went back ahead 27-26 with five minutes left thanks to a 17-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a miraculous 4-yard touchdown catch by Solomon, who caught a pass which was deflected and looked like it would fall incomplete. The Rock’s two-pointer also failed.
Slippery Rock’s next test is against Gannon University at home Oct. 12.
Slippery Rock 7 14 0 12 — 33
IUP 0 10 10 12 — 32
First quarter
S — Brayden Long 10 run (Jake Mullins kick) 9:33
Second quarter
S — Kylon Wilson 74 pass from Brayden Long (Jake Mullins kick) 12:17
S — Chris D’Or 3 run (Jake Mullins kick) 9:02
I — Brandon Ross 2 pass from Karst Hunter (Nick Andrasi kick) 1:56
I — Nick Andrasi 25 field goal 0:03
Third quarter
I — Karst Hunter 6 run (Nick Andrasi kick) 4:08
I — Nick Andrasi 40 field goal 0:53
Fourth quarter
I — Maurice Massey 36 pass from Karst Hunter (two-pointer failed) 14:04
S — Mike Solomon 4 pass from Brayden Long (two-pointer failed) 5:00
I — Hilton Ridley 10 pass from Karst Hunter (two-pointer failed) 1:35
S — Mike Solomon 11 pass from Brayden Long (two-pointer failed) 0:12
Individual statistics
Passing: Slippery Rock, Brayden Long 22-31-205-3. IUP, Karst Hunter 14-28-169-3.
Rushing: Slippery Rock, Chris D’Or 12-88, Idris Lawrence 19-76, JayJay Jordan 3-22, Brayden Long 1-4. IUP, Karst Hunter 16-113, Kaleb Monaco 14-58.
Receiving: Slippery Rock, Kam Kruselyak 7-52, Kylon Wilson 6-92, Mike Solomon 4-23, Xander McClure 2-23, Chris D’Or 2-19, JayJay Jordan 1-(-3). IUP, Maurice Massey 4-87, Hilton Ridley 3-44, Daniel Deabner 3-32, Cyair Clark 3-4, Marcus Day 1-2.
