SLIPPERY ROCK — What a difference a week makes.

After failing to score a point until the final few minutes of the first half last week, Slippery Rock University's offense produced four touchdowns on its four first-quarter possessions Saturday in rolling past West Chester, 49-24, at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“We talked all week about getting off to a good start,” SRU quarterback Brayden Long said. “We hit some big plays early and were able to keep things going.

“Getting Kyle (wide receiver Sheets) back was big for us. I love all my receivers, but he’s a special player.”

The Rock (2-0) used a 65-yard opening-kick return from Kylon Wilson to help it get on the board three plays into the game. West Chester (1-1) quickly answered with a 3-play drive of its own, covering 70 yards, to knot the game.

Then Sheets made his impact. He left the season opener with a concussion in the first quarter and was listed as questionable for this game. But he made his presence felt with a pair of splash plays.

On the first play after the Golden Rams tied the game, Sheets got behind the defense and Long found him for a 74-yard score, the game's third touchdown in the first three minutes.

Sheets caught a 49-yard bomb from Long for a touchdown on The Rock’s next possession.

“They were in Cover-4 and those plays were there,” Sheets said. “Those passes were so perfect ... All I had to do was catch the ball and run to the green.

“I found out I was gonna play Saturday morning. It felt good to get out there and make an impact.”

Two late interceptions helped SRU maintain momentum. On third down from the SRU 37, Rock cornerback Josh Stokes intercepted Cooper Jordan’s deep pass at the 5 with 5:23 left in the first half. SRU marched 95 yards from there, Isaiah Edwards scoring on a 20-yard run for a 35-14 lead.

The Golden Rams drove inside the SRU 20, but Eddie Faulkner IV picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it 75 yards with 10 seconds left in the half. Kevin Roberts’ 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide as time expired.

Jordan, a sophomore, threw for 285 yards, but was picked off three times. Stokes had two of those thefts.

“Cooper is a talented quarterback, but he’s a young quarterback,” West Chester coach Bill Zwaan said. “Young quarterbacks tend to lock their eyes on their receiver and I think Slippery Rock was taking advantage of that.

“This game was very disappointing to us. We let receivers get behind us. We gave up too many big plays. But Slippery Rock played great. Their quarterback gave a PSAC Player of the Week type of performance.”

Stokes said that “I could tell where her (Jordan) was going with the ball. It was just a matter of getting in position to make a play on it. Our style of play back there is, if the ball’s in the air, go get it.”

Long completed 19 of 24 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns. The Rock also rushed for 227 yards, Khalid Dorsey getting 118 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Rock running back Chris D’Or did not play Saturday due to a violation of team rules.

“Our offense was able to do anything it wanted, it seemed,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “We wanted to run, we ran it. We wanted to throw, we threw. That was an impressive performance.

“Our quick tempo had a lot to do with that, too. West Chester looked tired. When they came out for the second half, it didn’t look like they had too much left.”

West Chester had 497 yards of offense in the loss.

“We left plays out there,” Zwaan said. “I hope this game isn’t indicative of who we are.”

Notes: SRU continues its early run of home games by hosting Millersville (2-0) at 6 p.m. this Saturday. The Rock has won 30 straight games kicked off at 4 p.m. or later. ... The Rock is 18-1 against the PSAC East in early-season crossovers since 2013. ... Lutz picked up his 60th career win as head coach. He’s lost only 17. .... SRU rushed for more than 200 yards in consecutive games for the first time since October of 2019. ... LB Kyle Kudla led SRU with eight tackles. ... The Rock is 12-9 all-time vs. West Chester.

West Chester 7 7 3 7 — 24

Slippery Rock — 28 7 7 7 — 49

First Quarter

SRU — Khalil Dorsey 7 pass from Brayden Long (Kevin Roberts kick), 13:48

WC — Cooper Jordan 14 run (Sean Henry kick), 12:28

SRU — Kyle Sheets 74 pass from Long (Roberts kick), 12:13

SRU — Sheets 49 pass from Long ( Roberts kick), 6:33

SRU — Isaiah Edwards 2 run (Roberts kick), :44

Second Quarter

WC — Daquan Robinson 2 run (Henry kick), 13:35

SRU — Edwards 20 run (Roberts kick), 1:37

Third Quarter

WC — Henry 23 field goal, 10:35

SRU — Khalid Dorsey 43 run (Roberts kick), 9:52

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Logan Ramper 5 pass from Long (Roberts kick), 12:41

WC — Jayden Williams 3 run (Henry kick), 8:06

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: West Chester, Cooper Jordan 14-69, D’Shaun Seals 6-58, Jayden Williams 8-32, Daquan Robinson 7-24, Ethan Kohler 2-3. SRU, Khalid Dorsey 14-118, Isaiah Edwards 11-62, Luke McCoy 8-36, Brayden Long 5-11.

Passing: West Chester, Cooper Jordan 15-27-285-3, Ethan Kohler 2-2-26-0. SRU, Brayden Long 19-24-312-0, Zaire Haert-Hawkins 1-1-5-0.

Receiving: West Chester, D’Shaun Seals 5-101, Robby Longo 3-14, Julian Jordan 2-68, Thatcher Miller 2-33, Daquan Robinson 2-22, Rahiem Bowens 1-44, Darrell Brown 1-19, Jayden Williams 1-10. SRU, Cohen Russell 6-82, Kylon Wilson 5-32, Kam Kruzelyak 3-53, Kyle Sheets 2-123, Tony Grimes 1-10, Khalid Dorsey 1-7, Connor Chrisman 1-5, Logan Ramper 1-5.