Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long, seen here during a game earlier this season, threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another, in Saturday’s PSAC West win over Seton Hill. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
SLIPPERY ROCK — The turnaround was abrupt, but not devastating.
Brayden Long saw to that.
After throwing an interception in the end zone while trying to stake his team to a 24-7 lead, the Slippery Rock University quarterback had to watch Seton Hill drive 80 yards in six plays, a 15-yard Todd Phillips touchdown catch pulling the Griffins within 17-14 late in the third quarter.
But Long responded with touchdown passes of 37 yards to Logan Ramper and 22 yards to Mike Solomon in leading The Rock to a 38-20 PSAC West football victory Saturday afternoon at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
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Long later scored on a 1-yard run, moments after Josh Stokes recovered a Seton Hill fumble at the Griffins’ 5-yard line with 10:54 left in the game.
“Turnovers and mistakes are gonna happen. They’re part of the game,” Long said. “When they do, I trust my teammates that we’re going to respond and make something positive happen.”
Long was intercepted twice in the contest. SRU also lost a fumble and failed on a fake punt attempt, but the team’s head coach wasn’t worried.
“I have a lot of trust in Brayden,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “He knows how to shake things off and keep on going.”
While Saturday’s win elevated SRU to 8-1 (5-1 PSAC), its streak of at least sharing the PSAC West title each year since 2017 ended with California’s 28-14 win over Edinboro. The Rock can return to the Division II playoffs with a home win over Bloomsburg on Nov. 16.
Seton Hill (3-7, 1-5) lost a streak of its own Saturday. The Griffins’ previous five losses were all by the margin of a touchdown or less.
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With the score even at 7, Seton Hill was flagged for roughing the passer with two seconds left in the first half and The Rock out of field goal range. The 15-yard penalty enabled SRU’s Mason Yohn to boot a 41-yard field goal to end the half.
SRU’s Kylon Wilson returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, giving his team a 17-7 advantage. The aforementioned change in momentum pulled the Griffins within a field goal before The Rock pulled away.
“We’ve been able to close the talent gap in the West,” Seton Hill coach Daniel Day said. “Now we have to clear the mental hurdle. This program was bad for a long time, and we’re still trying to develop the belief that we can win.
“Honestly, we play better when we’re behind. Our players are used to that. I hate to say it, but they’re almost more comfortable that way.”
The Rock rushed for 238 yards and threw for 248. Chris D’Or had 107 yards on the ground, Idris Lawrence 93.
“The key to this game was we were able to run and pass the ball,” Lutz said. “We had a good mix going.”
SRU played without its top six linebackers due to various injuries. Tyree Johnson, a junior, starred his first game and led the team with 10 tackles. Eddie Faulkner IV moved up from defensive back to start at linebacker Saturday.
“Just play fearless,” Johnson said. “That was my mindset. We knew we had to focus on stopping their running back, and I thought we did a fairly good job of containing him.”
Ky’Ron Craggette had 25 carries for 113 yards for the Griffins.
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Notes: The teams combined for 22 penalties for 200 yards. Both had a touchdown taken away by a penalty. ... SRU honored its seniors before the game. The four-year seniors have a 39-9 record with three PSAC West titles while the fifth-year seniors are 52-10 with four division crowns. ... The Rock are 14-2 all-time against Seton Hill and have defeated the Griffins eight straight times. ... SRU is 40-3 against PSAC West foes since Oct. 21, 2017. ... SRU has yet to score 40 points in a game this year. The last season The Rock failed to do so was 2003.
Seton Hill 0 7 7 6 — 20
Slippery Rock 7 3 14 14 — 38
First Quarter
SRU — Chris D’Or 1 run (Mason Yohn kick), 10:03
Second Quarter
SH — Todd Phillips 73 pass from Jake Cruz (Ben Zavatchan kick), 5:38
SRU — Yohn 41 field goal, :00
Third Quarter
SRU — Kylon Wilson 97 kick return (Yohn kick), 14:46
SH — Phillips 15 pass from Cruz (Zavatchan kick), 5:13
SRU — Logan Ramper 37 pass from Brayden Long (Yohn kick), 3:05
Fourth Quarter
SRU — Mike Solomon 22 pass from Long (Yohn kick), 11:43
SRU — Long 1 run (Yohn kick), 9:46
SH — Ky’Ron Craggette 9 run (pass failed), 5:00
Individual Statistics
Passing: Seton Hill, Jake Cruz 8-20-145-0. SRU, Brayden Long 15-25-248-2.
Rushing: Seton Hill, Ky’Ron raggette 25-113, Jason Williams 8-55, Jake Cruz 4-23. SRU, Chris D’Or 10-107, Idris Lawrence 18-93, Quentin Harrison 5-23, JayJay Jordan 4-21, Kylon Wilson 2-4, Mason Yohn 1-0, Brayden Long 3-(-10).
Receiving: Seton Hill, Todd Phillips 3-108, Taiyon Battle 2-14, Ky’Ron Craggette 1-16, Ethan Fame 1-5, Anthony Campbell 1-2. SRU, Mike Solomon 5-97, Logan Ramper 3-87, Chris D’Or 3-34, Kam Kruzelyak 2-14, Kylon Wilson 1-10, JayJay Jordan 1-6.
