The ultimate treat for an Edinboro team that is 0-8 for the first time in school history would be to have enough tricks up their sleeves on Halloween to upset 13th-ranked Slippery Rock. Edinboro's ghoulish season continued last Thursday with a 38-28 loss to Mercyhurst. It marked the first time in program history the team had lost its first eight games. Slippery Rock won its fourth straight game last Saturday with a 40-39 win over Indiana(Pa.) to boost their record to 7-1. SRU has only had three games not decided by 25-or-more points -- the win over IUP, a 35-24 victory at Mercyhurst, and a 41-38 loss to Seton Hill. Slippery Rock has won the last meetings with the Fighting Scots.
Five seniors will be recognized in pre-game ceremonies as Edinboro celebrates Senior Day at the final home game of 2015. The five seniors include:
Jacob Potts (OT),
Domenic Principale (DE),
Nick Ruberto (OL),
Joe Sullivan (C), and
Jaycen Watts (OT). A sixth senior,
Mike Shansky, was lost for the year at the end of the first game of the season due to an injury. The linebacker will be back next season.
The Slippery Rock game is the third of Edinboro's three games televised by the SPORTSfever Television Network as its Game of the Week in 2015. The game can be seen live on ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra, along with SportsTime Ohio. The game will be replayed on SportsTime Ohio again at midnight.
Slippery Rock is currently ranked 13th in the NFCA Division II Top 25, along with 12th in the D2Football.com poll. Most importantly, The Rock is fourth in Super Region 1 in the first set of regional rankings. SRU is seeking its third straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs, and has won back-to-back PSAC West titles. The Rock won the PSAC Championship game last year.
The recent loss to Clarion ensured a fourth straight losing season for the Fighting Scots. That marks the first time with four consecutive losing campaigns since a stretch of six straight losing seasons from 1997-2002.
A young Edinboro defense has faced numerous challenges throughout the year, and this game is no exception. Slippery Rock comes in ranked first in the PSAC and third in Division II at 44.8 ppg. In addition, The Rock leads the PSAC and is seventh in the country in total offense (506.1 ypg.) and second in the PSAC and tenth nationally in rushing offense (273.0 ypg.). The Edinboro defense, meanwhile, has been without its top performer, two-time All-PSAC linebacker
Mike Shansky, since the first game. Youth has been very prominent on the defensive side of the ball. No fewer than eight different freshmen have started on defense, with a total of 31 games started by freshmen. Consequently, the defense has struggled, allowing 38.5 ppg. (13th in PSAC), 473.9 yards in total defense (15th), and 231.8 in rushing defense (15th).
The 2015 roster features 39 true freshman and 10 redshirt freshman. A year ago a total of 43 games were started by true freshman.
Edinboro was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish sixth the previous two years. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for sixth in 2014. Slippery Rock was picked to finish second in the PSAC West.
On TV/RadioThe Edinboro-Slippery Rock game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary. In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM in Erie and WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa., in addition to being streamed live. The game is also the SPORTSfever Television Network Game of the Week and can be seen live on ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra, along with SportsTime Ohio, among other networks. Dan Watson will handle the play-by-play, with Greg Gania on color commentary and Geoff Arnold providing sideline commentary.
SPORTSfever Game of the Week
LIVE LISTINGS• ESPN 3 (Accessible online to more than 99 million households at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One).
• ESPN College Extra (Live TV available to AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Bright House Networks, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and select NCTC subscribers).
• WPNT 22 (22 over-the-air, Comcast SD 10/HD 812, Comcast Clarion SD 12/HD 812, Armstrong SD 22/HD 105, Atlantic Broadband SD 8/HD 707, Citizens SD 12/HD 812, Time Warner SD 22/HD 1022, Verizon SD 10/ HD 510, Consolidated SD 10/HD 710, DirecTV 22, Dish Network 22) Pittsburgh.
• WETM 18.2 (18.2 over-the-air, Time Warner 11, Blue Ridge 8, Haefele 204) Elmira, N.Y. & Mansfield, Pa.
• WJAC 6.2 (6.2 over-the-air, Comcast 110-187-202-248, Armstrong 410, Atlantic Broadband 110, Windstream 16, Laurel Highland 15) Johnstown/Altoona/State College.
• Sports Time Ohio (Erie Time Warner 21-23/HD308-1308, Armstrong 47/HD177, Sharon Time Warner 76/HD 308-1308, DirecTV 662, Dish Network 431) Erie, Meadville, Sharon, Cleveland, Youngstown & Buffalo.
REPLAY- Replay on Saturday, October 31 - Midnight
• Sports Time Ohio (Erie Time Warner 21-23/HD308-1308, Armstrong 47/HD177, Sharon Time Warner 76/HD 308-1308, DirecTV 662, Dish Network 431) Erie, Meadville, Sharon, Cleveland, Youngstown & Buffalo.
The All-Time Series
Slippery Rock leads 51-26-7Slippery Rock has won the last five meetings with Edinboro, and the Fighting Scots have beaten The Rock just once in the last five meetings at Sox Harrison Stadium.
Last Year's Game
Slippery Rock 29, Edinboro 7 Edinboro played its final road game of the season and fell to 1-8 with starting quarterback
Cody Harris on the sidelines with an injury. He was replaced by promising freshman
Jake Sisson, who threw for 190 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown heave to
Darren Massey. That score cut the Slippery Rock lead to 17-7 in the third quarter after The Rock had jumped to a 17-0 lead at the half. Edinboro was guilty of five turnovers, with three of those leading to touchdowns. SRU would build its lead to 23-7 after one of those as The Rock recovered a fumble in the end zone after
Spencer Howell failed to handle the snap on a punt. SRU would clinch the game with a touchdown with just under three minutes to play following an interception. Sisson completed 14 of 32 passes in his first career start, but threw three interceptions. SRU sacked Boro quarterbacks six times. The Edinboro offense came up dry on three occasions inside the SRU 25.
Anfreenee Williams had his third 100-yard rushing game with 111 yards on 17 carries, but the Scots still finished with just 53 yards rushing. Massey matched his career-high with 161 yards on six receptions. He boosted his season total to 68 catches to break the previous record of 64 held by Ryan Valasek. A bend-but-don'tbreak defense gave up 438 yards as The Rock ran 93 plays. But they came up with numerous big stops while facing less than ideal field position all day.
Last Week
Mercyhurst 38, Edinboro 28 Edinboro jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, but the Fighting Scots' offense struggled all night. Edinboro had just seven first downs and a season-low 206 total yards.
Mitch Thomas gave the Scots a quick 7-0 lead with a 47-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Cory Bell followed with a two-yard TD run after noseguard
Josh Kibbie picked off his first career pass and returned it to the three. Mercyhurst would take a 17-14 halftime lead as Edinboro had 11 yards at the half. The Fighting Scots regained the lead at 21-17 on
Jake Sisson's three-yard scoring run. The score came after a
Zuril Hendrick fumble recovery at the Mercyhurst 25. Unfortunately, the Lakers ran off the next 21 points, starting with a 75-yard run by Richie Sanders. Sanders capped an 83-yard drive with a one-yard TD run, and the Lakers intercepted Sisson on the next play from scrimmage and scored four plays later. Edinboro closed the gap to 38-28 with 2:36 remaining on a 76-yard catch-and-run by
Alex Caratelli from Sisson, but Mercyhurst was able to recover the ensuing onside kick. Caratelli had his third 100-yard game with 5 catches for 116 yards. Sisson completed 14 of 28 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and 2 INTs. He was also the leading rusher with 28 yards as Edinboro ran for just 37 yards.
Slippery Rock 40, Indiana(Pa.) 39In a game that was as good as it was billed, The Rock edged the Crimson Hawks in a contest that was a tale of two halves. The first saw the two teams go up and down the field, with SRU holding a 30-26 lead at intermission. The defenses gained control in the second half. IUP would retake the lead at 33-30 early in the third quarter, but they would score just one more time. Andrew Huska tied the game with a 33-yard field goal, and Julian Durden gave Slippery Rock the lead for good early in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run. IUP scored less than a minute later, but the extra point was no good. IUP would drive into SRU territory two more times without scoring any points. SRU rushed for 269 yards against a stout IUP defense. Shamar Greene carried the ball 40 times for 192 yards to reach 3,006 yards for his career.
The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period. Browning is in his tenth season with a 57-51 record, and is in his 30th season as a member of the Edinboro staff. With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh in 2013, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald. The 2014 win over Clarion was his 55th, moving him into sole possession of second place in career victories. Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator. Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester. He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach. That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007. His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins. In 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA Top 25. The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA playoffs for the first time in his tenure. Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA poll. The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011. The 4-6 finish in 2012 represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.
Dr. George Mihalik (Slippery Rock '74) has been associated with Slippery Rock football for 42 of the last 43 years. It began as a freshman at Slippery Rock in 1970, where he was a three-year starter at quarterback and led The Rock to PSAC championships in 1972 and '73. Since then, with the exception of one year, he has coached at Slippery Rock, including the last 28 years as head coach. He has enjoyed 22 winning seasons while posting a 192-110-4 record. He ranks fourth on the all-time wins list in the PSAC and ranks fourth among all active Division II head coaches with 192 wins. He led SRU to four successive PSAC West championships from 1997-2000 and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1997, '98 and '99. The 2014 PSAC West crown was the sixth claimed by a Mihalik-coached Rock squad, and SRU went on to beat Bloomsburg in the PSAC title game. Mihalik also earned his fifth PSAC West Coach of the Year award in 2013. He had previously received that honor in 1997, '98, '99, and 2011. The 2011 season was also momentous as Mihalik was honored prior to the season opener with the renaming of SRU's home field to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. All told he has been inducted into five Hall of Fames.
Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots"We talked about getting off to a quick start, which we did. Then we spotted Mercyhurst 17 points. We came back to take the lead at 21-17, then they went right down the field and scored. We just didn't get it done. What else can you say. The difference is a senior-laden football team versus a young outfit. We just need to battle and keep getting better."Browning Comments ... on The Rock"Slippery Rock is the best team we've played all year. I don't see any weaknesses. They're athletic, well-coached, and physical. We will have our hands full, no doubt about that." 