No. 17 SLIPPERY ROCK The Rock (6-1, 3-1 PSAC West) at EDINBORO Fighting Scots (4-3, 2-2 PSAC West)
Date: Saturday, October 21, 2017
Site: Edinboro, Pa.
Stadium: Sox Harrison Stadium (6,000)
Kickoff: 12 noon
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Radio: WFSE 88.9
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Edinboro Game Notes
Slippery Rock Game Notes
Scouting the Teams
On Radio and TV
The Edinboro-Slippery Rock can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with George Schmidt and Gabriel Hypes handling the call of all the action. The WFSE stream can be heard at www.edinboronow.com. In addition, ETV will provide a video stream of the game at www.youtube.com/c/EdinboroNow/live
The All-Time Series
Slippery Rock leads 52-27-7
Edinboro had lost the last six meetings with Slippery Rock before last year's victory at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, the first at SRU since 2008. SRU has won in its last three trips to Sox Harrison Stadium, with Edinboro last prevailing in 2009.
The Last Meeting
2016 -- Edinboro 37, Slippery Rock 35
The Fighting Scots led 31-13 lead early in the third quarter, only to see Slippery Rock run off 22 straight points to take a 35-31 lead with 57 seconds to go. Jake Sisson, who enjoyed an up-and-down day, proceeded to lead Edinboro on an eight-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. It included a brilliant throw and catch on a 22-yard hookup with Jordan Williams that gave Edinboro a first down at the SRU 15 with 13 seconds left. After two incomplete passes, The Rock was called for pass interference in the end zone with no time remaining on the clock. Given one additional down, Sisson threw a two-yard touchdown pass to James Clark for the winning score. Sisson would throw for four touchdowns on the day, giving him 32 on the year to break Trevor Harris' season record. The junior also endured a record-tying five interceptions on a blustery day. Williams caught TD passes of 9 and 3 yards, and Ta'Nauz Gregory added a 5-yard TD catch and an 85-yard kickoff return for six points. Austin Reese booted a 43-yard field goal into a strong wind. Edinboro won despite being outgained, 442 yards to 267 yards, a season-low. Sisson completed 28 of a career-high 62 passes for 248 yards with 4 TDs and 5 INTs.
The Coaches
Wayne Bradford (Salisbury St. '90) was named Edinboro's 15th head coach on March 29, 2017. Bradford worked under four different head coaches and was an assistant at Edinboro for 18 years before taking over as the interim head coach. He has spent a majority of his time as the Fighting Scots' defensive coordinator. Bradford has master-minded some brilliant defensive performances over the years in a day and age when offense has taken over. For instance, in 2011 the Fighting Scots ranked eighth in Division II in scoring defense (17.0 ppg.), 11th in pass efficiency defense, and 18th in total defense (292.6 ypg.). Edinboro gave up fewer than 20 points in seven of its 11 games. A year ago, his Edinboro defense finished first in the PSAC and fourth in Division II in tackles for losses, and second in the PSAC and sixth in the country in sacks. Edinboro finished the 2016 campaign with a 9-2 record, marking the fifth time an Edinboro team with Bradford on the staff tied the school record for victories (9). Three of Edinboro's teams during his tenure have reached the NCAA playoffs, including the 2009 team, which finished at 9-4 and reached the Super Region One semifinals. All told, he has been a part of 113 wins.
Shawn Lutz (West Virginia '96) is in his second season at the helm of The Rock, but is in his 22nd season as a member of the staff. He led SRU to a 7-4 finish in his first season as a head coach after taking over for legendary coach George Mihalik. He spent the previous four years as the associate head coach and the previous eight as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. He has been a part of eight PSAC West titles at Slippery Rock.
Last Week
Edinboro 28, Mercyhurst 25
An opportunistic Edinboro team celebrated Homecoming with a 28-25 win over Mercyhurst behind backup quarterback Andrew Tomko. Three Mercyhurst fumbles led to short drives, and Tomko, a redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Tomko guided the Fighting Scots on a 75-yard drive. Making his first career start, Tomko scored on a pair of three-yard runs in the first quarter. Mercyhurst would take a 17-14 lead into halftime, but the Fighting Scots took advantage of two Mercyhurst fumbles to score a pair of touchdowns in the period for a 28-17 lead. Walter Fletcher accounted for both of the scores on touchdown runs of 10 and one-yard runs. The Lakers would close the gap to 28-25 thanks to a touchdown and two-point conversion. Trey Staunch, an offensive tackle, recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Fighting Scots were able to run out the clock. Fletcher finished with his fifth 100-yard game of the season with 132 yards on 26 carries, boosting his season total to 958 yards. Tomko would complete 7-of-16 passes for 52 yards, adding 33 yards rushing. James Clark caught six passes for 49 yards. Edinboro finished with a season-low 231 total yards, but the defense limited Mercyhurst to 285 yards.
No. 3 Indiana(Pa.) 34, No. 9 Slippery Rock 17
Two top 10 teams squared off in front of over 10,000 fans at SRU's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium with first place in the PSAC West on the line. The Rock jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter on a 12-yard TD pass from Tanner Garry to Marcus Johnson and a 27-yard field goal by Jake Chapla. Those two drives were 75 and 86 yards, but IUP would limit SRU to just one more score, that coming in the third quarter. By that time, IUP had scored 24 unanswered points to go up 24-10. Isiah Neely's four-yard TD run with four minutes left in the third quarter capped an 81-yard march and closed the gap to 24-17, but IUP tacked on 10 more points early in the fourth quarter. Tanner Garry had another big game for SRU, completing 25-of-44 passes for 316 yards with a touchdown and 2 INTs. Milly Raye caught nine passes for 72 yards and Marcus Johnson seven for 108.
The Game Stories
- Edinboro and Slippery Rock meet for the 87th time on Saturday. The Rock owns a 52-27-7 advantage in the all-time series, and had won six straight meetings in the series before the Fighting Scots pulled off a 37-35 win at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium last year. The winning score came on a two-yard pass from Jake Sisson to James Clark with no time remaining on the clock following a pass interference penalty in the end zone.
- The Slippery Rock contest wraps up a set of four straight games for Edinboro without leaving Erie County, and the second straight home game. The stretch began with a home game against Clarion, followed by a short trek up I-79 to play at Gannon. A week ago, Edinboro hosted Mercyhurst in the annual Homecoming game.
- The Fighting Scots were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West, and come in with a 4-3 overall record and 2-2 in the PSAC West after celebrating Homecoming with a 28-25 win over Mercyhurst. Edinboro opened the season with back-to-back wins at Sox Harrison Stadium, defeating Lake Erie (30-3) and Lock Haven (20-3). Their next two games came on the road against the two preseason favorites in the PSAC. Edinboro suffered a 62-28 loss at West Chester, the Eastern Division favorite, followed by a 38-7 setback at then sixth-ranked and PSAC West preseason favorite Indiana(Pa.) in the PSAC West opener. They snapped their two-game losing skid with a 45-10 win over Clarion to end September, but began October with a 47-25 loss at Gannon.
- Edinboro definitely enjoys playing at Sox Harrison Stadium. The Fighting Scots are 4-0 at home and have outscored those three opponents, 120-41. The story has been a bit different on the road, with Edinboro losing all three road games and being outscored 147-60.
- Slippery Rock was picked to finish third in the PSAC Western Division behind Indiana(Pa.) and California(Pa.). The Rock has posted a 6-1 record, 3-1 in the PSAC West, while facing the toughest part of their schedule. In fact, SRU has had three games against ranked opponents, defeating 24th-ranked West Chester, the PSAC East preseason favorite, by a 49-42 score, and then sixth-ranked California(Pa.), 47-44 in overtime. The Rock climbed to ninth in the AFCA Division II Top 25 before suffering a 34-17 loss to third-ranked IUP last Saturday in front of over 10,000 fans at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. That dropped The Rock to 17th this week. Four of SRU's wins have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a 49-45 win over Gannon and a 31-28 decision over Mercyhurst.
- Wayne Bradford is in his first season as Edinboro's interim head coach. He was on the Edinboro staff for 18 years, most of that as the defensive coordinator, before assuming the head coach responsibilities.
- Bradford took over for Justin Lustig, who was Edinboro's head coach for just a year. Lustig moved on to an assistant coaching position at Syracuse. He enjoyed a monumental one season as head coach, as Edinboro recorded the largest turnaround in NCAA Division II history. The Fighting Scots went 9-2 in 2016, tying the school record for wins in a season, after finishing 0-11 in 2015.
- Edinboro will have to contend with a Slippery Rock offense that ranks among the best in Division II. The Rock ranks first in the PSAC and fifth in Division II in passing offense (336.7 ypg.), along with fifth and 22nd, respectively, in scoring offense (38.3 ppg.). SRU scored at least 31 points in each of its first six games before being held to 17 by IUP. The offense showcases quarterback Tanner Garry, a transfer from Youngstown State who has thrown for a Division II-leading 2,344 yards with 23 TDs. The latter figure ranks first in the PSAC and second nationally. His top two targets, Milly Raye and Marcus Johnson, have combined for 99 receptions for 1,523 yards and 17 TDs.
- A year ago Edinboro showcased a high-flying passing attack. This year, while the Fighting Scots are still averaging close to 40 passes per game, it is the play of running back Walter Fletcher that has sparked the offense. The redshirt sophomore ranks second in the PSAC and third in Division II in rushing yards (958) and has accounted for 11 touchdowns rushing and receiving.
- Slippery Rock has won the last three meetings at Sox Harrison Stadium. Edinboro last prevailed on its home turf in 2009.
- After finishing 9-2 finish in 2016, Edinboro was ranked in several preseason polls. The summer began with the Fighting Scots picked 16th in the Street and Smith's Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll. Next came a ranking of 30th in the College Football America 2017 Yearbook Division II Preseason Top 30. The AFCA released its 2017 AFCA Division II Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll on August 14, with defending national champion Northwest Missouri State ranked number one. While failing to land a spot in the top 25, Edinboro was one of the top teams among "others receiving votes". The Fighting Scots received 57 votes after ending the 2016 season among "others receiving votes", as well.
