SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Preparing for one team and ending up playing another team makes it hard to prepare for a game, especially one on short notice as Central Clarion and Slippery Rock found out on Friday evening as the Rockets used a strong second quarter to come away with a 38-7 victory over the Wildcats at Troy Alan Stadium in Slippery Rock.
(Photo courtesy of Ashby Diaz)
“We found out at about 8:00 this morning that we weren’t going to play Punxsutawney and then about 8:30 we got the call that Slippery Rock wants to play,” said Central Clarion head coach Davey Eggleton. “I said we should do it because we didn’t have a scrimmage last week and I didn’t want our kids to have two weeks with no game action.”
Things seemed to start off well for Central Clarion (0-1) as defensively they stopped Slippery Rock on their opening drive and forced a punt. After the punt the Wildcats took over at their own 42. Eight plays later Central Clarion faced a second down from the Rockets nine-yard line.
Quarterback Ryan Hummell attempted a run up the middle, but the ball was knocked out of his hands near the goal line and a Slippery Rock player recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback which ended the scoring threat.
“Slippery Rock went through the same thing we did,” said Eggleton. “We came out strong and drove right down the field and had that fumble which was a big momentum killer for us.”
The game remained scoreless until Slippery Rock broke the ice early in the second quarter when quarterback William Mokel connected with John Sabo on a 24-yard touchdown pass. Nick Kingerski made the first of five PAT kicks for a 7-0 lead with 11:17 to play in the second.
Slippery Rock appeared to score again on an interception return by Sal Mineo of 44 yards, but the Rockets were called for a penalty on the return and ended up starting the drive at the Wildcats 29-yard line. Four plays later Mokel connected with Shane Thompson on a one-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead with 8:22 to play in the second.
Kingerski would add a 43-yard field goal with 1:40 to play for a 17-0 halftime lead.
Central Clarion managed just two first downs on four offensive drives in the quarter. Slippery Rock held a 203-87 advantage in yardage for the first half.
Things didn’t start out much better for the Wildcats in the third quarter as they were forced to punt after three plays.
Slippery Rock took over at their own 33 and had to punt themselves. A poor punt would have given the Wildcats the ball in Rockets territory, but a roughing the punter penalty allowed Slippery Rock to maintain possession. With the new life, the Rockets drove 58 yards in seven plays capped off by a Mokel six-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 24-0 with 5:58 to play in the third.
“That was just a case if the guy dives six inches shorter he might have blocked the kick and we’d have had the ball deep in their end instead we got a penalty and kept the drive going for them,” said Eggleton. “I really can’t fault my kid for trying to make a play there.”
Slippery Rock then recovered a fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Central Clarion 23. Brett Galick caught two passes for 14 yards before carrying the ball the final nine yards for a touchdown to put the score at 31-0 after three quarters.
Shane Thompson finished the scoring for the Rockets early in the fourth on a 66-yard run to put the mercy rule running clock into effect with a 38-0 score at the 10:21 mark.
Ryan Hummell then scored for Central Clarion from three yards out to avoid the shutout with 5:57 to play. Charlie Franchino added the PAT kick for the 38-7 score.
Breckin Rex led the Wildcats rushing attack with 94 yards on 11 carries, Noah Nasar added 42 yards on 11 carries, and Ryan Hummell added 34 yards on seven attempts with one touchdown.
Jace Ferguson finished 6-of-14 passing for 50 yards with two interceptions. Hummell caught three passes for 23 yards.
Thompson paced Slippery Rock on the ground with 92 yards on seven carries with a score. Galcik added 56 yards on six attempts with a score.
Mokel finished 8-of-16 passing for 140 yards with two touchdowns.
Sabo caught three passes for 81 yards with a score while Thompson caught two passes for 38 yards with a score.
“We had some penalties that kept their drives going tonight,” said Eggleton. “They didn’t really gash our defense; I mean they had maybe three or four big plays which basically told the story. We know where we’re at and what we need to do. We have to raise our level of play to try and get better next week.”
Central Clarion will head to Moniteau next week to take on the Warriors as they look to rebound from the loss.
