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Complete
Box Score
EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University
defense has ranked among the tops in Division II all season long,
and in Saturday’s 24-7 win over Slippery Rock, it was the
defense that stepped up when it appeared The Rock was about to
spoil any playoff aspirations of the Fighting Scots. All told, the
defense came up with five turnovers, scored a pair of touchdowns,
including one on a blocked punt, and recorded nine sacks.
The victory improves Edinboro to 6-2 overall
and 4-1 in the PSAC West, while Slippery Rock falls to 3-5 and
2-2, respectively. The Fighting Scots are ranked seventh in the
Northeast Region and 22nd in the D2Football.com Top 25.
Playing in a steady downpour and with the field
deteriorating, the Edinboro defense scored a pair of touchdowns in
a span of less than three minutes to seal the victory. Clinging to
a 10-7 lead , Edinboro scored when SRU quarterback Nate Crookshank
was sacked by OLB Jim Soltis (Garrettsville, OH/ Cardinal)
at the SRU 12 and fumbled. The ball rolled into the end zone,
where it was recovered by senior defensive end Greg MacAnn
(Rochester, NY/Greeve Athena) for his first career touchdown
with 5:38 left to play. SRU’s drive began after Justin
Bouch (Brackenridge, PA/Highlands) completed a 49-yard pass to
Ryan Rybicki (Covina, CA/Charter Oaks) to the one, but the
redshirt freshman fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a
touchback.
Starting the next possession at the SRU 30, a
bad shotgun snap from center left The Rock with a 2nd-and-30 at
the SRU 10. Josh Kniess, who finished with 120 yards on 25
carries, gained 13 yards, leaving a 3rd-and-17. A.J. Cousins
(Chillicothe, OH/Chillicothe) sacked Crookshank for a loss of
five yards on third down. Cousins then blocked Joe Ennis’
punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. Kody
Robertson’s (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) extra point
made it 24-7 with 3:05 left in the contest. It marked the second
straight week that Edinboro blocked a punt and recovered it for a
touchdown.
Slippery Rock nearly forged a tie early in the
fourth quarter after driving from its own 20 yardline to the EU
23. Ryan Daniel’s 40-yard field goal attempt was just wide to
the right, maintaining Edinboro’s 10-7 lead.
Edinboro scored on its very first possession
after Tom Davidson (Geneva, OH/Geneva) intercepted a pass
and returned it six yards to the SRU 20. While the Fighting Scots
failed to gain a first down, Robertson came in and booted a
32-yard field goal at 12:42 for a 3-0 lead.
The Fighting Scot offense put together one of
its few sustained drives of the afternoon earlier in the second
quarter, marching 93 yards in 11 plays. Kelvin Collins (Glen
Burnie, MD/Old Mill) accounted for a large chunk of the
yardage, carrying six times for 62 yards. Facing a 3rd-and-goal at
the SRU 6, Bouch hit Ryan Valasek (Natrona Heights,
PA/Highlands) in the back left corner of the end zone for a
six-yard touchdown pass and a 10-0 lead.
Slippery Rock answered with an impressive drive
of its own, going 72 yards in 11 plays. Crookshank scored on a
seven-yard run at the 3:06 mark, with Daniel’s extra point
closing the margin to 10-7. The sophomore quarterback threw for 33
yards and ran for another 24 in the drive.
Edinboro finished the day with 274 total yards,
while Slippery Rock managed just 240 against a defense that
entered the game ranked third in total defense (223.7 ypg.) and
sixth in scoring defense (10.9 ppg.). The Fighting Scots also
limited The Rock to 79 yards rushing. Slippery Rock came into the
game ranked 24th in Division II in rushing (212.0 ypg.), but
Edinboro was second in rushing defense (52.3 ypg.). The sacks had
a great deal to do with the final rushing figure. The nine sacks
are tied for the second-highest total in school history, exceeded
only by 11 sacks against West Liberty in 1983.
Collins paced the Edinboro offense with 133
yards on 25 carries. The 6’0”, 230 lb. senior was making
his first start at tailback as a Fighting Scot after transferring
from Bowie State. Bouch completed 13 of 20 passes for 122 yards.
Senior TE C.J. Trivisonno (Kirtland, OH/Kirtland) had 4
receptions for 20 yards. Edinboro did lose a pair of fumbles, the
first all season.
The defensive unit featured a host of heroes.
Leading the way was Chris Amico (Webster, NY/West Irondequoit).
The sophomore defensive tackle had a career-high 12 tackles, with
3.5 for losses and a pair of sacks. Cousins added 9 tackles,
matching his career-high, with 1.5 sacks. Davidson had a pair of
interceptions.
In addition to Kniess, Crookshank completed 10
of 27 passes for 161 yards but threw three interceptions. Colin
Golden led The Rock with 6 catches for 105 yards.
Edinboro concludes the home portion of its 2005
season next Saturday, October 29, hosting Kutztown. Kickoff at Sox
Harrison Stadium is 1:00 p.m.
Slippery Rock....... 0 7 0 0 - 7 Record: (3-5,2-2)
Edinboro University. 3 7 0 14 - 24 Record: (6-2,4-1)
Scoring Summary:
1st 12:42 EDIN - Kody Robertson 32 yd field goal, 4-5 1:33, ROCK 0
- EDIN 3
2nd 07:03 EDIN - Ryan Valasek 6 yd pass from Justin Bouch (Kody
Robertson kick), 11-93 6:57, ROCK 0 - EDIN 10
03:06 ROCK - Nate Crookshank 7 yd run (Ryan Daniel kick), 11-72
3:57, ROCK 7 - EDIN 10
4th 05:38 EDIN - Greg MacAnn 0 yd fumble recovery (Kody Robertson
kick), , ROCK 7 - EDIN 17
03:05 EDIN - A.J. Cousins 0 yd blocked punt return (Kody Robertson
kick), , ROCK 7 - EDIN 24
ROCK EDIN
FIRST DOWNS................... 15 9
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 46-79 32-152
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 161 122
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 28-10-3 20-13-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 74-240 52-274
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-7 1-18
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-70 1-24
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 3-23
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-19.8 6-29.8
Fumbles-Lost.................. 5-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards............... 3-35 8-62
Possession Time............... 29:05 30:55
Third-Down Conversions........ 5 of 16 2 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 2 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-1 2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 9-58
RUSHING: Slippery Rock-Josh Kniess
25-120; Corey Manfull 4-1; TEAM 1-minus 20; Nate Crookshank
16-minus 22. Edinboro University-Kelvin Collins 25-133; Justin
Bouch 5-15; Ulysee Davis 1-5; TEAM 1-minus 1.
PASSING: Slippery Rock-Nate Crookshank 10-27-3-161; TEAM
0-1-0-0. Edinboro University-Justin Bouch 13-20-0-122.
RECEIVING: Slippery Rock-Colin Golden 6-105; John Benca
2-17; Luke Wetzel 1-24; Frank Cremonese 1-15. Edinboro
University-C.J. Trivisonno 4-20; Ryan Rybicki 2-63; Jeff Dinger
2-14; Ryan Valasek 2-13; Nate Eimer 1-5;Aaron Fetty 1-5; Kelvin
Collins 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Slippery Rock-None. Edinboro University-Tom
Davidson 2-8; Ben Stroup 1-15. |
