STORYLINES
REVISITING THE FIRST MATCHUP
Slippery Rock opened ESU’s home schedule, playing in East Stroudsburg under the lights at Eiler-Martin Stadium in September after the Warriors started the year with two road games. Coming in ranked No. 13 at the time, The Rock pulled away close to halftime, using a 28-0 run to end up winning by 24. Neither team turned the ball over, as QB Harrison Susi threw for 213 yards and ran for 60, but Slippery Rock’s star duo of DaOne Owens at quarterback and JayJay Jordan at running back stole the show. Owens threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns while Jordan nearly matched his output on the ground, running for 231 yards and another three scores. With Slippery Rock gaining 594 yards on offense and ESU picking up 458 yards of total offense, neither defensive unit has allowed an opponent to reach those marks since the Sept. 12th meeting.
WHAT’S CHANGED
The Warriors have been a completely unrecognizable team defensively since suffering their only loss of the year to The Rock, turning their play entirely around coming out of the bye week. They have held four teams below 200 yards of total offense — while only giving up over 300 yards of offense once — and have come up with at least one takeaway while winning or tying the turnover battle every week. ESU has cleaned up the penalties as well. While both teams were assessed 143 yards in flags, ESU has been at or below 50 yards of infractions in four of its last five games down the stretch. Offensively, the passing offense has opened up more with QB Matt Machalik starting. Four of the Warriors’ five best games for passing yards have been with Machalik accounting for the bulk of the production, despite him only starting the last three contests.
MORE OF THE SAME
While the Week 2 game catalyzed ESU, The Rock continued to show why they are one of the top teams in Division II. With ranked wins over No. 12 Minnesota-Duluth to open the season and No. 19 Indiana (Pa.) in October, they’ve lasted as one of the six remaining unbeaten teams in the country. The offense hasn’t slowed down; nonetheless, it even had a hiccup, scoring 52.9 PPG, the most in Division II. Jordan has broken multiple SRU program records while building up his Harlon Hill Trophy argument as the top player in Division II, while Owens has staked his claim as the top quarterback in the PSAC by taking the lead in passing yards, yards per game, and passing touchdowns. Slippery Rock has won every game since its season-opener by at least 15 points, scoring over 40 points each time. Teams haven’t been able to pass against The Rock’s secondary either. ESU’s 217 yards through the air are the second-most Slippery Rock has allowed all year, giving up 150 yards or less in half of their games so far.
PLAYMAKER DUELS
Jordan headlines the offensive weapons in this matchup, but the Warriors boast top-tier rushing talent on their side of the line as well. While opting to use a rotation rather than one lead running back, Ajani Walker, Deante Crawford, and Cade Sawyer have the ESU rushing offense picking up 254.7 YPG, the 11th best in Division II. Walker leads the team with 638 yards and has yet to be tackled behind the line of scrimmage this year, and Sawyer is averaging 7.1 YPC with eight touchdowns. On the perimeter, ESU has wide receivers Elijah Ford and David Washington Jr. leading its group, while Slippery Rock looks to Hamilton Gates and John Sabo. Sabo shined against the Warriors, going for eight receptions and a pair of touchdowns. His 33 receptions and eight scores lead The Rock, but Hamilton has a slight edge in yardage with 479 and is one of Slippery Rock’s two receivers with a 100-yard game this season. Ford has developed into the Warriors’ clear-cut WR1 as the season has progressed, going for 103 yards at Shippensburg and 140 yards vs. Kutztown. Washington Jr. has been a strong complement, coming in in the second half of the season and recording 50 yards in three of his five full games played.
ESU DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
ESU’s defense has been a three-level effort, with each group making the necessary improvements from earlier in the season to push the Warriors to the PSAC Championship game. Up front, ESU has had the same four starting linemen for nearly all 10 of its games: Ashton Blose and Terrell Reynolds on the edges, and Jake Williamson and Ryan Epps in the middle. Blose leads the group with 45 tackles, 8.0 sacks, and a PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week award to his name, but they’ve all contributed to shutting down running lanes and collapsing pockets. The Warriors had a streak of five straight games in the middle of the season where they held opponents under 100 yards on the ground, making at least five tackles for loss in five of their last seven games. Over the middle, linebackers Camerin Gross and Mason Smith have been tackling machines, and Sean McFadden has given ESU depth at that position as well. Gross leads the team with 58 tackles and three forced fumbles, and Smith has made 39 tackles with a pair of punchouts, too. In the secondary, defensive backs Harold Hill IV and Leyden Hertz have been two of the best corners in the conference in breaking up passes, combining for 21, and safeties Everette Dingle, Armonie Torres, and Cam Jefferson have picked off five passes.
THE ROCK DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
The strength of The Rock’s defense is its secondary, coming into the game ranked 24th in passing defense while the run defense is 94th in Division II. Ben Lane is Slippery Rock’s leading tackler with 50 on the season, but linebackers Teddy Gregory Jr. and Tyree Johnson are right behind him with 48 and 42, respectively. Defensive back Evan Harper leads the PSAC with four interceptions on the year, picking off passes in back-to-back games to close out PSAC West play. His teammate in the back of the defense, Owen Suah, leads the team in breakups, knocking away 12 passes. Three of The Rock’s top defensive linemen each have at least 7.0 TFL and 3.5 sacks, as Elijah Halley, Brian Young Jr., and Brett Kwoka create The Rock’s pressure up front.
ON THE MARGINS
In close ESU’s close games this year, they’ve come out on top in large part due to its play on special teams. Against Kutztown, kicker Ty Quintois had a historic day with six field goals, and punter Adam Noll netted 15.1 more net yards per punt than the Golden Bears. In ESU’s first two games against Seton Hill and Pace, Quintois totaled 22 points without missing a kick, and Noll had three punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line. The Warriors’ punt coverage team paired with Noll has been the best in the conference, as ESU ranks 11th in Division II with 39.9 net yards per punt. Slippery Rock’s offense has been humming to the point where its kicker, Connor Macek, has only needed to attempt seven field goals, going 4-for-7 with a long of 36. Billy Lech has punted for The Rock when healthy, averaging a hair over 35 yards per punt on nine attempts.
PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
While the Warriors are eyeing their first outright PSAC title since 1982, Slippery Rock is looking to cash in for its 13th conference championship after winning most recently in 2019. The Rock has played in nine state title games since 2011, which has been played from 1960-87 and from 2008-26. ESU has not played in the state game since 1983, winning three division titles in 1991, 2002, and 2003 to claim co-championships. The only time the two teams have met with the PSAC championship on the line was in 1962, with The Rock winning 13-6.
RANKINGS TALK
The Rock has been on a steady climb since the beginning of the season to reach No. 5 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches Poll, while ESU’s jump to No. 14 has happened quickly over the last three weeks. When ranked and on the road, the Warriors are 11-4, including 2-1 when the opponent is in the AFCA Top 25 as well. They haven’t played The Rock as a ranked team yet, but when Slippery Rock is ranked, ESU is 0-4. Slippery Rock and ESU are one and two in the NCAA Power Index (NPI) Rankings for Super Region 1, with both teams nearly guaranteed to be hosting an NCAA First Round contest next weekend. The selection show at 6 p.m. will reveal the final bracket for the postseason.
