EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Under the lights at Eiler-Martin Stadium for the first time in 2026, the ESU football team couldn't keep up with No. 13 Slippery Rock in a 59-35 final.
The Warriors were unable to stop the run, allowing 344 yards on 41 attempts. RB JayJay Jordan carried the ball 24 times, picking up 228 yards and scoring three touchdowns. QB DaOne Owens did the bulk of his work as a passer, though he picked up 36 yards on three runs, going 23-for-30 for 250 yards and three touchdowns. WR John Sabo was his favorite target, as the receiver hauled in eight catches for 93 yards and a pair of scores.
ESU's offense did its best to match the pace of The Rock's offense, but a scoreless third quarter widened a 10-point gap at halftime into an insurmountable lead. Senior QB
Harrison Susi went 13-for-22 for 213 yards and a touchdown, connecting with 10 different targets. Susi was also the Warriors' leading rusher, taking 15 carries for 77 yards, but losing 17 yards on two sacks. Senior RB
Ajani Walker and
Cade Sawyer each ran for 54 yards, with Walker totaling that on six carries and Sawyer on four.
There were no turnovers in the game, though DE Elijah Halley forced a fumble for The Rock. Their defensive front stifled the ESU run game for stretches at a time, breaking through the offensive line and creating pressure around Susi. Halley led The Rock with 2.0 sacks and 3.5 TFLs.
ESU won the toss and elected to receive, opening with a 13-yard run by Walker to move the chains on the first play of the game. That's as far as the Warriors would get on the opening drive, punting four plays later. Jordan made his presence felt immediately, rushing for 37 yards on The Rock's first two plays. Once Slippery Rock crossed midfield, Owens completed passes to WR Reggie Fleurima and Sabo, with Sabo's being a catch-and-run for a 22-yard touchdown.
The Warriors had an instant response, as on the second play of their next drive, Susi rolled to his right and found sophomore WR
Jalen Cook wide open down the sideline. As Susi drifted closer to the sideline, Cook slipped past the secondary and walked into the end zone to even the game five minutes in with a 79-yard touchdown. The Warriors' defense couldn't hold up to keep the game even, as RB Luke McCoy would give Slippery Rock the lead back three minutes later with a 28-yard rush. Susi got ESU back in Slippery Rock territory, hitting fifth-year WR
Elijah Ford on a deep ball, hauling it in while fighting through a defensive pass interference penalty. While the offense couldn't answer on that drive, the defense forced a stop late in the first quarter, with junior DB
Harold Hill IV breaking up a pass intended for Sabo. After Susi and Ford worked together again to cross the 50-yard line with a 23-yard reception, ESU came up to a 3
rd-and-2 situation on The Rock's 34-yard line. Walker ran up the middle into a horde of bodies, but ducked under tacklers and escaped the pile, winning the foot race to the right pylon to tie the game on the first drive of the second quarter.
Slippery Rock's next drive stalled out inside the red zone, but K Connor Macek was good from 33 yards out to make it 17-14. ESU went three-and-out after two runs were stuffed and a pass on third down was dropped, and The Rock padded their lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Sabo with 5:41 remaining in the half. The Warriors bounced back, carried by a 22-yard scramble by Susi on 3
rd and 10, and Sawyer breaking off another long touchdown for the second straight week, taking it 43 yards to the house. However, The Rock got those points right back, as Jordan punched it in from two yards out with 29 left in the half. ESU got into field goal range, but senior K
Ty Quintois' 44-yard attempt rang off the left upright.
The third quarter ultimately did the Warriors in, as Slippery Rock extended its lead from 10 to 24 with a 14-0 period. The Rock scored two touchdowns on their two drives of the frame, while ESU punted and turned it over on downs for their pair of drives. Each team scored twice in the fourth quarter, preserving The Rock's lead with the final score standing at 59-35.
GAME NOTES
- Susi's 213 passing yards were a career high for him in his fifth start, as were his 13 completions and his 79-yard completion.
- ESU came up just nine yards short of hitting the 250-yard mark for rushing again. It would have been its fifth straight game of such, while the four still stands as a program record.
UP NEXT
The Warriors enter their bye week with an extended break before taking on Lackawanna for the first time in the program's history. ESU returns to Eiler-Martin Stadium at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.
