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Slippery Rock advances to District 10 Final @SRAHSATHLETICS @SRAHSFootball @RocketSchools @HSD_Athletics

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News

| November 15, 2021

Grove City – Slippery Rock gets its revenge on Hickory.

On October 8th, the Slippery Rock Rockets tasted defeat for the first time in 2021 as Hickory rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in the final four minutes to beat the Rockets 27-23.

A little over a month later, the two met again at Grove City’s Forker Field in District 10 playoffs.

“They were the defending District champions, and they were the king,” said Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz. “They were the king, and they needed to be knocked off. Our kids knew that, and we talked about that in the locker room that if you want to take that next step, you have to beat the king.”

It looked like perhaps the same script could play itself out Friday night.

However, there was one significant difference between that first matchup and the one that took place Friday night.

Enter running back Shane Thompson. Thompson, who had gotten injured against Grove City on September 17th, made his return in a big way Friday night.

The senior rushed for a game-high 158 yards on 15 carries.  Perhaps his biggest play of the night came with 9:21 to play in the fourth quarter when he ran a kickoff back 90 yards that put the Rockets in nearly the same position they were in on October 8th.

The only difference was this time. They finished the job.

“We knew we were going to face adversity,” said Wendereusz. “It all comes down to how you handle it. That is up to us and our attitude and effort. Our kids did an amazing job tonight, and they’ve done that all year.”

Following Thompson’s return, Hickory trailed 23-14. The Hornets drove down the field and settled for a Lukas Jones 22-yard field goal with 6:01 to play that cut deficit to 23-17.

“This was two good teams playing against each other tonight,” said Hickory head coach Bill Dungee. “We made too many mistakes, we had three turnovers, and you can’t win like that. We did not play well in the first half. In the second, we were able to get our offense rolling. They’re a tough football team with heart. My hats off to Slippery Rock.”

The Hornets had a 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line before being forced to kick. In the first half, Hickory had three possessions in plus territory but came away with zero points.

“That was very frustrating because we had three chances to take the early lead,” said Dungee. “Whether it was penalties or turnovers, the bottom line is we left a lot of points on the field.”

Hickory allowed themselves to do it again when they took over at their 23-yard line with 4:07 to play.

On October 8th, the Hornets went on a 10-play, 57-yard drive capped with Logan Wood’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Pryts with one second to play.

“I went into the defensive huddle and told the kids that this is the same scenario. Go make it different,” said Wendereusz. “They did it, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

On Friday night, Hickory reached with Slippery Rock 37-yard line before Andrew Massella intercepted Woods at the 14-yard line with 43 seconds to play.

 

“I teased Thompson and Massella right after the game because I didn’t know who was going to get the player of the game,” said Wenedereusz. “I’m happy as all get out that both of those plays happened tonight. Shane’s kickoff return was special, we put that kickoff return in this week, and it worked out well tonight.”

Slippery Rock was to take a 9-0 lead into the locker room at halftime with two scores in the final 64 seconds of the first half.

John Sabo hauled in a 21-yard touchdown from William Mokel with 1:04 to play in the first half. Woods was then stripped sacked two plays later that led to Nick Kingerski’s 37-yard field goal as time expired.

The Rockets then started the second half with a bang as Thompson ran 77 yards to Hornets’ 3-yard line. Two plays later, Mokel scored from five yards out.

Hickory answered right back with Sean Kennedy’s 2-yard run making the score 16-8 following Woods’ 2-point pass to Nash Porada.

Early in the fourth quarter, Ramarion Whitehead hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass from Woods that got the Hornets within two at 16-14 before Thompson’s 90-yard kickoff return.

 

“Our kids have the heart of a champion,” said Dungee. “This group won two games as a freshman, the last three years they’ve put it together. I knew our kids would fight to the end.”

Whitehead led Hickory with 136 yards receiving on five catches. Kennedy rushed for 86 yards on 20 carries. Woods 10-of-19 passes for 164 yards with a touchdown and interception while adding 40 yards rushing.

Hickory concludes their season at 7-4.

“Our seniors a just tough hard-working football players that epitomize Hickory football,” Dungee concluded.

Slippery Rock advances to the District 10 final next Saturday afternoon against Grove City at Slippery Rock University. The kickoff is set for 1 PM. The Rockets beat the Eagles 34-7 on September 17th.

“Getting to the District title game is important, but I’m not excited about just getting there,” said Wendereusz. “Getting there is just getting there. We want to get after it and win the thing. We have work to do this week.”

Game Highlights

 

Slippery Rock 23 Hickory 17

Score by Quarters

Hickory – 0 0 8 9 – 17
Slippery Rock – 0 9 7 7 – 23

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

SR – John Sabo 21 yd pass from William Mokel, (rush failed), 1:04

SR – Nick Kingerski 37 yd field goal, 0:00

Third Quater

SR – Mokel 5 yd run, (Kingerski pat), 11:07

H – Sean Kennedy 2 yd run, (Nash Porada from Logan Woods), 9:36

Fourth Quater

H – Ramarion Whitehead 58 yd pass from Woods, (rush failed), 9:36

SR – Shane Thompson 90 yd kickoff return, (Kingerski pat), 9:21

H – Lukas Jones 22 yd field goal, 6:01

Individual Stats

Rushing: Hickory – Sean Kennedy 20-86, Ty Holland 6-22, Nakeem Jones 11-38, Damar Trawick 2-19, Logan Woods 9-40, Pryts 3-5, Whitehead 1-3. Totals: 50-213. Slippery Rock – Shane Thompson 15-158, Ryan Montgomery 5-19, Mokel 3-11, Maddox Allen 1-(-2), Team 3-0. Totals: 27-186.

Receiving: Hickory – Ramarion Whitehead 5-136, Nash Porada 1-10, Jackson Pryts 3-19, Kennedy 1-(-1). Slippery Rock Sabo 4-40, Thompson 2-13, Sam Schwartz 1-21, Colton Glass 1-7, Montgomery 1-1.

Passing: Hickory – Woods 10-for-19, 164 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Slippery Rock – Mokel 9-for-19, 82 yards, 1 touchdown.

Interceptions: Slippery Rock – Andrew Massella.

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