Slippery Rock knocks off General McLane @CoachLarryW @SRAHSATHLETICS @SRAHSFootball @GenMclaneSports

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News

PFN Staff | August 26, 2019

Shane Lux

Slippery Rock scored 24 second-half points to open the season with a 34-21 victory over General McLane.

“Week Zero games you’re always looking at conditioning and mental toughness,” said Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz. “In the first game, something stupid will happen, and mistakes will be made. Our strength and conditioning coach Lou DeJulia did a great job all summer to help prepare these guys.”

Nathan Hyatt rushed for a game-high 112 yards on 22 carries, and Vito Pilosi had 233 yards of total offense to lead the Rockets.

Hyatt rushed for 104 yards in the second half after being held to just eight yards on seven attempts by halftime.

“We know we have great skill guys,” said Wendereusz. “We said earlier we’re young upfront, so we have to have our veteran guys step up. We do some things to keep teams off balance when we line up. We know we can break big plays and Vito, David (Duffalo), and Nathan all broke big plays for us tonight.”

Pilosi threw a near-perfect game going 11-for-12 passing for 173 yards, including 6-for-6 in the second half.

“In order for us to be successful, Vito’s going to have to do that,” said Wendereusz. “We’re going to run the ball. We know that. But when Vito can hit those passes, teams have to back up, and that opens up our running game. “He’s worked hard all summer to prepare for that as have our receivers. I hope that can continue all season.”

Slippery Rock scored on their first four possessions of the second half.

Hyatt scored on runs of three and 57 yards. Pilosi threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Plesakov, while kicker Nate Willison booted his second field goal of the game from 32 yards.

General McLane scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on Matt Leehan’s 35-yard pass to Nate Jones and Jaxon Scrutchins’ 45-yard fumble return.

The Lancers got off to a great start as Tyler Myers broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run on their second snap of the season.

However, things quickly went downhill for General McLane on their second series a bad punt snap led to a short field and Hyatt’s first score of the game from three yards out that tied the game.

Slippery Rock recovered a squib-kick that led to Willison’s first field from 29 yards that helped the Rockets take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

The game was a tale of two halves as General McLane outgained Slippery Rock 160 to 89 in the two quarters; then saw the Rockets hold a 376-325 advantage for the game.

“I think that Slippery Rock is an excellent team,” said General McLane head coach Jim Wells.

“They are really tough up front, and versatile being able to run and throw the ball. I was very impressed with their offensive and defensive lines and how physical they were.”

General McLane had just 17 yards rushing in the second half.

“They took advantage of our mistakes tonight,” said Wells. “We’re going to look at the film, get better and be ready for next week. We’ll put this one behind us.”

Game Highlights:

Slippery Rock 34 General McLane 21

Score by Quarters

General McLane – 7 0 0 14 – 21

Slippery Rock – 7 3 10 14 – 34

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

GM – Tyler Myers 70 yd run (Russell Wismer pat), 10:40

SR – Nathan Hyatt 3 yd run (Nate Willison pat), 3:40

Second Quarter

SR – Willison 29 yd field goal, 10:42

Third Quarter

SR – Willison 32 yd field goal, 6:04

SR – Hyatt 3 yd run (Willison pat), 0:22

Fourth Quarter

GM – Nate Jones 35 yd pass from Matt Leehan (Wismer pat), 11:52

SR – Ethan Plesakov 43 yd pass from Vito Pilosi (Willison pat), 11:11

SR – Hyatt 57 yd run (Willison pat), 9:10

GM – Jaxon Scrutchins 45 yd fumble return (Wismer pat), 2:26

Individual Stats

Rushing: General McLane – Ben Howe-Jones 16-86, Jared Iavarone-Campbell 4-23,  Scrutchins 3-3, Leehan 9-10, Myers 2-62. Totals: 34-184. Slippery Rock – Hyatt 22-112, Pilosi 15-60, Duffalo 7-31. Totals: 44-203.

Passing: General McLane – Leehan 7-for-15, 141 yards, 1 touchdown. Slippery Rock – Pilosi 11-for-12, 173 yards, 1 touchdown.

Receiving: General McLane – Howe-Jones 1-20, Myers 1-19, Jones 2-51,  Iavarone-Campbell 1-5, Ben Lipinski 2-46. Slippery Rock – Hyatt 3-24, Duffalo 6-84,  Plesakov 1-43, Brendan Earl 1-22.

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