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Slippey Rock inches past Grove City in Overtime @SRAHSATHLETICS @SRAHSFootball @GC_EaglesFB@CoachLarryW @RocketSchools

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News

| October 10, 2020


Alex Duffalo’s 26-yard field goal in overtime gave Slippery Rock a dramatic 17-14 victory over rival Grove City Friday night.

“I have so much respect for their program, and that’s what I want to emulate,” said Slippery Rock head coach Larry Wendereusz. “They’re tough, hard-nosed, they can run the ball, and throw it when they have to,”

Trailing 14-7 with 2:49 on the clock, Slippery Rock put together a 14-play 60-yard drive and tied the game on William Mokel’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Plesakov with 12 seconds to play.

“It’s not the first time we’ve had to do that. We have done that in practice, so our guys are ready for it,” said Wendereusz. “Mokel handled that well, and our kids had confidence in that situation.”

Grove City took the ball first in overtime. However, three plays netted only a single yard. Plesakov blocked John Hake’s 26-yard field goal attempt.

The Rockets’ overtime possession got off to a rocky start as Cole Hammerman sacked Mokel for a 12-yard loss on the first play.

On 3rd-and-goal from the 23-yard line, Slippery Rock ran a fake field goal with Duffalo to the 10-yard line. On the next play, Duffalo won it from 27 yards out for the Rockets.

“This was a great high school football game,” said Grove City head coach Sam Mowrey. “You never want to be on this end of it. It was a great hard-nosed game, and a shame someone had to lose.”

The Eagles opened the scoring on Curtis Hovis’s 40-yard touchdown run with 3:45 left in the first half.

Hovis led all rushers with 125 yards on 25 carries.

Grove City had a chance to score on their opening drive. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they lost a fumble on a 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line.

Likewise, Slippery Rock’s opening drive saw them dive to the Grove City 6-yard line thanks in large part to Jon Sabo’s 63-yard pass from Mokel.

On a 4th-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Brett Galcik was stopped for a 3-yard loss.

The Rockets’ would answer on Shane Thompson’s 26-yard run with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter.

Grove City again drove into the red zone and came up empty as Zach Rodgers was intercepted Galcik at the 19-yard line late in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Hake’s 39-yard goal attempt was wide right. The Grove City defense came up with three-and-out and took over at the Rockets’ 49-yard line.

Six plays later, Rodgers found a wide-open Zack Martin for an 18-yard touchdown giving Grove City a 14-7 lead.

 

“They came out in a little different defense than they had been running,” said Mowrey. “They have a great football team and made the plays when they had to.”

Zach Rodgers making his first start at quarterback completed 13-of-26 passes for 157 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

“Zach did a great job tonight,” said Mowrey. “All know he had a lot of nerves and was anxious. For this being his first varsity game, he did a fantastic job.”

The victory for Slippery Rock snaps a 3-game losing streak and the Rockets who will attempt to keep the momentum going next week when they travel to Hickory.

“We need to wait and see what will happen next week,” said Wendereusz. “Our seniors had a great week of practice, and they were motivated to win there final home game against Grove City.

William Mokel threw for 279 yards and a touchdown to lead the Rockets. Sabo had six receptions for 120 yards.

Grove City will try and rebound next week when they host Sharon.

Game Highlights:

 

Slippery Rock 17 Grove City 14

Score by Quarters

Grove City – 7 0 0 7 0 – 14
Slippery Rock – 0 0 7 7 3 – 17

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

GC – Curtis Hovis 40 yd run, (John Hake pat), 3:45

Third Quarter

SR – Shane Thompson 26 yd run, (Alex Duffalo pat), 3:22

Fourth Quarter

GC – Zack Martin 18 yd pass from Zach Rodgers, (Hake pat), 2:54

SR – Ethan Pelsakov 5 yd pass from William Mokel, (Duffalo pat), 0:12

Overtime

SR – Duffalo 26 yd field goal

Individual Stats:

Rushing: Grove City – Hovis 25-125, Gavin Lutz 7-55, Anthony Nemec 6-27, Rodgers 5-4, Team 1-0. Totals: 44-211. Slippery Rock – Thompson 15-49, Brett Galcik 4-13, Duffalo 1-13, Ryan Montgomery 4-(-1), Mokel 5(-15). Totals: 29-59.

Passing: Grove City – Rodgers 13-for-26, 157 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Slippery Rock – Mokel 24-for-44, 279 yards, 1 touchdown.

Receiving: Grove City – Lutz 5-40, Anthony Pereira 3-51, Hake 3-21, Martin 2-45. Slippery Rock – Jon Sabo 6-120, Thompson 5-54, Plesakov 5-42, Galcik 4-50, Montgomery 3-(-1), Brendan Earl 1-14.

Interceptions: Slippery Rock – Galcik.

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