Hosting the No. 6 in the nation is sure to attract people for a homecoming game, but at the same time you risk losing by a big margin in front of that big crowd. That’s exactly what happened to Edinboro University.
The first half of the game was very competitive, and The Rock struggled to find their footing. In the first quarter the lone score for Slippery Rock came from Andrew Koester on a one-yard run. The Green and White went up 8-0 after Koester passed to Max Maciejewski. Edinboro marched down the field with a 12 play, 56-yard drive to answer with a field goal. The first 15 minutes of action ended with the score at 8-3.
On their first two drives of the second quarter, The Rock was able to get into the endzone. The first drive was an 11 play, 97-yard drive. It was capped off by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Koester to Jermaine Wynn Jr. for his fourth touchdown reception of the season.
Cinque Sweeting was a key figure in the game, which started with his 58-yard touchdown run that helped put Slippery Rock up 22-3. Edinboro put up seven more points before the end of the half.
To open the third quarter, the Fighting Scots got a field goal that closed the gap a little more. Those were the final points they would put up in the game.
Sweeting put up his second rushing touchdown of the day on a four-yard run that put The Rock up 29-13, and from there they didn’t look back. Sweeting had seven rushing attempts for 89-yards. Sweeting gave The Rock’s run game a much-needed boost and all of a sudden, the former Seton Hill running back seemed to be the answer that Coach Shawn Lutz and company were looking for.
Wynn got on the board again to end the third quarter with a 10-yard pass from Koester, who’s thrown 14 of his 20 passing touchdowns in the past three games.
Sweeting scored a hat trick with his third touchdown of the day early in the fourth quarter. This time it came through the air. On only nine touches in the game, Sweeting found the endzone three times. But more importantly, he helped the team have a completely balanced game offensively. The final score of the day came from Maciejewski on a pass from Koester. On the day, Koester threw for four touchdowns and 266 yards.
While the offense has gotten a lot of attention, the defense has also helped The Rock succeed. Ever since the first game of the season, where they allowed 21 points and had a goal line stand to win, they haven’t let up more than 17 points in a game. In the other five games, they have only allowed a total of 44 points.
After crashing Edinboro’s homecoming, The Rock will return home for their own homecoming. It’ll be a matchup against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, in one of the most anticipated games of the year.
