MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville struck first with a 68-yard touchdown pass from
Anthony Butler to
Jaheim Morris, and Morris went on to score two touchdowns, but 11th-ranked Slippery Rock used a balanced offense to control possession and pull away with a 45-14 road victory.
The Rock improved to 3-0 with the victory and has now won each game by at least 21 points. Led by 116 rushing yards from reigning PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week Chris D'Or and 289 passing yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Noah Grover, The Rock out-gained Millersville 573-202 in yards and ran double-up the Marauders in offensive snaps, 84-42.
After the Marauders created a turnover with an
Isaiah Onuschak fumble recovery on Slippery Rock's first drive, The Rock responded with four-straight TD drives. All five of Slippery Rock's first half possessions pushed inside the Millersville 10-yard line. The Marauders did keep The Rock out of the end zone just before the half with a stop on the 5-yard line as time expired.
But Slippery Rock's methodical pace continued on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Rock drove 75 yards in 16 plays and consumed more than nine minutes of game clock before Grover threw his fourth TD pass of the game.
Millersville received a spark from Morris, who scored two touchdowns for the first time in his career. He added to his first quarter receiving score with a third quarter run. Morris finished with a season-high 62 rushing yards and a career-high 74 receiving yards. Quarterback
Anthony Butler completed 13-of-21 passes for 160 yards. In addition to his 68-yard completion to Morris, he connected with
Christan Drayton III for 49 yards that helped set up Millersville's second touchdown.
Slippery Rock's defense entered the game first in the PSAC in efficiency and allowing just 3.7 yards per carry. Morris managed to average 4.1 yards on his 15 lugs. Millersville was also the first team to hold a lead against Slippery Rock and the first team to score two touchdowns before the fourth quarter.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM J.C. MORGAN
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Thoughts on the game: "We've got to stay on the field and then get off the field. You don't get a lot of plays if you don't make stops. Slippery Rock went 14-for-19 on the third downs, and that's the difference. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides, and that's tough to overcome."
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On the team's fast start: "We came out swinging. We wanted to take the fight to Slippery Rock and be aggressive. We wanted to make the uncomfortable. We scored the touchdown first, and they hadn't trailed all season. We wanted to put them in a position they hadn't been in. Jaheim made a great play. I liked the way we came out. We hung around and had a chance to get it to a two-score game. We've got great young men. They've proven many times that they keep fighting back. We just have to do things to not get us behind the 8-ball. That was in the second quarter when I felt we got off the attack and started to retreat.
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On Jaheim Morris: "I told a lot of people that he's developing into a complete running back. It's only his second year, but when you start to have the discussion about the class backs in the conference, people are going to start talking about him. Today, against a really good defense, he showed what he can do. In the run and in the pass, he's worked hard to prove what he can do--in pass protection too. I think we have a special player on our hands."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Grover's top target was Kyle Sheets, who made eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Odom made two TD catches, and Max Maciejewski caught one. Chris Wells and Cohen Russell added rushing touchdowns.
• Millersville linebacker
Rafael Lozada posted his third-straight game with double-digit stops, recording a season-high 13 tackles. Onuschak (12) and
Tyler Tate (10) also recorded season highs in tackles.
Garrett Cox recovered a fumble and added a tackle for loss.
UP NEXT
• Millersville travels to West Chester on Saturday, Sept. 24.
