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Lock Haven's run of three consecutive wins was snapped on Saturday with a tough 42-35 loss at Hubert Jack Stadium against Edinboro. It came a week after Lock Haven stunned No. 10 Indiana (Pa.) on the road, 35-20, earning the Bald Eagles' first win against IUP since 1981.
Lock Haven hopes it has some road magic in it again as the Bald Eagles once again travel for a matchup against a ranked team on the road, facing No. 7-ranked Slippery Rock today for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
The Bald Eagles played well against Edinboro last week, but couldn't rally late and came up a touchdown shy despite a 14-point fourth quarter.
Robert Footman Jr. threw for 301 yards and had four passing touchdowns and Bald Eagle Area graduate Carson Nagle went 7 for 8 for 84 yards and a touchdown pass.
Jake Roberts reeled in eight catches for 169 and two touchdowns, Jaiden Huntington caught six for 47 and a touchdown, Connor Foltz caught one for 28 and a score and Jayvon Tucker-Scott had three catches for 23 and a touchdown. Mekhi Watson caught six for 94 yards.
Lock Haven's ground game was led by Ezequiel Johnson's nine rushes for 66 yards. Footman Jr. has thrown for 1,439 yards with 15 touchdowns so far this season.
Lock Haven did a great job defensively against Edinboro quarterback Nico Marchitelli who went 16 for 20 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. The Bald Eagles picked him off twice, however, and sacked him four times. Lock Haven also bottled up Edinboro's running game, holding Edinboro to just 113 rushing yards as a team and didn't allow anyone to go over 50 yards individually.
Troy Miller and Raheem Reid each had an interception for Lock Haven, Martin Wantong had two sacks and Rocco Daugherty and JahCure Maxam each recorded a sack. Wantong and Maxam also both had two tackles for loss while Gavin Papp led Lock Haven with nine tackles. Daugherty had seven.
Slippery Rock has put together an outstanding year so far and sit at 7-0 and 4-0 in PSAC play. Slippery Rock has scored at least 40 points in all seven games and has put up 50 or more three times, including vs. East Stroudsburg (59-35), Millersville (70-10) and Seton Hill (59-14).
Slippery Rock also beat Indiana (Pa.), now ranked No. 19, 42-26, last week.
DaOne Owens has thrown for 1,587 yards with 17 touchdown passes and rarely makes mistakes, throwing just two interceptions with a 67.4% completion percentage, averaging 226.7 yards per game.
On the ground, Jayjay Joradn has 973 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns while Owens has run for 437 yards and five scores.
Slippery Rock's offense is well-balanced and can beat teams either by passing or running the ball. Slippery Rock also has six receivers with 125 or more receiving yards in Hamilton Gates (19 catches for 350 yards, three TDs), Vincent Berardi (28 for 326, five TDs), Ethan Trettel (19 for 289, two TDs), John Sabo (23 for 283, five TDs), Jordan (18 for 170, two TDs) and Reggie Fleurima (10 for 133).
Slippery Rock's defense has played superb. The team has seven players with an interception led by Evan Harper and Carmen Metcalfe, both of whom have two. Elijah Hailey has a team-high three sacks while Brian Young Jr. has 2 1/2 and Brett Koka has two. And Teddy Gregory Jr. has a team-high 40 tackles, Jacob Snow has 37, Ben Lane has 32 and Young Jr. has 30.
Wrap all that together,a nd Slippery Rock is an extremely tough team and one that won't be easy to beat.
Lock Haven has confidence after knocking off then-No. 10 ranked Indiana (Pa.) two weeks ago, but Slippery Rock will be an even tougher opponent this afternoon.