SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa – The Clarion University football team dropped a road contest to Slippery Rock, 24-9 on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon.

The Rock reclaims possession of the Milk Jug, while they improve to 7-2 on the season. Clarion drops to 1-8.

Rainy weather and slick field conditions affected both offenses on Saturday, however it was Slippery Rock who benefited from a few big plays that made the difference.

The game started with four consecutive punts, two by each team, as both offenses tried to find their rhythm. Slippery Rock extended their third drive by executing a fake punt on their own 32-yard line on 4^th and 5, good enough for 30 yards, leading to a Jake Chapla 43-yard goal.

After taking an early 3-0 lead, Slippery Rock looked to be threatening again, until Clarion's Avery Howsare forced a fumble and set the Golden Eagles up with excellent field position at the Slippery Rock 11 yard line.

However the momentum was short lived, as two plays later Clarion quarterback Jeff Clemens was strip-sacked by Slippery Rock's Marcus Martin, who returned the fumble 84 yards for a Rock touchdown to extend the lead to 10-0. 

In the second quarter, punter James Metzgar ignited the offense, using a fake punt of his own, and rushed up the middle for 19 yards on 4^th and 9.  That led to a Metzgar  25-yard field goal at the 7:52 mark of the second quarter to cut the Rock lead to 10-3.

A big ensuing kickoff return for Slippery Rock led to an Isiah Neely 2 yard touchdown run, and the Rock quickly extended their lead to 17-3.  Chacar Berry added a 1-yard touchdown with 3 minutes left in the first half, and the two teams entered halftime with Slippery Rock leading 24-3.

In the fourth quarter, Clarion running back Mylique McGriff busted open a 60-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 24-9. 

The Golden Eagle defense shut out their opponent in the second half for the third straight game. However, the offense just could not get anything going on this day and Clarion would fall by a 24-9 final score.

Slippery Rock's Marcus Martin recorded 4.5 sacks on the afternoon, breaking a record for most career sacks across any NCAA level.

Clarion's Jeff Clemens finished the day 10 of 21 for just 91 yards while McGriff led all rushers with 148 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. 

Clarion outgained Slippery Rock on the ground 156-80 and finished with 247 yards of offense compared to 215 for Slippery Rock.  Neither team could convert on 3^rd down on this rainy afternoon, as Clarion was 4 of 17 and Slippery Rock was just 2 of 15.

Defensively, Clarion held Rock quarterback Tanner Garry to just 7 of 24 for 57 yards, and did not allow a score in the second half. Howsare came up with the lone turnover on the day, while Alec Heldreth and Tyrone Archie each added a pair of sacks.

The Golden Eagles will travel to Gannon next Saturday, November 4^th for a 12pm kickoff in Erie, PA.