CLARION, Pa. – Junior quarterback Nigel Barksdale passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third score Saturday afternoon to lead Slippery Rock University to a 28-20 win over hosting Clarion University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action at Memorial Stadium.
The win ended a three-game losing skid by SRU this fall and a string of five consecutive road-game losses and improved the Green and White’s season records to 3-4 overall, 2-2 in PSAC-West action.
With the win, The Rock are now unbeaten in three “Milk Jug” games against their backyard rivals, have won the last 10 meetings with the Golden Eagles in Clarion and are 6-1 against former Rock defensive coordinator/current Clarion head coach Jay Foster.
Saturday’s loss dropped Clarion’s season records to 3-4 overall and 1-3 against division rivals.
Barksdale completed 19 of 26 pass attempts for 257 yards with one interception with TD completions to freshman Jaimire Dutrieuille (14 yards) and senior Josh Gardner (3 yards). Barksdale also scored on a two-yard run.
Redshirt freshman running back Brett Crenshaw scored the third of four Rock TDs on a two-yard run midway through the second quarter of action.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ken Amos caught a game-high six passes for 101 yards and redshirt senior running back Akeem Satterfield gained 77 yards on 19 carries to complement Barksdale’s performance.
Fifth-year senior defensive end Jeff Thompson recorded a game-high 12 tackles and junior linebacker Gary Allen had 10 takedowns to lead SRU’s defensive effort.
Clarion quarterback Ben Fiscus passed for 287 yards and one TD and gained 68 yards on 19 rushing attempts with one TD run to lead the hosts’ offensive attack. Jon Reid caught five passes for 98 yards and Aaron Barlow had seven receptions for 73 yards for the Golden Eagles.
Behind Fiscus’ lead, the hosts outgained The Rock by a 404-376 advantage in total yards.
Saturday’s game ended a two-game road trip for The Rock, who entertain Edinboro in a 2 p.m. PSAC-West and SRU Homecoming game next Saturday.
