No. 12 Slippery Rock Too Much For West Chester, 36-28

Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Jr., QB Andrew Derr (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Dublin) threw for 435 yards and three touchdowns, but a 4th-and-10 pass with 50 seconds remaining was off the target as 12th-ranked Slippery Rock walked away with a 36-28 non-league victory at John A. Farrell Stadium Saturday.
 
West Chester (1-1) mounted a valiant come back in the final two minutes when Derr found WR Jordan Banks (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Twp.) on a 15-yard TD pass to pull the Rams with one score. It was Banks' first TD catch of his career.
 
An on-sides kick from the Golden Rams failed. However, Slippery Rock running back Shamar Green fumbled at the West Chester 23-yard line, and Kevin Duggan (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) recovered with 1:31 left in the game.
 
Derr marched his team to the host's 45-yard line on a pair of completions to Eerin Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter), but four straight passes fell incomplete to turn the ball over to The Rock.
 
Derr finished 31-for-62 for 435 yards and three TDs. However, he also threw three interceptions, including one at The Rock's 4-yard line late in the first half. West Chester attempted 63 passes in the game, setting a new school record in that category. The 31 completions and 435 yards were both career highs for Derr.
 
West Chester ran 99 plays for a total of 500 yards. The 99 plays were the most in a game since the Golden Rams ran a school-record 102 plays at New Haven in 1996.
 
West Chester will travel to Edinboro next Saturday for a non-league game against the Fighting Scots.