PSAC-WEST Indiana outlasts Slippery Rock in OT to cop title

The Indians rallied past the Rockets 34-28 to win the PSAC-West crown and gain the national playoffs.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- For the Slippery Rock University football team, it was an opportunity to keep their hopes of sharing a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West championship alive.
For Indiana University of Pennsylvania's football team, it meant claiming yet another conference title, maintaining its national ranking and earning another trip to the NCAA playoffs.
The way Saturday's game unfolded, a fan could get the feeling that the last team to have possession of the football was going to come out on top. That's exactly what happened at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium, as Indiana overcame deficits of 17-7 and 28-21 to post a 34-28 overtime win.
The Indians captured the 2002 PSAC-West title and moved on to the national playoffs.
28-28 at regulation
With the two teams tied at 28-all at the end of regulation, IUP won the toss but deferred to Slippery Rock.
Brandon Markus picked up 7 yards on two carries. After Jeff Valentino's pass was incomplete, The Rock elected to go for the field goal. However, John Katsaouni's attempt from 34 yards out was wide to the left.
Elice Parker, who went over the 1,000-yard mark with his 52 rushing yards, picked up 1. Quarterback Bryan Eyerman hit Carmelo Ocasio for 19 yards to the Rock 5.
Parker picked up 3 more to the SRU 2. On a first-and-goal, Parker decided the issue with a 2-yard run to pay dirt.
"When they called the play, I knew I was going to get into the end zone because I felt like nothing was going to stop me," Parker said.
"I thought it was a great game," IUP coach Frank Cignetti said. "Our guys played a great, great second half, and we feel very fortunate."
SRU's late bid foiled
With the game tied at 28 and time running out, SRU had an opportunity to win the game. However, that is when the IUP defense rose to the occasion, stopping Brandon Markus and The Rock short of the sticks to end the threat.
"I thought I had the first down, but when they spotted the ball, it was short," said Markus of his effort to reach the sticks. "Had we made that, I think we would have been in good shape."
SRU coach George Mihalik agreed.
"I think if we would have gotten that first down with two minutes left [in regulation], I felt we could have gotten in there close enough to have a shot at a field goal with time running down," Mihalik said. "The thing you shoot for is to win the conference and advance to the national playoffs. And who knows?
While his team dictated what happened in the first half, Mihalik felt that the second half was filled with momentum shifts.
"Initially, they had us sitting back on our heels a little when they scored in the second half, but then we recovered," said Mihalik about his team answering the IUP score to take a 28-21 lead.