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Wednesday, August 30, 2000

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Opening the season on the road as a prohibitive underdog against an NCAA Division I-AA powerhouse has become an annual rite of fall for Slippery Rock, one of the nation's elite Division II teams.

SRU has gotten rolled over the past four years, losing to Youngstown State, 22-0, 33-9 and 44-14, and South Florida, 39-10.

In each of the past three seasons, SRU has rebounded to win 11, 12 and 10 consecutive games and reach the playoffs.

"We haven't lost confidence by playing this caliber team, and from the loss we've seen our potential," SRU Coach George Mihalik said. "It's a real good situation for us, a great atmosphere, and nobody expects us to win."

SRU, picked in the Top 5 in a number of preseason polls, opens the season at Youngstown State tomorrow night.

"It's a game we should win this year," said SRU senior quarterback Randy McKavish, who will be a starter for his fourth season. "Maybe in the past we've gotten mentally out of it, a little intimidated by the crowd, by everything. We've got 22 seniors ... I don't think that will be a factor."

McKavish echoed his coach's opinion that a game against a premier Division I-AA program benefits SRU.

"When we lost, it woke us up and made us realize we had to work a little harder," he said.

In McKavish's three years, SRU has never lost a regular-season game against a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponent and has won three consecutive PSAC West titles. SRU and IUP should duel for this year's championship.

SRU, which advanced to the quarterfinals in 1997 and the semifinals in '98, was upset by IUP in the first round of the playoffs last year.

"Not that I dwell on it every day, but that loss still sits in my stomach," McKavish said. "I don't think we'll let something like that happen again."

A loss to Youngstown State certainly wouldn't be as unexpected. Or as devastating.

In past years, Youngstown State or South Florida would pull away from SRU in the second half.

"I think our first 22 can match up pretty good with their 22," Mihalik said. "We can hang in there for a while, then their depth shows up late in the third quarter.

"If we make it a game into the third quarter, we get a sense we'll be able to compete well in our division. We don't see that kind of speed again until the playoffs."

SRU returns eight starters on offense, led by McKavish, running backs Stan Kennedy (1,077 yards rushing, 16 touchdowns), Dorrian Glenn (1,105 yards rushing, 11 TDs), wideouts Nate Stewart (50 catches, 631 yards, 2 TDs) and D.J. Flick (19 catches, 461 yards, 5 TDs) and center Brian Minehart.

Kennedy has rushed for 3,152 career yards and is within range of Rick Magulick's school-record 3,611 yards.

Defensively, SRU is solid with linebacker Mike Waszczuk, tackle Ian Anderson and cornerback Jim Urbana. Linebacker Joe McKinney, a transfer from Penn State who was an all-state player at Mars High School, won't play against Youngstown State and is awaiting eligibility approval from the PSAC.

Youngstown State, winner of 103 games and four national championships under Jim Tressel in the 1990s, returns 12 starters from a 12-3 team that was national runner-up.

A rebuilt offense will revolve around junior quarterback Jeff Ryan, who set school records last season with 3,211 yards of offense -- 2,573 passing -- and 19 touchdowns, and transfer running backs P.J. Mays (University of Cincinnati) and Eric Lockhart (University of Louisville).

The veteran defense features linebacker Tim Johnson, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan award as the top defender in I-AA.

"Youngstown is a step better than us," McKavish said. "But I think it's a step up that we can make this year."

Early starter

NCAA Division II California, led by tailback Wes Cates, who rushed for a school-record 1,935 yards and 23 touchdowns, plays at NAIA Geneva tonight. Geneva must find replacements for QB Justin Myers and RB Melvin Cobbs.