Squaring off in the second round of the NCAA Division II football tournament, Slippery Rock defeated PSAC champion Kutztown University 25-24 Saturday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium in Kutztown.
A thrilling game went the distance and then some, and the Golden Bears (11-1) struck first in overtime after The Rock elected to play defense after winning the overtime coin toss. A 2-yard rushing touchdown by Luke Maxwell completed the 9-play drive giving Kutztown a 24-17 lead after the first overtime possession.
However, Slippery Rock responded quickly and with vigor, and after a holding penalty brought back a touchdown run on third-and-3 from the 18, a 28-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Long to Logan Ramper put The Rock in position to tie the game.
But a closely contested matchup would go just one play further, as Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz elected to go for a two-point conversion. To win the game, Long threw a screen pass to Mike Soloman near the left sideline. Soloman then immediately lateralled the ball back to Idris Lawrence in motion along the left side and Lawrence scooted into the end zone just past the left pylon for the game winning conversion.
“It was just guts,” Lutz said. “We’re a relentless program. Give all the credit to Kutztown. They’re a great team. Our kids just don’t quit. I’m just really proud of them.”
The Golden Bears were 11-0 and the PSAC champion heading into the game.
Holding a 14-9 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth, Kutztown stopped The Rock on fourth-and-3 from the Golden Bears’ 44. With a perfect defensive read of a pass coming over the middle, Drew Henson made a hard hit on Mike Soloman who then subsequently dropped what would have been a first down completion from Long.
On the ensuing drive Kutztown ran eight straight runs before an incomplete pass on third-and-8 from Slippery Rock’s 21 forced a 38-yard field goal attempt by Will Smith. Smith’s kick was good, making it 17-9 with 6:50 to go in the game.
The Rock would not be denied and showed plenty of resilience while trailing in the fourth quarter. An 8-yard touchdown pass from Long to Kam Kruzelyak completed an 11-play, 66-yard drive for Slippery Rock. Long then found Ramper in the back middle of the end zone for a two-point conversion pass as Ramper leaped over the defenders and kept both feet in bounds.
“They went for the two point conversions and good for them, I give them a lot of credit for trying to get it done,” Golden Bears coach Jim Clements said. “They hit us on two two point conversions and they just did a great job.”
Long finished the game 27-for-39 passing for 288 yards with two touchdown passes and Logan Ramper had a game-high 120 receiving yards off of nine receptions as The Rock outgained the Golden Bears 288-79 through the air.
Kutztown had the better game on the ground, outgaining Slippery Rock 229-61 by means of a dominant rushing attack led by Steven Burkhardt who had 82 rushing yards on 13 attempts and a touchdown. Quarterback Judd Novak also had a solid game running the football for the Golden Bears, as the redshirt sophomore had 79 rushing yards and a touchdown run on 12 carries. Novak was also 8-for-17 passing for 79 yards.
“It didn’t come down to just the last play,” Clements said. “We had plenty of opportunities to win the game earlier, and we didn’t make plays when we needed to.”
A huge 28-yard pass from Novak to Mekhi Gibson on third-and-8 by Kutztown from its own 48 put the Golden Bears in striking distance to start the fourth quarter. Moments later, a 9-yard touchdown run by Novak gave Kutztown its first lead of the game at 14-9.
The Golden Bears trailed 9-7 at the half.
After receiving the second half kickoff and starting at its own 25, Kutztown picked up three consecutive first downs on three plays to begin a promising drive at the start of the third quarter. However, after making it to The Rock’s 25 yard line, penalties proved costly and a holding penalty on third-and-10 followed by an illegal block in the back made it an insurmountable third-and-30.
Slippery Rock led 9-7 at the end of the third.
On the opening drive of the game, Slippery Rock orchestrated a dominating 18-play, 75-yard drive that took over ten minutes off the clock. A 1-yard touchdown run by Chris D’Or was the culmination of six first downs and eight rushing attempts that earned him 16 rushing yards for the first quarter. Quarterback Brayden Long was 5-for-5 for 45 passing yards for the Rock on the opening drive. The extra point was no good making it 6-0 to start.
Kutztown started its first drive on its own 26 and picked up one first down after Novak rushed for five yards on third-and-2 from the 34. However, the Golden Bears committed an illegal formation penalty on third and 1 from their own 46 and only picked up two yards on a Novak run on third and 6.
After making a stop on defense and starting again from its own 16 with nine and a half minutes left in the first half, Kutztown’s offense got going courtesy of a strong ground game from Burkhardt.
A 12-play, 84-yard drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Burkhardt after he picked up 57-yards on seven attempts. The score made it 7-6 with 2:12 remaining in the first half.
A 30-yard run on second-and-3 by Burkhardt from the Golden Bears’ 23 started the momentum, and then a 2-yard run by Burkhardt on fourth-and-1 on the Slippery Rock 38 kept the drive going. A 12-yard run by Burkhardt on second-and-10 from the 14 set up Kutztown’s first touchdown of the game.
With 28 seconds left in the first half, The Rock took over at their own 43 and advanced to the Kutztown 24 before kicking a 41-yard field goal to make it 9-7 at the completion of the first half.
At the end of the first half, Slippery Rock had the better passing numbers while the Golden Bears were stronger on the ground. Long was 13-for-19 at the end of the first half for 145 passing yards and the Rock had 36 rushing yards, while Kutztown had 91 rushing yards, with 57 coming from Burkhardt and 22 coming from Novak.
Ramper had 82 receiving yards on seven receptions in the first half.
Kutztown defeated Slippery Rock 28-16 in last year’s national quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals where the Golden Bears lost to Colorado School of Mines 35-7. The Golden Bears were the 2023 Super Region 1 champions and were a perfect 7-0 in conference play this season.
“They’re a great group,” Clements said of Kutztown’s seniors. “They’ve been through a lot. Each of them has their own story on what they’ve done here over the last four or five years. They’re all great kids and I couldn’t have done anything without those guys. They’re probably the winningest senior class in school history if I had to guess or tied with it, so yeah, it’s great group of guys.”
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment