Slippery Rock, IUP and CMU head into second round of NCAA football playoffs

The Slippery Rock football team had a simple goal to start its run in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

After traveling 1,060 miles round trip by bus from Slippery Rock to Worcester, Mass., to earn a hard-fought, 17-14, opening-round playoff victory against Assumption on Saturday, that mission was accomplished.

“We are advancing and we are taking it,” Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “Our goal was to be together for Thanksgiving, and we are going to do that. We are where we want to be right now.”

Slippery Rock (10-2) is now set to face Shepherd (11-1) in a second-round playoff game at noon Saturday in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

No. 11-ranked Shepherd, the second-ranked team in Super Region One, held off New Haven for a 16-13 first-round victory.

“They’re as good a team as anybody in the country,” Lutz said of Shepherd. “It starts with their quarterback Tyson Bagent. He was the Harlon Hill winner last year, which goes to the top Division II player in the country.”

A 6-foot-3 junior, Bagent has completed 334 of 465 passes to lead the nation with 3,812 yards, 35 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He was invited to attend the Senior Bowl and should be selected in the NFL draft, Lutz said.

Bagent had 232 yards of total offense against New Haven to give him 16,464 for his career, and set the Division II record previously held by Bo Cordell of Tusculum.

“He’s going to be a nightmare,” Lutz said.

Add Shepherd’s strong rushing attack and Slippery Rock will certainly have its hands full this week.

Running back Ronnie Brown has rushed for 1,344 yards this season, which is good for ninth best in the nation. He carried the ball 21 times for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns against New Haven.

Stopping the Shepherd offense is a challenge Lutz believes his defense is ready to take on.
“We’ve got one of the top defenses in the country,” the coach said. “Statistically, we are top five in most categories.”

And Slippery Rock will be leaning upon its front seven to create pressure.

Senior defensive end D.J. Adediwura, redshirt senior nose guard Jeff Marx and linebackers Brandon Tuck-Hayden and Brandon Bischof should play pivotal roles against Shepherd.

Adediwura is tied for 16th in the nation with 10.5 sacks, while Marx has 8.5. Tuck-Hayden has recorded a team-high 88 tackles, while Bischof has contributed 65 and Adediwura has added 58.

“We always expect to win the game,” Lutz said. “We are expecting to give them everything we can possibly have.”

That includes controlling the game on offense.

Slippery Rock is led by quarterback Noah Grover, who has thrown for 2,805 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He completed 17-of-28 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown against Assumption.

Running backs Chris D’Or, Isaiah Edwards and Penn Hills graduate Tim Smith could all figure prominently into Slippery Rock’s rushing attack.

“Ball control will be essential,” Lutz said.

So will Slippery Rock’s ability to ride the momentum from its opening-round victory.

“It’s tough going eight to 10 hours on a bus and getting home on Sunday at 2:30, 3 o’clock in the morning,” Lutz said, “but it’s so much more rewarding when you come back and won the game.

“We are dancing now. There’s 16 teams left, and we are one of 16.”

Other Division II

Super Region One top seed IUP (9-1) had a bye through the first round of the Division II playoffs. The Crimson Hawks will open the playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday when they host Ashland (10-1) at George P. Miller Stadium in Indiana.

No. 4-seeded Ashland rushed for 224 yards, led by 125 from junior running back Larry Martin, in a 20-13 first-round playoff victory against Notre Dame College. Martin has rushed for 1,164 yards on 209 carries this season and leads the Eagles in touchdowns with nine.

IUP, making its 20th appearance in the NCAA playoffs, will get the winner of the Slippery Rock-Shepherd contest Dec. 3. The Crimson Hawks defeated both teams earlier this season at George P. Miller Stadium, when The Rock was ranked eighth in the country at the time and Shepherd was ranked No. 3.

Division III

Carnegie Mellon (11-0) rolled past DePauw (9-2) in a 45-14 victory in a Division III first-round playoff game.

The Tartans rushed for 215 yards in the victory, led by Tre Vasiliadis who carried the ball 29 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Cornerback Adrian Williams, a Peters Township graduate, and outside linebacker Logan Young, a Moon product, each recorded an interception for a Carnegie Mellon defense that held DePauw to just 77 yards on the ground.

No. 19 Carnegie Mellon will now travel to face No. 1 North Central (Ill.) at 1 p.m. Saturday. North Central rolled over Lake Forest, 50-0, last week in the first round.

Senior running back Ethan Greenfield led the way for the Cardinals with 131 yards on 18 carries while sophomore quarterback Luke Lehnen was 15 of 21 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns.