Shawn Lutz couldn’t help but find the name D.J. Flick crossing his mind.
After all, mere minutes earlier, a potentially game-winning field goal attempt by Indiana University of Pennsylvania kicker Nick Andrasi fell short, allowing the ninth-year Slippery Rock coach’s team to escape IUP’s George P. Miller Stadium with a dramatic come-from-behind 33-32 victory Saturday afternoon.
“This is probably the second-ranked IUP game in the history of Slippery Rock-IUP games,” Lutz said. “The one was the Hail Mary one with D.J. Flick. … This is No. 2. This is definitely No. 2.”
In the wake of two fourth-quarter touchdown drives quarterback Brayden Long engineered to keep the NCAA Division II ninth-ranked Rock undefeated with a win over the rival No. 21 Crimson Hawks, Lutz invoked the name of the player widely credited with making the greatest play in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference history.
In 1998, Flick, a two-sport Slippery Rock athletics hall of famer, came up with a 52-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Randy McKavish to break a 21-21 tie and hand the Rock a victory on the game’s final play over No. 2-ranked IUP.
“I’m just overwhelmed,” Lutz said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this. It’s, for me, my best game as a head coach for us to win the way we did.”
After Slippery Rock (5-0, 2-0) ran out to a 21-0 first-half advantage, IUP (4-1, 1-1) rallied and took a 26-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Long took over.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior first punctuated a 17-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:59 off the clock with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mike Solomon, giving Slippery Rock a 27-26 lead with 5:00 left in regulation.
Crimson Hawks quarterback Karst Hunter then connected with Hilton Ridley for a 10-yard scoring strike to give IUP a 32-27 lead with 1:35 remaining.
Long again responded.
The Slippery Rock quarterback engineered an eight-play, 30-yard drive, which culminated with Long finding Solomon again, this time for a 10-yard, game-winning touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining.
“Unbelievable,” Lutz said. “He’s calm, cool, collected back there. Nothing fazes him.”
Long completed 22-of-31 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, while also running for a 7-yard score and throwing his first interception of the season. He has now amassed 971 yards, completing 66% of his passes with nine touchdowns in 2024.
“The kid just doesn’t panic,” Lutz said. “Sometimes I just feel like, ‘Let’s go.’ He’s just so slow moving out there because he’s looking at the whole field and he’s just trying to dissect guys.
“He’s a 4.0 kid, GPA-wise. He’s brilliant.”
Wide receiver Kylon Wilson led Slippery Rock with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Kam Kruze, a West Allegheny product, had seven catches for 51 yards.
Kruze made a crucial 21-yard catch over the middle on a fourth-and-4 play on the game-winning drive, setting the Rock up on IUP’s 10-yard line.
Running back Chris D’Or rushed for a team-high 88 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Rock.
“I’m pleased with the way our kids fought, and they’re going to keep doing that,” Lutz said.
Hunter threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for a game-high 113 yards and a score on 16 carries.
Wide receiver Maurice Massey caught five passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, while Ridley finished with three catches for 44 yards and Marcus Day added a 2-yard touchdown reception.
For Lutz, the victory over IUP represented another game in a tough opening stretch.
Slippery Rock opened the season with a win over New Haven, a team that qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2023, before knocking off perennial PSAC East power Shepherd.
“IUP, Shepherd, New Haven, it is as tough as it gets,” Lutz said. “What we do is we learn in these situations. Nothing is too big for us. We know how to face adversity.”
Graduate student defensive lineman Todd Hill — a Steel Valley graduate, who transferred to Slippery Rock after playing at Pitt and Duquesne — had 11 tackles with 1½ sacks against IUP, while redshirt freshman linebacker Teddy Gregory Jr. racked up 13 tackles.
IUP freshman defensive back Noah Johnston, an Allderdice graduate, had a game-high 15 tackles to go along with 12 tackles from defensive back Charles Ingram and 10 from linebacker Garrett Cox.
Lutz said his team will continue to build off the victory.
“We’re not content at all, though. That’s us,” Lutz said. “You lose a game you’re not supposed to; it’s hard with margin of error to win the West and get into the PSAC championship. I want to find room for improvement and continue to get better.”
California comes back in second half to upend upset-minded Clarion
California University of Pennsylvania quarterback Davis Black threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to cap a second-half surge, which saw the Vulcans sneak past upset-minded Clarion, 31-27, in a PSAC West Division contest at Memorial Stadium in Clarion.
After falling behind 14-3 at halftime, California (4-1, 2-0) outscored the Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-2) over the final two quarters, 28-13.
The Vulcans trailed 27-17 with 6:50 left in the game, but Black responded by completing a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Omari Hopkins. He then connected with Demonte Martin for what would hold up as the game-winning, 35-yard scoring strike with 1:24 left.
Black completed 31-of-46 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. Martin finished with seven catches for 189 yards, while Eric Willis III had 10 catches for 100 yards and Hopkins contributed five catches for 53 yards, including an additional 3-yard touchdown grab.
Sophomore running back Bobby Boyd Jr., a McKeesport graduate, rushed for 36 yards on 13 carries. He ran for a 2-yard score in the third quarter.
Defensive back Dominic Solomon Jr., a Clairton product, had a game-high 12 tackles for California, and linebacker Josh Miller, a Seneca Valley graduate, added a sack.
W&J rebounds with hard-fought win over Westminster
Quarterback Jacob Pugh, a Thomas Jefferson graduate, led Washington & Jefferson on a nine-play, 82-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter and the Presidents won, 21-14, against Westminster in Presidents’ Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington.
Senior running back Kobe Derosa, a Laurel product, punctuated W&J’s game-winning drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, which put the Presidents (4-1, 4-1) ahead of the Titans (3-1, 3-1) for good.
The win for W&J came a week after it dropped a heartbreaking 30-27 decision to Carnegie Mellon in overtime.
Pugh, the PAC’s top passer, threw for 248 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He completed touchdown passes of 6 yards to tight end Zach Cernuto, a Southmoreland product, and 33 yards to wide receiver John Peduzzi.
Senior wide receiver Jacob Macosko, a Peters Township graduate, caught a game-high eight passes for 119 yards for the Presidents, and running back Owen Petrisek, a Bentworth product, tallied 96 yards on 16 carries.
Running back Ryan Gomes paced the Westminster offense with a 33-yard touchdown run, while Cannon Brite accounted for his team’s other touchdown with a 35-yard punt return for a score.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Justin Johns, a Franklin Regional product, had 16 tackles to lead the W&J defense and Dawson Dietz, a Hampton graduate, had 1½ sacks.
No. 15 Carnegie Mellon defense dominates again in win over Waynesburg
No. 15 Carnegie Mellon conceded just 206 yards of total offense, 67 yards through the air, as the Tartans rolled to a 42-0 PAC victory over Waynesburg at Gesling Stadium in Oakland.
Freshman inside linebacker Evan Roper had a team-high nine tackles, 3½ for a loss, for the Tartans, while junior outside linebacker Logan Young, a Moon product, had eight tackles.
Carnegie Mellon (5-0) has shut out three of its five opponents this season.
Short-yardage running back Joey McGinnis IV carried four times for 5 yards with two touchdowns for the Tartans against the Yellow Jackets (1-4), while also completing a fourth-quarter, 21-yard touchdown pass to Luca Cuttita.
Quarterback Ben Mills completed 23-of-26 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. He completed nine passes for 128 yards and a touchdown to Will Squibb.
Wide receiver Reece Kolke had four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown for the Tartans.
Junior running back Zayne Cawley carried the football 28 times for a game-high 144 yards to pace the Waynesburg offense.
Carnegie Mellon will travel to face No. 8 Grove City (4-0) next weekend with first place in the PAC on the line. The game at Robert E. Thorn Field is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday.
No. 8 Grove City runs over Bethany
Grove City running back Nico Flati, a West Allegheny graduate, rushed for 153 yards and four touchdowns, as the Wolverines rolled to a 62-22 PAC victory over host Bethany, W.Va., at Don Ault Field.
Quarterback Logan Pfeuffer, a Peters Township product, threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns for Grove City (4-0), while wide receiver Scott Fraser, a Knoch graduate, had three catches for 130 yards and two scores.
Junior cornerback Boden Davidson returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown, and linebacker Ben Bladel, a Moon graduate, and defensive end Bryce Spolnik, a South Fayette product, recorded a sack each against Bethany (0-4).
Duquesne offense dominates in conference opener
Darius Perrantes made his first start since being placed in concussion protocol three weeks ago and completed 15-of-23 passes for 211 yards and five touchdowns as Duquesne dominated Long Island University, 47-21, in its Northeast Conference opener at Arthur J. Rooney Field.
Wide receiver Joey Isabella caught six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns for the Dukes, while Tedy Afful had four catches for 74 yards and two scores. Perrantes also ran for a touchdown.
Duquesne (3-2, 1-0) running back JaMario Clements rushed for 147 yards on 20 carries against an overmatched Long Island (0-6, 0-1) defense.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.