The word has been popping up often when Shawn Lutz talks to his Slippery Rock players this season.
Redshirt junior defensive back Michael Henwood showed exactly why Saturday afternoon.
With the Rock clinging to a seven-point lead late in the third quarter of their NCAA Division II Super Region One first-round playoff game, Henwood raced down the Mihalik-Thompson Stadium sideline toward Logan Schmidt.
Just before the Chargers wide receiver was set to cross the goal line for what seemed like it would be a 60-yard, game-tying touchdown reception, Henwood dove and dislodged the ball at the 1-yard line, sending it flying into the end zone for a touchback.
“We use the word relentless,” Lutz said. “It hasn’t been easy this year. We have not really blown a lot of people out, but this group just plays hard. It just says a lot about you when you get young guys that believe in something and just play to the end.
“These guys don’t give up,” he added. “They don’t quit. They’re resilient.”
With Henwood’s game-saving effort in tow, No. 11 Slippery Rock, the fourth seed in Super Region One, went on to stifle New Haven’s offense to rest of the way to earn a 14-7 NCAA playoff victory.
It was the second time the Rock (10-1) defeated the Chargers (8-3) this season. The teams met Sept. 7 to open the regular season, with Slippery Rock winning a 22-7 decision at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
“It was gritty,” Lutz said. “It was bad conditions. It rained the whole time. Give credit to New Haven, but, man, our defense really stepped up and stopped their rushing attack. They were Top 2 in the country and we held them under 100 yards.”
Slippery Rock held New Haven to 63 rushing yards and conceded only one touchdown on a 19-yard scoring strike from Chargers quarterback Daelen Menard to Mikey Cainez with 6:14 left in the third quarter.
Junior defensive end Andrew Vince led the Rock with 14 tackles.
Quarterback Brayden Long, meanwhile, paced the Slippery Rock offense, completing 21-of-34 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. His 19-yard scoring strike to tight end Carson Heckathorn, a Blackhawk graduate, with 10:12 left in the third quarter held up as the game-winning score.
Sophomore wide receiver Kylon Wilson also scored a 4-yard touchdown in the first half to account for the Rock’s first touchdown of the contest. Wide receiver Logan Ramper caught six passes for 123 yards to lead Slippery Rock’s passing attack.
“We wanted to be one of 16 teams left in the country,” Lutz said. “We proved that today that we’re one of 16. Our goals have never changed and never will. We want to win the region and compete for a national championship.”
Up next for Slippery Rock will be a familiar foe.
The Rock advances to face No. 3 Kutztown (11-0), the top seed in Super Region One, at noon next Saturday in a second-round game at the Golden Bears’ Andre Reed Stadium.
Slippery Rock was defeated by Kutztown in the 2023 PSAC championship game. The Rock’s season then ended three weeks later with a 28-16 loss to the Golden Bears in the Super Region One championship game.
Kutztown, which advanced to the NCAA Division II semifinals a year ago, won its third PSAC championship in four seasons with a victory against California University of Pennsylvania in the conference title game a week ago. The Golden Bears have won 20 straight contests.
“They’ve ruined us a lot,” Lutz said. “PSAC champs, they had a first-round bye and No. 1 seed. [Kutztown] coach [Jim] Clements does a great job. They don’t beat themselves. You’re going to have to find a way to win. They’re disciplined, they do everything right, and we’re going to be ready to go.
“We aren’t just going there to show up,” he added. “I’m happy that we’re going to be together for Thanksgiving. We’re planning on winning this game. We’re going to take this personal. We expect to win and we’re going to do everything in our power to do that.”
Slippery Rock, which has now qualified for the NCAA playoffs for six consecutive seasons, has the second-longest active national postseason streak in the country trailing only Ferris State’s 10 straight years competing for a national title.
Lutz said his team intends on keeping that run going.
“We need no motivation,” he said. “We are ready to roll. I am ready to go right now. I’m like a caged animal trying to get out of that cage. I just love this group. I love these seniors.
“This is a personal one.”
No. 20 California earns playoff win on FG as time expires
Senior kicker Anthony Beitko, a McKeesport graduate, drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired Saturday afternoon to lead No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania to a 30-27 victory against visiting East Stroudsburg in an NCAA Division II first-round playoff game at Adamson Stadium.
Beitko also converted field goals of 44 and 20 yards.
With the victory against the Warriors (10-2), Super Region One’s third-seeded Vulcans (9-2) advance to host Ashland (9-3) next Saturday in a second-round contest at Adamson Stadium.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion Eagles upset previously undefeated No. 6 Charleston, W.Va., the region’s No. 2 seed, in the first-round Saturday, 40-38.
California quarterback Davis Black completed 23-of-27 passes for 239 yards, while also rushing for 33 yards and two critical touchdowns on 10 carries against East Stroudsburg.
Running back Bobby Boyd Jr., a McKeesport product, added 77 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries for the Vulcans, while wide receiver Demonte Martin caught five passes for a team-high 56 yards.
No. 19 Duquesne turns the ball over eight times in heartbreaking loss
No. 19 Duquesne fell short of earning an outright Northeast Conference regular-season championship, along with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, after turning the football over eight times in a 21-14 loss to Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon at Arute Field in New Britain, Conn., in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
With a victory, the Dukes (8-3, 5-1) would have won a second consecutive outright conference title and FCS playoff berth.
Instead, the Blue Devils (7-5, 5-1) earned a share of the NEC championship with Duquesne but captured the conference’s automatic NCAA postseason bid.
“It’s unfortunate that we probably didn’t play our best football game in all three phases,” said Dukes coach Jerry Schmitt, whose team was one of three undefeated teams in FCS play in the nation entering Saturday’s game. “Congratulations to Central Connecticut State, they played well. As I told the guys, ‘They earned this victory, and we didn’t play well enough to earn it.’”
Duquesne must now wait to learn of its NCAA playoff fate.
The 24-team FCS playoff bracket is set to be unveiled at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The playoff will include 10 automatic-qualifier conference champions along with 14 teams receiving at-large berths. The top eight seeds earn first-round byes with the remaining 16 teams playing first-round contests.
“It was a great season for our guys,” Schmitt said. “We would have liked to have capped it off with the outright championship, but we do share the championship.
“We have to learn from this,” he added. “Whether it’s in football or in life, there’s going to be disappointments, there’s going to be adversity. We weren’t able to overcome it.”
Duquesne quarterback Darius Perrantes, one of the top passers in the NEC entering Saturday’s contest, had a torturous outing against Central Connecticut State. He passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns but threw seven interceptions and lost a fumble to account for all eight of the Dukes’ turnovers.
Perrantes completed five passes for a game-high 149 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Joey Isabella, while the Duquesne ground game was held to just 62 yards.
“I think the wind affected our passing game,” Schmitt said. “It shouldn’t, but I think it did a little bit, no excuse at all. They’ve got really good defensive backs and got great pass rushing.”
After taking a six-point deficit into the second half, Perrantes and Isabella connected for an 85-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter to hand Duquesne at 14-13 advantage.
It would not last.
Blue Devils running back Elijah Howard, who rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, found pay dirt for the game-winning score on a 6-yard run with 13:44 left in the fourth quarter.
Robert Morris closes out season with rout of Stonehill
Quarterback Zach Tanner completed 13-of-20 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions to lead Robert Morris to a 31-13 victory against visiting Stonehill in an NEC contest Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon.
The Colonials (7-5, 4-2) finished third in the NEC after absorbing losses to conference co-champions Duquesne and Central Connecticut State in consecutive weeks prior to their victory against Stonehill (1-10, 0-6).
Wide receiver Shawn Charles caught four passes for a game-high 149 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Robert Morris offensive effort, while running back DJ Moyer added 23 yards and a score on the ground.
Colonials linebacker Jamar Shegog, a Seton LaSalle product, finished his career with 19 tackles, four for a loss, with a sack and forced fumble against Stonehill.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.