The decision necessarily didn’t come easily to Shawn Lutz.
With No. 11 Slippery Rock heading into overtime Saturday of a NCAA Division II Super Region One second-round playoff game against No. 3 Kutztown, the ninth-year Rock coach said he began weighing it in his mind.
When the Golden Bears took possession of the football first, scored and kicked an extra point to take a seven-point advantage, Lutz said what he would do next suddenly became clear.
“I was thinking in my mind, ‘Hey, we’re going to go for 2, man,’” Lutz said.
The rest is history.
Lutz and Slippery Rock offensive coordinator Joe Marella first dialed up a play for quarterback Brayden Long to throw a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Logan Ramper to put the Rock within one point. The ensuing 2-point conversion attempt then consisted of Long throwing a pass to wide receiver Mike Solomon, who caught the ball and lateraled it to running back Idris Lawrence for a hook-and-ladder play.
Lawrence took the ball and tiptoed down the sideline to cross the goal line and complete Slippery Rock’s thrilling 25-24 overtime victory against host Kutztown at Andre Reed Stadium.
“I asked our OC Joe Marella, I said, ‘What do you think?’ because we had to go for 2 before that,” Lutz said. “He said, ‘I’ve got a good call.’ I felt like let’s go do it — win or go home — and these guys executed it to a science.
“It was one for the ages,” he added. “I don’t even know what to say. These kids are just resilient, don’t give up and keep fighting.”
Aside from advancing Slippery Rock (11-1) in the Division II postseason, the victory against the previously undefeated Super Region One top-seeded Golden Bears (11-1) exorcised some demons from a season ago.
Kutztown first defeated Slippery Rock in the 2023 PSAC championship before the Rock dropped a 28-16 decision to the Golden Bears in the NCAA Division II Super Region One championship three weeks later to end their campaign.
“Nobody gave us a chance, really, to win the game,” Lutz said. “I understand, they were the No. 1 team in the region, we haven’t had good success against them. These guys are resilient, they believe, they took it personal and they never quit.
“It probably is one of the biggest games in Rock football history in a long time.”
The Rock advances to face No. 20 California University of Pennsylvania on the road in the 2024 NCAA Division II Super Region One championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at Adamson Stadium.
The winner of that contest will advance to the NCAA semifinals with a shot to go to the national championship on the line.
California handed Slippery Rock its only loss of the season, 28-7, Oct. 9 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division showdown. After dispatching the Rock, the Vulcans went on to win the PSAC West title before falling to Kutztown in the conference championship.
Lutz said his players will be looking forward to getting another bit of revenge with their victory against the Golden Bears under their belts.
“They’re just believing,” said Lutz of his team. “We upset Tiffin last year, who was a [No. ] 1 seed as well, this is our second year in a row for that. This group, man, we just want one more day with this group. It’s a one-more-day kind of mentality. They’re prideful. Our goal is to win the region and compete for a national championship and they’re really embracing this.”
One of the top passers in Division II, Long again led the way for Slippery Rock against Kutztown.
The senior quarterback completed 27-of-39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Long completed nine passes for 120 yards to Ramper and two passes for 20 yards, along with the tying 8-yard touchdown reception to West Allegheny product Kam Kruze with 1:53 left in the contest.
Kutztown was second in D-II in total team defense in the regular season. The 25 points Slippery Rock scored Saturday were the most the Golden Bears had conceded all year.
“Smarts, intelligence, don’t panic, I don’t even talk about how good of an arm he has, but those are the intangibles you just love in a quarterback,” said Lutz of Long. “That position is not overrated. If you’re going to win those big games, you better have a quarterback who can do those special things. He definitely has done that.”
Despite holding Kutztown to just 79 passing yards, Slippery Rock’s defense was susceptible to issues on the ground.
The Golden Bears rushed for 229 yards against the Rock, led by running back Steve Burkhardt, who carried the ball 13 times for 82 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Judd Novak, who rushed for 79 yards and a score.
Luke Maxwell also added a 2-yard touchdown run for Kutztown.
No. 20 California wins thriller to advance in NCAA playoffs
After trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter Saturday, No. 20-ranked California scored two unanswered touchdowns to earn a 34-33 NCAA Division II second-round playoff victory against upstart Ashland at Adamson Stadium in California, Pa.
The Vulcans (10-2), who are the No. 3 seed in Super Region One, escaped with a narrow victory against Ashland (9-4) after needing a last-second 29-yard field goal to dispatch of East Stroudsburg in the first round a week earlier.
Ashland advanced to the second round after upsetting Super Region One’s second-seeded No. 6 Charleston, W.Va.
Senior quarterback Davis Black was again the catalyst for the California offense, throwing for 275 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, while also rushing for a score against Ashland.
Black’s 8-yard touchdown run with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter cut the Vulcans’ deficit to 33-27 before he connected with wide receiver Demonte Martin for what ended up being a 48-yard scoring strike with 3:49 remaining in the contest.
Wide receiver Omari Hopkins caught seven passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns for California, while Eric Willis had three receptions for 75 yards.
Sophomore running back Bobby Boyd Jr., a McKeesport product, rushed for 95 yards on 15 carries, and Eric McKan III added 48 yards rushing and a score for California.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.