SLIPPERY ROCK — The PSAC champion against a defending national semifinalist.

Two teams on a roll, one riding a four-game winning streak, the other suffering but one defeat all season.

And only one can survive.

Welcome to the NCAA Division II football playoffs, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

“They’ve got nine first-team selections in the conference, including six on offense,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “Nine of their 11 offensive starters made first or second team all-conference.

“We’re going up against an all-star team out there.”

West Chester coach Bill Zwaan was no more enthused about facing The Rock.

“That’s the team we wanted to stay away from,” Zwaan, in his 12th year with the Golden Rams, said. “They just beat Bloomsburg and Bloomsburg beat the stuffing out of us. Slippery Rock has to be pretty darn good.”

The Rock (9-2) takes on the Golden Rams (10-1) at noon Saturday in an opening round Division II playoff game at West Chester’s John A. Farrell Stadium.

While West Chester won three playoff games last year before being bounced by Lenoir-Rhyne in the national semifinals, The Rock is seeking its first playoff win since 1998.

And SRU may have to chase that win Saturday without quarterback and PSAC Championship Game MVP Jared Buck. He suffered a head injury early in the fourth quarter last week.

“He’ll be a game-time decision, but it’s not looking too good right now,” Mihalik said in mid-week. “We’re hopeful Jared can go, but we have won five games with Zack Newsock as our quarterback.

“We’re confident he can lead us to victory on Saturday.”

Newsock has completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,664 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Buck has completed 63 percent of his aerials for 1,103 yards, 11 TDs and three interceptions.

By comparison, West Chester quarterback Sean McCartney, a sixth-year player, was recently named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year. He has thrown for 2,998 yards and 34 touchdowns to go with just eight interceptions.

“We’ve had some great quarterbacks here,” Zwaan said. “Sean has thrown for 8,000 yards and 80 touchdowns with us and he’s only third on the all-time list.

“He’s dependable and he’s accurate. He gets a lot of people involved in the passing game.”

West Chester has eight players with at least 10 receptions this year. The leaders are Tim Brown with 37 catches for 679 yards and 12 TDs, Mike Doty with 40 catches for 611 yards and nine scores.

“McCartney knows that offense inside and out,” Mihalik said. “If we don’t put pressure on him, we’re in for a long day. If we blitz, we’re relying on single coverage against some big, talented receivers.

“Our defensive ends (Marcus Martin, Joe Phillips, Nick Dahlstrom) need to have big performances.”

The Rock has a big-game performer of its own in sophomore running back Shamar Greene. He needs 143 yards to break LaMonte Coleman’s single-season Rock rushing record of 1,601 yards, set in 1994.

“I was coaching then and LaMonte was a great back,” Mihalik said. “He was a single featured back at that time. We don’t have that now.

“The fact Shamar has shared so many carries this year makes his numbers that much more impressive.”

Greene owns just 230 of SRU’s 549 runs this season. He’s had more than 23 carries in a game only twice and owns eight 100-yard rushing efforts this season. Greene has rushed for 128, 158, 114 and 116 yards in his last four games.

West Chester allowed 322 yards rushing against Shippensburg and 454 against Bloomsburg this season despite allowing an average of 151.1 yards rushing all year.

“Slippery Rock has a great program. They run the ball well, move it fast and they score points,” Zwaan said. “Like everybody else they’ve played. We’ll be looking for a way to slow them down.”

Inside linebacker Mike Labor leads the Golden Rams defensively with 83 tackles.

He has 10.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end Andrew Cohen has 13.5 tackles for loss, including 9.5 sacks.

Placekicker-punter Rich Bruno has booted nine field goals on the year — the longest being 45 yards — and has placed 16 punts inside the 20-yard line.

“He’s had a great career for us,” Swaan said. “But he missed three PATs last week, very uncharacteristic for him.”

Drew Scales is averaging 27 yards per kick return for The Rock and has brought one back for a touchdown.

“Games like this are where a big special teams play can make a difference,” Mihalik said. “We’re hoping we get one.”

Notes: SRU and West Chester are 7-7 in a series that began in 1929. They have not met since 2011 — a 20-13 West Chester win — and have played just five times since 1996. ... Eight different Rock players have touchdown catches this year, led by Melvin German with seven. .... Jamire Dutrieuille leads SRU with 49 catches for 547 yards. ... Mars graduate Austin Miele is SRU’s leading tackler for the second straight year. He has 86 tackles, 11 for loss. Martin has 66 tackles and a PSAC-leading 16 sacks while Butler graduate Bob Vernick has 62 tackles.