SLIPPERY ROCK — With playoff seeding on the line, Slippery Rock counted on its line.

And it came through — on both sides of the ball.

No. 11 SRU consistently controlled the line of scrimmage in powering its way to a 27-7 football victory over Bloomsburg in its regular season finale Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The victory sends SRU (9-1) to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the sixth consecutive season and virtually locked up a first-round home game. Ferris State is the only Division II school with a longer current streak of postseason appearances. Playoff pairings and sites will be announced 6 p.m. Sunday.

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“We’re thrilled to be playing at home,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “Our record here speaks for itself.”

The Rock are 60-7 at home over the past 12 years.

SRU limited Bloomsburg (6-5) to 59 rushing yards in 18 attempts. The Rock ran the ball 47 times for 191 yards, including 111 yards and a touchdown from Idris Lawrence.

“Our offensive line did what it’s been doing all year,” Lawrence said. “When they do their job, it makes our job that much easier.”

The Rock defense intercepted KJ Riley three times. Linebacker Jacob Snow opened the scoring wit a 23-yard interception return midway through the first quarter. A muffed punt set up Bloomsburg with a short field, and Riley’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Owen Anderson knotted the game four minutes later.

But that was all the scoring the Huskies could muster. Bloomsburg was limited to 202 yards of offense as SRU took over the game. The Rock ran 70 plays to Bloomsburg’s 39 and possessed the ball for 39 minutes, 36 seconds, compared to the Huskies’ 20:24.

“We looked like a championship team today,” Lutz said. “Our defense just suffocated them. I’m very pleased with the way we played in all phases of the game.”

Mason Yohn booted a 25-yard field goal, and the Lawrence touchdown capped a 13-play, 71-yard drive as SRU took a 17-7 lead into halftime. Yohn’s 40-yard field goal concluded the first possession of the second half. A Munchie Johnson interception set up a 38-yard scoring drive for The Rock late in the third quarter.

“I can’t even explain that play,” defensive lineman Johnson said of his interception. “I don’t know how I did it. The ball just wound up in my hands.

“I wasn’t worried about winning or losing today. I was just worried about performance. This may have been my last game on this field, and I was gonna put everything I had into it.”

Quarterback Brayden Long scored on a 1-yard run to give SRU its 20-point lead.

Bloomsburg coach Frank Sheptock admitted he didn’t expect SRU to run the ball as much as it did.

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“We spent 40% of our defensive practice this week on them running empty sets,” Sheptock said. “But that’s a very talented football team with a lot of weapons. When you can run No. 4 (Kylon Wilson), 5 (Lawrence) and 6 (Chris D’Or) out there, you can do a lot of things. And they have No. 18 (Long), who knows where to go with the ball.

“I thought we played hard. Those three interceptions really hurt us.”

Yohn averaged 45.3 yards on three punts, along with hitting both of his field goal attempts. SRU won Saturday despite the muffed punt and having two would-be touchdowns called back by penalties.

“Mason had a great game, and the kicking game is so important in the playoffs,” Lutz said. “It can determine the outcome of a close game.”

Notes: Michael Henwood had the other interception for The Rock. ... SRU defeated Bloomsburg for only the fifth time in 16 meetings. ... Saturday’s win marked the 650th in program history. It was also Lutz’s 79th career coaching win, tying him with Bob DiSpirito for third on The Rock’s all-time list. ... Bloomsburg linebacker Brady Thompson had 12 tackles. Johnson led SRU with six tackles. ... The Rock honored its PSAC championship teams from 1972-74 between the first and second quarter.

Bloomsburg 7 0 0 0 — 7

Slippery Rock 7 10 10 — 27

First Quarter

SRU — Jacob Snow 23 interception return (Mason Yohn kick), 8:27

B — Owen Anderson 37 pass from KJ Riley (Riley kick), 4:26

Second Quarter

SRU — Yohn 25 field goal, 14:55

SRU — Idris Lawrence 2 run (Yohn kick), :07

Third Quarter

SRU — Yohn 40 field goal, 9:12

SRU — Brayden Long 1 run (Yohn kick), 2:26

Individual Statistics

Passing: Bloomsburg, KJ Riley 9-21-143-3. SRU, Brayden Long 17-23-141-0.

Rushing: Bloomsburg, KJ Riley 8-20, Owen Anderson 2-19, Matt Buchman 5-12, Ben Ries 1-7, Riley Parker 1-5, Infinite Campbell 1-(-4). SRU, Idris Lawrence 20-111, Chris D’Or 16-52, Quentin Harrison 2-15, Brayden Long 6-13, Kylon Wilson 2-1..

Receiving: Bloomsburg, Matthew Bowes 4-56, Owen Anderson 2-46, Jerry Griffen-Batchler 2-38, Ben Ries 1-3. SRU, Mike Solomon 5-73, Kam Kruzelyak 4-25, Kylon Wilson 4-19, Logan Ramper 1-8, John Sabo 1-7, Carson Heckathorn 1-6, Idris Lawrence 1-3.

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