Slippery Rock football nearly pulls off upset of Ferris State in NCAA Division II semifinals
Fifteen minutes short.
Slippery Rock University held a four-point lead after three quarters Saturday evening at Ferris State, trying to upset the second-ranked Bulldogs in the NCAA Division II football semifinals.
But Ferris State quarterback Trinidad Chambliss scored on a 9-yard run after running back Kannon Katzer scampered 69 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Those plays handed the Bulldogs a come-from-behind 48-38 win over The Rock (12-2).
“This was a game of momentum and we had it,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “This one is going to sting for a while. We were that close to playing for the national championship.”
SRU missed chances to extend a 38-27 halftime lead, driving inside the Bulldogs’ 10-yard line twice in the second half. Both drives ended with Ferris State (13-1) interceptions in the end zone.
The first missed opportunity of the second half hurt the most. SRU took the second-half kickoff and ate more than seven minutes off the clock. Mason Yohn booted a 36-yard field goal that would have given The Rock a 14-point lead, but Ferris State was flagged for an illegal leap during the kick.
SRU was given a first down inside the 10, but the Ferris State pick in the end zone thwarted that drive. The Bulldogs then drove the other way, Chambliss scoring on a 22-yard run on a 4th-and-2 play to pull the hosts within four points.
“If we score a touchdown there and go up 18 points, we probably win this game,” Lutz said. “The first interception was under-thrown. The second was a 50-50 ball. What are you gonna do?”
Rock quarterback Brayden Long tossed four interceptions on the day, but also threw for 398 yards, including touchdown passes of 60, 29 and 19 yards to Logan Ramper in the first half. Ramper tallied 27 catches for 487 yards and six touchdowns in SRU’s four playoff games this season.
Long ended his Rock career with 7,527 yards passing, second on the program’s all-time list. Randy McKavish threw for 7,634.
Idris Lawrence and Chris D'Or had short TD runs for The Rock. Ramper had eight receptions for 171 yards, Mike Solomon eight for 130.
Lawrence rushed for 71 yards and closed his collegiate career with 4,051 yards on the ground. He had 1,003 yards and 11 TDs this season.
“We wanted to spread them out and they had trouble stopping us,” Lutz said. “We moved the ball well, but didn’t do enough offensively in the second half. You cant make the mistakes we made and expect to win a game against a team like that.”
Chambliss rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns for Ferris State, giving him 23 rushing TDs on the year. Kannon had 169 yards rushing as Ferris State churned out 292 yards on the ground.
“We missed tackles on the quarterback in the second half,” SRU defensive coordinator Dom Razzano said. “I thought we contained him well early. We got three takeaways, but we figured we’d be able to get some of those.
“I was confident we could come up here, hold them to 17 points or so and win the game. It’s disappointing. But, overall, our defense had a great year. We overcame a lot of injuries.”
The Bulldogs scored two non-offensive touchdowns as Justin Payoute returned an interception for a score and Taariik Brett returned a kickoff 87 yards to pay dirt.
Eddie Faulkner forced two fumbles that Rock teammate Josh Stokes recovered. Pooh Lawton intercepted a Chambliss pass at the Bulldogs’ 7 to set up a Yohn field goal to end the first half.
Ferris State will face unbeaten Valdosta State — a 35-21 winner over Minnesota State earlier Saturday — for the national championship on Dec. 21 in McKinney, Texas.
SRU reached the national semifinals for the fourth time in program history. It has never reached the title game. Ferris State entered Saturday’s game allowing an average of 11 points per game, never more than 24 in a single contest.
“We showed we can play with any team in the country,” Lutz said. “This one hurts, but we’ll be back next year to try it again.”
Slippery Rock 21 17 0 0 - 38
Ferris State 7 20 7 14 - 48
First Quarter
SRU - Logan Ramper 60 pass from Brayden Long (Mason Yohn kick), 10:43
FS - Justin Payoute 27 interception return (Mitchell Middleton kick), 8:04
SRU - Idris Lawrence 5 run (Yohn kick), 3:44
SRU - Chris D’Or 1 run (Yohn kick), 1:13
Second Quarter
FS - Emari O’Brien 13 pass from Trinidad Chambliss (Middleton kick), 14:23
SRU - Ramper 29 pass from Long (Yohn kick), 8:04
FS - Taariik Brett 87 kickoff return (Middleton kick), 7:52
SRU - Ramper 19 pass from Long (Yohn kick), 4:01
FS - Chambliss 10 run (kick failed), 1:00
SRU - Yohn 24 field goal, :00
Third Quarter
FS - Chambliss 22 run (Middleton kick), 4:43
Fourth Quarter
FS - Kannon Katzer 69 run (Middleton kick), 12:26
FS - Trinidad 9 run (Middleton kick), 8:00
Individual Statistics
Passing: SRU, Brayden Long 27-48-398-4. Ferris State, Trinidad Chambliss 19-26-221-1.
Rushing: SRU, Idris Lawrence 19-71, Chris D’Or 7-10, Kylon Wilson 1-2, TEAM 1-(-5), Brayden Long 4-(-23). Ferris State, Kannon Katzer 13-165, Trinidad Chambliss 16-124, Brady Rose 1-5.
Receiving: SRU, Logan Ramper 8-171, Mik Solomon 8-130, Chris D’Or 6-69, Kylon Wilson 4-23, Idris Lawrence 1-5. Ferris State, James Gilbert 6-95, Emari O’Brien 6-44, Brady Rose 4-44, Cam Underwood 1-16, Alston Ware 1-15, Taariik Brett 1-7.
