Shepherd University (12-1) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (10-1) won their respective matchups in the Super Region 1 semifinals Saturday to advance to the Super Region 1 Final next Saturday.
For the Rams, they defeated Slippery Rock in a thriller in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 37-27.
As for IUP, they hosted Ashland for a 19-13 victory to advance.
It was a battle over at Shepherd with the Rams prevailing in the second half. Shepherd and Slippery Rock were knotted up, 20-20, at the break, but SHEP took charge later holding on to the victory.
Shepherd’s Ronnie Brown continued his impressive DII NCAA Football Tournament well rushing for 205 yards and a touchdown averaging 10.3 yards per carry.
For the Crimson Hawks, they were only down in the first quarter, but took over the game in the second en route to the win.
IUP also had a solid day on the ground as Adam Houser rushed for 125 yards on 33 attempts.
Shepherd and IUP will meet for the second time this season as they previously played in the 2022 PSAC Championship game with IUP winning that one, 24-21.
The Super Region 1 Championship will be played Saturday, December 3 at George P. Miller Stadium in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The time of the game is yet to be announced.
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Shepherd University Rams and The Rock of Slippery Rock University both won their matchups Saturday in the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Tournament. The Rams defeated New Haven University, 16-13, while SRU beat Assumption University, 17-14 to advance. Indiana University of Pennsylvania earned the bye week as the top seed and awaited the victory of Ashland University over Notre Dame College (Ohio), 20-13.
For Shepherd, they got off to a slower start than they’re used to only tallying seven points in the first half, but held New Haven to six.
Eventually, they would rely on PSAC All-Conference honoree Ronnie Brown for a pair of touchdowns en route to a 16-13 victory. Brown finished with 20 carries for 223 yards and two touchdowns averaging 11.2 yards per carry.
As for The Rock and Assumption, it was also a defensive battle. SRU led at halftime, 17-7, but Assumption worked their way back into it.
Chris D’Or tallied SRU’s touchdown in the first quarter, while Cohen Russell got a pass from Noah Grover to put Slippery Rock up 10 with 1:49 left before the break.
The defense held strong in the second half on its way to the victory, 17-14.
With the Rams win, they’ll host The Rock next Saturday with the time to-be-announced.
As for IUP, they will host Ashland as the Crimson Hawks are the No. 1 team in the region.
The three out of the last four teams remaining in the Super Region 1 Tournament are all from the PSAC.
For more updates, keep an eye on the NCAA Bracket link at the top of the page.
DII Football Championship Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS --- The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks, the Shepherd University Rams and the The Rock of Slippery Rock University are headed to the NCAA Division II Football Championship Tournament beginning Saturday, November 19.
IUP (9-1), fresh off its 2022 PSAC Football Championship was picked as the No. 1 seed in Super Region 1 and will have a bye next Saturday. They will await the winner of No. 4 seeded Ashland (9-1) and Notre Dame (9-2). As the top seed, IUP clinches homefield advantage throughout the Super Region 1 tournament.
Joining IUP from the PSAC will be Shepherd (10-1) and Slippery Rock (9-2).
For the Rams, they’ll gear up for a home game next week against New Haven (8-2). New Haven comes in with a 6-1 league record playing in the Northeast 10 conference. The Chargers two losses come from Bowie State in Week one and Assumption on October 29.
Shepherd fell to IUP in the 2022 PSAC Championship Saturday. They struggled to get things going in the tough conditions, but their one loss was good enough to earn them the No. 2 seed in the region and the opportunity to host at least one game.
Slippery Rock will be the lone PSAC program on the road next week playing No. 3 Assumption (8-2). The Greyhounds lone conference loss came against Bentley, and they lost earlier in the season against Merrimack.
For The Rock, they closed out the year with a rough loss against Kutztown as they were riddled with injuries from the previous week. They still did enough to make it into the tournament and will aim to make a run in the Super Region 1 bracket.
For the full interactive bracket, see the link above.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg, California (Pa.), Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Gannon, Indiana (Pa.), Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Mercyhurst, Millersville, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill, Shepherd, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester
Original source can be found here.
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