The ninth ranked Slippery Rock University football team became the first team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to repeat as league champion since the title game was reinstated in 2008 with a dominant 61-12 victory on the road at West Chester University Saturday afternoon.
The victory improves Slippery Rock to 10-1 overall on the year and should be enough for The Rock to lock up at least one home game in the upcoming NCAA Division II playoffs. Included in those 10 wins are seven wins over programs that are above .500 and five wins over teams that won at least seven games.
The 10-win season is the first double-digit victory season for Slippery Rock since 1999 and the PSAC title is the 11th in program history. The Rock are the first team to repeat as champions since the title game was brought back in 2008. SRU is also the only team in the league to win the title game on the road since 2008.
Slippery Rock brought the league’s top offense into the game to match up with West Chester’s top rated defense and The Rock won that matchup early and often. The Golden Rams entered the game allowing just 309.9 yards per game, but Slippery Rock went for 367 in the first half alone. The Rock finished with a 557-245 advantage in total offense with 257 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. West Chester managed just 52 yards on the ground and threw for 193 yards. The 61 points scored are the most ever recorded in a PSAC title game and the 49-point margin of victory is the largest in the history of the title game, which has been played 36 times.
Running back Shamar Greene and quaterback Dante Nania led The Rock in the dominating performance. Greene rushed for 178 yards on 21 carries and added a rushing and a receiving TD. Nania completed 18-of-27 passes for 304 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. That performance earned him the Most Valuable Player award for the game.
The 28 teams that compete for the national title will be released at 5pm Sunday by the NCAA Selection Committee. The resume The Rock has built should set them up for a home game this Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Hear the game on The Rock Station 97.7fm and at 977rocks.com
The post The Rock dominates PSAC Championship game appeared first on Inside Butler County – Butler, PA.
