Rams' stingy defense dominates Slippery Rock, 27-20

     Despite their tumultuous week off the field and the four turnovers on game day, Winston-Salem State's Rams beat Slippery Rock, 27-20, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs at Bowman Gray Stadium, Nov. 23.

     "Our four turnovers kept those guys [Slippery Rock] in the game today," said Head Coach Connell Maynor.

     "That's one thing we try not to do," he said.

     "Luckily, our defense played great. They [WSSU's defense] dominated them [Slippery Rock] in the first half and they dominated them in the second half. We wanted to prove that we have the best defense in the nation. Even though the stats say we're No. 2, we have the best defense in the nation."

     The Rams held the Rock to just 210 offensive yards, while putting up 477 of their own. Red-shirt junior quarterback Rudy Johnson, allegedly assaulted by a Virginia State scandal on Nov. 5, led the way.

     He passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns.

      "I was happy to be back on the field and play with my teammates," he said.

      "There was a little pressure [due to the VSU situation], but I'm just glad we got the win."

       Coach Maynor said he was pleased with his quarterback's poise and ability to put everything behind him and just play football.

 Johnson threw three interceptions most likely because nerves and the long, tough week. He has thrown five all season coming into the game.

         "With all the pressure that was on him, national media and all the focus, I think he handled it very well," Maynor said.

         The Rams will take on Shepherd University (10-0) in the second round in

 Shepherdstown, W.Va. on Nov. 30.

         Johnson said he and his teammates will be ready. "After this [Slippery Rock] game, there should be a little pressure lifted off of our shoulders, but we're not going to ease up," he said.

             "We're still going to play hard and still play Ram football."

Game Recap:

WSSU (10-1) won the coin toss and deferred. After the kickoff by freshman Will Johnson went into the end zone, Slippery Rock (9-3) started its drive at the 20-yard line.

             The Rock came out in a no-huddle offense and ran a flea flicker.

            Red-shirt freshman quarterback Zach Newsock connected with senior wide receiver John Schademan for a 28-yard gain.

Luckily for the Rams, Slippery Rock muffed the snap on the next play and couldn't recover.

Two plays later, the Rock was forced to punt.

             The Rams started their first drive on their own 10. Junior running back Maurice Lewis fumbled on the second play of the drive, and Slippery Rock recovered.

             The Rock took over at the Rams 12-yard line and scored four plays later, when red-shirt junior running back Teddy Blakeman ran in from two yards out. Slippery Rock failed to make a 2-point conversion making the score 6-0 with 10:51 left in the first quarter.

             The Rams made their next drive at their own 28-yard line count.

Rudy Johnson led the Rams his team on an eight-play, 72-yard drive, capped off by a touchdown pass to freshman running back Joshua Glisson on third and goal from the three.

Will Johnson missed the extra point, and the game was tied 6-6 with 6:46 left in the first.

             The Rock's offense next possession began at its own 25-yard line but was disrupted by holding penalties. They were forced to punt.

             With 3:58 left in the first frame, WSSU took over on offense at its own 27-yard line.        After getting to Slippery Rock's 31-yard line, three consecutive false start penalties put the Rams in a first-and-25 hole. They were forced to punt with 14:38.

             Slippery Rock's usual starting Nigel Barksdale quarterback threw an interception on his second snap to sophomore defensive back Vernon Brandon.

      Barksdale had served a one-quarter team-enforced suspension for disciplinary reasons.

             The interception set up the Rams offense with great field position in Rock territory at the 41-yard line, and they took advantage.

            They drove 52 yards on seven plays and Rudy Johnson passed for his second touchdown -- a 1-yarder to junior fullback Will Miller.

This time Will Johnson made the extra point, and WSSU led 13-6 with 10:36 left in the second quarter.

             Slippery Rock started the next drive at their 41-yard line.

 Unfortunately for them, junior defensive back Larry Hearne had other plans.

 Hearne intercepted Barksdale and returned it 70 yards for a score. The defensive touchdown gave WSSU a 20-6 lead with 7:20 remaining the first half.

Barksdale's two interceptions during his only two series earned him a spot back on the bench. Newsock returned for the Rock's next possession, but went three-and-out.

             The Rams offense got the ball back for the first time in a while and started its drive at its own 18 with 6:38 to go in the second. WSSU was forced to punt after five plays.

            The Rock got the ball with 3:46 remaining in the half, but the WSSU defense, led by junior defensive end Casey Davenport's sack of Newsock, forced a second straight three-and-out.

             On WSSU's ensuing drive, Slippery Rock's defense made a statement. Senior linebacker Quindell Dean intercepted Rudy Johnson and ran it 18 yards for a touchdown. The Rock was within one touchdown, 20-13 with 2:41 left in the half.

             Feeling the game getting closer, the Rams offense took over on their 20. It looked promising when Rudy Johnson scrambled 54 yards and set up his team up with a first and goal from the 7-yard line with 55 seconds left, but the quarterback threw an interception in the end zone on the next play.

             The Rams were able to get the ball before the half when the Slippery Rock offense went three-and-out.

        WSSU took over and moved the ball pretty well. After a pass-interference penalty on the Rock, the Rams were given an untimed play from the Slippery Rock 32.

The pass intended for freshman wide receiver Chase Powell was incomplete, and the half ended with a score of WSSU 20, Slippery Rock 13.

              WSSU began the second half on offense from its own 13-yard line. The Rams held the ball for 4:37 but were unable to make it past midfield. They punted to Slippery Rock with 10:23 left in the third quarter.

             Barksdale threw two interceptions but started the second half at quarterback.  

WSSU's defense picked up where it left off in the first half, forcing the Slippery Rock offense into its fourth straight three-and-out.

             After the punt, the Rams began their series at their own 20-yard line with 9:13 remaining in the third.

      The already penalty-laden game was intensified when Slippery Rock's senior linebacker Gary Allen was disqualified.

During this WSSU drive, Allen was ejected for intentionally targeting Rudy Johnson's head. Additional penalties were called on the next three plays, including offsetting.

             Despite the penalties, WSSU scored when senior tight end Jerry Chandler caught a 33-yard pass from Rudy Johnson; it was Johnson's third touchdown pass of the day.

After Will Johnson's extra point, WSSU took a 27-13 lead with 6:28 left in the third quarter.

             On Slippery Rock's ensuing drive, Brandon intercepted Barksdale for the second time and set up the Rams offense at the 42 yard-line of the Rock.

             Just when it looked like WSSU was in control, Rudy Johnson threw his third interception to red-shirt senior defensive back Anthony Saunders.

            Then the Rock took over at the 50-yard line with 5:31 to go before the third. Barksdale scored on a quarterback sneak, and it was once again a one-possession game.

The Rams led 27-20 with 2:17 remaining in the third.

             WSSU had committed a season-high four turnovers, and Slippery Rock had converted three of them into touchdowns.

             The Rams held possession until the end of the third quarter but were forced to punt at the beginning of the fourth.

             Slippery Rock took over at their16-yard line. But a 12-men-on-the-field penalty against WSSU disqualified a Hearne interception return for touchdown, keeping the Rock's hopes of victory alive.

Three plays later, Slippery Rock was called for a holding penalty on the next play and had to punt the ball.

             WSSU's offense hit the field for its first possession of the final quarter with 12:44 left. Dropped passes stifled the Rams and forced them into a three-and-out.

             After a 53-yard punt by Will Johnson, Slippery Rock took possession at their 18 with 11:56 to go. The offense went three-and-out, due in large part to a sack by senior defensive lineman John Rizor.

The Rams got the ball back again, this time with 10:45 remaining. It looked as if they had been forced into another three-and-out, when punter Will Johnson bobbled the snap and was forced to run. To everyone's amazement, he ran for a first down, and WSSU kept driving. Later on the possession, Will Johnson went back out on the field. This time, it was to attempt a 41-yard field goal. He missed, and the Rock took over with 6:01 to go.

            Barksdale and Slippery Rock again failed to convert for a first down, and WSSU's defense got its offense the ball back with 4:48 left to play. The Rams were still clinging to a 7-point lead at 27-20.

            They started their drive at their own 27-yard line, looking to run some clock and put the game away. The offense was unable to move the ball, though, and WSSU punted the ball back to the Rock with 2:00 left. A 15-yard penalty for interfering with a fair catch on the Rams helped Slippery Rock their drive at their own 35-yard line.

            WSSU's defense, which had played extremely well all game, needed one more stand for the team to move on to the next round. The unit got the stop, the Rams got the ball back, ran the clock out and secured the 27-20 victory.