WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Too much Rudy Johnson. Not enough offense.

The combination proved deadly Saturday afternoon as the Slippery Rock University football season ended in a 27-20 loss to Winston-Salem State in a first-round NCAA Division II playoff game at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Johnson, the Rams’ quarterback, threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 86 yards in the victory.

But Johnson was also intercepted three times — twice by Anthony Saunders — and Quindell Dean returned a pick 18 yards for a score.

“Our defense did a fantastic job of keeping us in the game all day,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “But our offense never got untracked. That was probably the story of the game.

“Winston-Salem’s defense had a lot to do with that. They are big and physical.”

Rock quarterback Nigel Barksdale did not play the first quarter because of disciplinary action from “team rules,” Mihalik said. When he did see action, he managed to complete only nine of 22 passes for 67 yards, getting picked off three times.

One of those interceptions was returned 70 yards for a touchdown by Larry Hearne.

Zack Newsock started the game behind center for The Rock and threw for 86 yards.

“There was a great crowd at this game and The Rock had tremendous support down here. We’re grateful for that,” Mihalik said.

“But the crown on this (grass) field was very high. This field was not very good. A playoff site should be better than this.”

The Rock offense entered the contest averaging 566.6 yards per game. SRU was limited to 210 yards and 13 first downs Saturday.

Winston-Salem State entered the game leading all of Division II in yardage allowed, giving up an average of 234 per contest.

SRU (9-3) did get on the board first. Derek Walker forced a fumble that was recovered by Rock teammate Kevin Kulka at the WSS 11-yard line in the first quarter. Teddy Blakeman capped a brief drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

The PAT failed, however, and the Rams scored the game’s next 20 points. Hearne’s interception return was part of that flurry.

“We never could get the lead back after that,” Mihalik said.

Despite the rough outing, Barksdale finished the season with Rock records of 245 completions in 427 attempts, 3,466 yards and 30 touchdowns. His total offensive production of 4,199 yards this season is fourth-highest in PSAC history.

John Schademan had four catches for 73 yards, his Rock records for a single season ending at 77 catches for 1,484 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“Our seniors battled hard all day today and led this team all year,” Mihalik said. “We fought hard for 60 minutes in every game. We had a lot of guys playing who were banged up today and they gave everything they had.”

SRU’s 20 points Saturday marked a season-low. The teams combined for 29 penalties Saturday, the flags costing them 271 yards.

Bob Westerlund led The Rock defensively with 11 tackles against the Rams. Gary Allen added nine tackles, 3.5 for loss.

Mars graduate Austin Miele had seven tackles Saturday and led the team this season with 90 stops.

Winston-Salem State (10-1) moves on to play at unbeaten Shepherd this Saturday.

Winston-Salem St. 27, Slippery Rock 20

Slippery Rock 6 7 7 0 — 20

Winston-Salem 6 14 7 0 — 27

SRU WSS

13 First Downs 25

35-57 Rushes-Yards 44-162

153 Passing Yards 315

14-34-3 Comp.-Att.-Int 24-37-3

210 Total Yards 477

2-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

12-116 Penalty Yards 17-155

First Quarter

SRU — Teddy Blakeman 2 run (run failed), 10:51

WSS — Joshua Glisson 3 pass from Rudy Johnson (kick failed), 6:46

Second Quarter

WSS — Will Miller 1 pass from Rudy Johnson (William Johnson kick), 10:36

WSS — Larry Hearne 70 interception return (Johnson kick), 7:20

SRU — Quindell Dean 18 interception return (Mike Wainauskis kick), 2:41

Third Quarter

WSS — Jerry Chandler 33 pass from Rudy Johnson (Johnson kick), 6:28

SRU — Nigel Barksdale 1 run (Wainauskis kick), 2:17

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Nigel Barksdale 15-36, Teddy Blakeman 11-33, Shamar Greene 5-23, Zack Newsock 4-(-35). Winston-Salem State, Rudy Johnson 18-86, Maurice Lewis 19-69, William Johnson 1-8, Joshua Glisson 1-2, TEAM 2-0, Chase Powell 1-(-1).

Passing: SRU, Nigel Barksdale 9-22-67-3, Zack Newsock 5-12-86-0. Winston-Salem State, Rudy Johnson 24-37-315-3.

Receiving: SRU, John Schademan 4-73, Jaimire Dutrieuille 4-34, Ken Amos 2-20, Drew Scales 2-6, Julian Harrell 1-15, Zack Newsock 1-5. Winston-Salem State, Chase Powell 5-81, Maurice Lewis 5-59, Kenne Patterson 3-25, Rashon Williams 3-22, Shane Blue 2-51, Jerry Chandler 2-46, Joshua Glisson 2-20, Donovan Raspberry 1-10, Will Miller 1-1.