SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — The Rock knew what it was up against — and knew what it had to do.

“We had to contain either the quarterback or running back and limit the other’s production,” Slippery Rock University football coach Shawn Lutz said. “Instead, both guys killed us.”

Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent threw for for 372 yards and two touchdowns while running back Ronnie Brown rushed for 205 and a score Saturday in leading Shepherd to a 37-27 Division II playoff win over The Rock at Ram Stadium.

The loss ended SRU’s season at 10-3 while Shepherd improved to 12-1 and heads to Indiana (Pa.) for a rematch with the Crimson Hawks in the Super Region One title game this Saturday. IUP handed the Rams their only loss this season, a 24-21 decision in the PSAC championship game.

“Our program is at the point where we’re not satisfied just getting to the playoffs,” Lutz said. “Our goal continues to be winning a national championship and, starting Monday, we will begin working on that next year.”

But this year — and Saturday’s game — weren’t bad.

SRU qualified for the national playoffs for a fourth straight season and stayed with Shepherd’s high-powered offense most of the day. While the Rams produced 594 total offensive yards, The Rock churned out 460 in its own right.

Trailing 17-13 late in the first half, SRU ran a fake punt on 4th-and-4 from its own 42-yard line. Michael Henwood took a handoff from punt formation and scampered 43 yards. The play set up Noah Grover’s 29-yard scoring pass to Cohen Russell for a 20-17 lead with 1:06 left in the half.

The Rams responded by driving 82 yards in eight plays, ending the half with a 20-yard Jacob Haynie field goal, knotting the score.

“We saw on film that fake punt play would be there and figured that was the time to call it,” Lutz said. “Giving up the field goal after that took away a lot of our momentum, though.”

Shepherd controlled play in the third quarter as Bagent’s 1-yard run capped a 72-yard drive and a 28-yard Haynie field goal ended an 81-yard march, giving the Rams a 30-20 lead with 12:34 to play.

But The Rock wasn’t done.

Grover’s 1-yard run polished off a 62-yard drive that pulled SRU within 30-27 with 7:13 remaining. But The Rock defense could not get off the field.

Shepherd drove 78 yards in 12 plays — converting a 4th-and-8 along the way — and scored the game-clinching touchdown with 1:43 to play. Bagent found EJ Morgan in the end zone on a 3rd-and-8 play.

The Rock valiantly drove inside Shepherd’s 10 in the waning moments, but a Grover pass was tipped and intercepted in the end zone. Grover threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for one in his final game with The Rock.

SRU did not sack Bagent all day. Nor did it come up with any takeaways. Grover was sacked three times and Chris D’Or lost a fumble inside the Shepherd 15 early in the game.

“Our defense got pressure on Bagent, but we didn’t contain him in the pocket,” Lutz said. “He was continually able to escape pressure and get outside, which is where he really hurt us.”

Notes: Russell caught a career-high 10 passes for 123 yards. ... SRU had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season until Brown ran for his 205 Saturday. Brown caught a touchdown pass as well and has rushed for more than 1,500 yards this season. ... The Rock produced its seventh 10-win season. ... SRU has played 53 games in the past four years, most in Super Region One. ... All four of Grover’s losses as SRU’s starting quarterback occurred on the road against ranked teams. ... Grover leaves The Rock ranked fourth in program history with 373 completions and 45 touchdowns, sixth with 4,882 passing yards, in just 16 career starts. He has the biggest completion percentage in Rock history for a QB with more than 10 starts. ... Jalen Dangerfield led SRU defensively Saturday with nine tackles.

Slippery Rock 7 13 0 7 — 27

She[herd 14 6 7 10 — 37

First Quarter

S — Ronnie Brown 21 pass from Tyson Bagent (Jacob Haynie kick), 10:16

SRU — Kyle Sheets 46 pass from Noah Grover (DJ Opsatnik kick), 6:41

S — Brown 43 run (Haynie kick), 3:26

Second Quarter

SRU — Isaiah Edwards 1 run (kick blocked), 13:15

S — Haynie 27 field goal, 9:32

SRU — Cohen Russell 29 pass from Grover (Opsatnik kick), 1:06

S — Haynie 20 field goal, :00

Third Quarter

S — Bagent 1 run (Haynie kick), 4:55

Fourth Quarter

S — Haynie 28 field goal, 12:34

SRU — Grover 1 run (Opsatnik kick), 7:13

S — EJ Morgan 17 pass from Bagent (Haynie kick), 1:43

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Chris D’Or 13-79, Michael Henwood 1-43, Noah Grover 8-11, Isaiah Edwards 5-7, Cohen Russell 1-4. Shepherd, Ronnie Brown 20-205, Tyson Bagent 8-19, TEAM 2-(-2).

Passing: SRU, Noah Grover 23-33-317-1. Shepherd, Tyson Bagent 28-45-372-0.

Receiving: SRU, Cohen Russell 10-123, Jawon Hall 3-85, Kyle Sheets 3-59, Bryce Profitt 1-16, Chris D’Or 3-14, Gavyn Barnes 2-10, Kam Kruselyak 1-10. Shepherd, Rodney Dorsey 5-75, EJ Morgan 4-56, Ronnie Brown 2-52, Alphonso Foray 2-38, Daryl Harper 1-37, Brian Walker 3-34.