SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Ryan Daniel never heard a thing.

Slippery Rock University's sophomore kicker jogged onto the field and calmly booted a 38-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining in the game, giving The Rock a bizarre 30-27 football win over Shepherd.

"I tried not to listen to all of the trash talk," Daniel said. "Just keep your head down and drill it through.

"I'm glad the coaches have confidence in me that I can go out there and get it done."

SRU had two-touchdown leads twice on the day, but the Rams scored three times with The Rock's defense on the sidelines.

Shepherd's Dan Peters returned interceptions 78 and 34 yards for touchdowns and Dan Dudinski returned a punt 78 yards for a score.

"I can't fault our defense today," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "They played a magnificent game."

So did Daniel.

After running back Josh Kniess scored the first of his three touchdowns to give The Rock a 14-7 lead, Daniel executed a short, high kickoff that teammate Paul Favers caught on a fly at the Shepherd 35-yard line. Kniess scored three plays later for a 20-7 lead.

"We practice that short kickoff a lot," Daniel said. "We used it all night in the Youngstown (State) game. I just try to get under it and lift it as high as I can."

A botched snap cost Daniel the PAT, however.

Peters' second interception return was the 78-yarder and enabled Shepherd to tie the game at 27 with 3:55 left in the third quarter. SRU's Jesse Kelly blocked the PAT attempt to keep the game tied.

"As it turned out, that was a huge, huge play," Mihalik said of the blocked kick.

The Rock wasn't through making huge plays.

Shepherd's Jake Earp blocked a Ray Rotella punt at the SRU 40 with 7:32 left in the game, and the Rams picked up a first down at The Rock 27.

From there, Willie Murel and Justin Poorbaugh nailed Rams running back Alex Herbert for a yard loss. On fourth-and-11 after two incomplete passes, Seneca Valley graduate Mike Jennings sacked quarterback Len Ferguson to end the possession.

"When we stopped them right there - that was the most important series of the game," Mihalik said.

"We couldn't run the ball worth a lick," Shepherd coach Monte Cater said. "It's hard to move the ball when they know you have to throw it."

The Rams netted zero rushing yards on 27 attempts Saturday. Herbert, a two-time All-WVIAC selection, had 19 yards on 18 carries.

Ferguson was intercepted four times, the third being the most critical. On first down from the Rams' 29, SRU's Asaad Allen picked off an overthrown pass and returned it 18 yards to the Shepherd 29 with 3:24 remaining.

Allen had two interceptions on the day and had a third wiped out by a penalty. James Rockymore and Willie Murel also had interceptions for SRU.

"I think we have the best defensive line in the country," Allen said. "Playing free safety, I'm allowed to just roam around back there and follow the quarterback's eyes.

"When they have to throw it, it makes life easy back there."

Four plays later, Daniel kicked the deciding field goal, then drilled the kickoff into the end zone to prevent Dudinski, who had 155 yards in kick and punt return yardage, from getting another return.

Kniess, a Slippery Rock High School graduate, had 32 carries for 142 yards in 80-plus degree temperatures Saturday. He became the first SRU back since Dorrian Glenn in 2001 to put together three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

Kniess has 88 carries through three games. He also had a 57-yard punt return taken away by a holding penalty.

"I'm looking forward to it," Kniess said of the prospect of averaging 30 carries per game all season. "But I have to admit - this is the most tired I've felt after a game."

"That kid probably needs 20 IV's put in him right now," Mihalik said. "It can't be overstated what Josh Kniess means to our football team."

Rock quarterback Nate Crookshank threw three interceptions against Shepherd and has thrown eight picks in three games.

"At least we have something to build on with our big plays on defense and special teams," Cater said. "But our offense has struggled for three games now. We were no match for them on that side of the ball."

Shepherd fell to 0-3. The Rock avoided its first 0-3 start since 1990.

Notes:

Mihalik-coached teams have not lost to a WVIAC opponent since 1995. Another one - Fairmont State - comes to SRU for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday. … H-Back Brandon Richardson suited up but didn't play because of a cracked ankle. … Favers had a 78-yard kickoff return to set up SRU's first touchdown. … Former SRU linebacker Shawn Rohrer coaches inside linebackers at Shepherd. He coached at The Rock from 2000-02. … SRU is 3-0 against Shepherd all-time.

Slippery Rock 14 13 0 3-30Shepherd 7 7 13 0-27First QuarterS - Alex Herbert 2 run (Ricky Schmitt kick), 12:11SRU - Joe Habarka 1 pass from Nate Crookshank (Ryan Daniel kick), 8:50SRU - Josh Kniess 17 run (Daniel kick), :02Second QuarterSRU - Kniess 9 run (kick failed), 14:37S - Dan Peters 34 interception return (Schmitt kick), 11:09SRU - Kniess 4 run (Daniel kick), 2:38Third QuarterS - Dustin Dudinski 78 punt return (Schmitt kick), 11:13S - Peters 78 interception return (kick blocked), 3:55Fourth QuarterSRU - Daniel 38 field goal, 1:07Individual StatisticsPassing: SRU, Nate Crookshank 8-16-52-3. Shepherd, Len Ferguson 17-35-220-4.Rushing: SRU, Josh Kniess 32-142, Nate Crookshank 7-52, Corey Manfull 8-30. Shepherd, Alex Herbert 19-15, Len Ferguson 5 (-6), Demetrius Weeden 2-(-1), Team 1-(-8).Receiving: SRU, Valdez Hails 2-16, Colin Golden 2-9, John Benca 1-12, Justin Fisher 1-10, Steve Fullerton 1-4, Joe Habarka 1-1. Shepherd, Tony Fenoglio 4-62, Chadd Wood 4-51, Jesse Correll 3-50, Chad Pence 2-14, Alex Herbert 1-18, Anthony Thomas 1-13, Demetrius Weden 1-7, Rodney Jackson 1-5.