SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — It was simply too much to overcome.

Injuries, penalties and turnovers combined to put Slippery Rock University in a 33-10 hole early in the third quarter of its NCAA Division II football playoff game at Notre Dame (Ohio) Saturday afternoon.

The Rock (9-3) fought back, only to end its season with a 33-25 defeat.

“We just ran out of gas and ran out of time,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said.

SRU's rash of late-season injuries continued Saturday when wide receiver Henry Litwin went down with bruised ribs in the second quarter and could not return. The Rock wound up playing without eight starters due to various injuries incurred during the final three games.

Before leaving the game, Litwin tallied four catches for 43 yards. He leaves the program holding career records of 221 catches, 3,392 yards and 42 touchdowns. Litwin had 1,042 receiving yards this year.

It was disclosed after the game that Litwin played the entire season with a broken collarbone.

“He wanted to get back out there,” Lutz said. “He tried, but he couldn't turn his body. He just wasn't able to play.”

SRU trailed 16-10 in the second quarter before a pair of interceptions were converted into Notre Dame touchdowns. Tyris Dickerson scored on a 9-yard run and Chris Brimm found Devana Conliffe for a 40-yard scoring pass and a 30-10 halftime lead.

Brimm completed only eight of 23 passes on the day, but three of those went for touchdowns.

Tanner Harding's second field goal of the day gave the Falcons (11-1) a 33-10 lead early in the third quarter. But Notre Dame wouldn't score again.

Cinque Sweeting returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and SRU found some momentum.

“We gained a lot of energy from that return,” Lutz said. “Our defense stepped up and began making plays. We shut them down the rest of the way.”

Tim Smith's 7-yard scoring run capped a 90-yard drive and pulled SRU within 33-25, as Sweeting caught a two-point conversion pass with five minutes left in the third quarter,

Try as it might, The Rock could not pull even.

Two drives inside the Notre Dame 30 and another across midfield came up empty. Kenyon Johnson caught a pass that would have given SRU a first down at the Falcons 2-yard line, but it was negated by a holding penalty. A subsequent field goal attempt sailed wide.

Noah Grover threw for 336 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times. Sweeting had nine catches for 164 yards and 288 all-purpose yards.

Notre Dame ran for 278 yards, including 164 by Idris Lawrence and 95 by Tyris Dickerson. Smith rushed for 77 yards for The Rock.

SRU's four-year seniors ended their careers with a 41-10 record, three PSAC West titles, one state title and three Division II playoff appearances.

“One of the best senior classes in the history of the school,” Lutz said. “Most of those guys came back for graduate school. We won another West title and went back to the playoffs.

“I don't know how we're going to replace those guys, if we can replace them. We have a lot of work to do.”

Slippery Rock 7 3 15 0 — 25

Notre Dame (Ohio) 9 21 3 0— 33

First Quarter

ND — Tanner Harding 45 field goal, 12:01

SRU — Cinque Sweeting 13 pass from Noah Grover (DJ Opsatnik kick), 9:40

ND — Davis Patterson 38 pass from Chris Brimm (kick blocked), 4:15

Second Quarter

SRU — Opsatnik 29 field goal, 12:37

ND — Reece Perkins 8 pass from Brimm (Harding kick), 9:10

ND — Tyris Dickerson 9 run (Harding kick), 4:21

ND — Devana Conliffe 40 pass from Brimm (Harding kick), :53

Third Quarter

ND — Harding 37 field goal, 11:21

SRU — Sweeting 95 kick return (Opsatnik kick), 11:07

SRU — Tim Smith 7 run (Sweeting pass from Grover), 5:00

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Tim Smith 15-77, Chris D'Or 2-6, Noah Grover 12-(-6). Notre Dame, Idris Lawrence 26-164, Tyris Dickerson 14-95, Chris Brimm 3-24, Robe Singletary 3-(-5).

Passing: SRU, Noah Grover 278-47-336-3, Cody Ross 1-1-22-0. Notre Dame, Chris Brimm 8-23-154-0.

Receiving: SRU, Cinque Sweeting 9-164, Max Maciejewski 5-54, Henry Litwin 4-43, Gavyn Barnes 4-28, Kyle Sheets 3-24, Chris D'Or 1-19, Tim Smith 2-19 Kenyon Johnson 1-9. Notre Dame, Devana Conliffe 3-80, Davis Patterson 2-49, Reece Perkins 3-25.