It will be an all-MARC affair in the NCR D3 men’s final, after both Slippery Rock and Franciscan won their semifinals Friday in Houston.
Slippery Rock ran out to a 22-5 lead over New Mexico Tech and looked to once again be in position to win big.
But NMT clawed their way back into the game, mostly in being able to get some field position and at least put Rock under pressure.
It took a while but the Miners were able to go over for their second try to make it 22-10.
“We just wanted to get the ball out of our own half,” said Slippery Rock’s goalkicker Chase Nething. “I don’t care if we’re on defense the rest of the game. Our defense is so, so good. I’m confident that if we pin them back then they have no chance to score.”
And that worked. Slippery Rock defended well and kept NMT in their half, and then got the turnover and put the game away with a converted try.
Alec Harbison, Kameron Kruzelyak, and Chase Nething all scored tries while Cooper Alleman ran in two.
Slippery Rock’s main rivals this year have been Franciscan. Rock lost to the Barons 15-7 during the regular season, and then beat them 26-20 in the conference final.
Now they get to play a third time.
Against a well-drilled and physical Holy Cross team, Franciscan just moved the ball too quickly. They were fit and were smart with the boot, too.
