UMD Athletics

SLIPPERY ROCK, PENN. - The No. 12 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking loss Thursday night on the road against RV Slippery Rock. The Bulldogs battled hard on the ground, gaining over 370 yards rushing, their most in a game since 2023, but that wasn't enough to take out the scrappy Rock.

    The Bulldogs got the offense going early, with a 33-yard rush from Derrick Johnson and an Austin Randall 12-yard rush getting the Bulldogs within striking distance. However, The Rock held on, and the Bulldogs had to settle for a 37-yard field goal.

    Slippery Rock would strike back quickly, with Jahmil Perryman getting a big 40-yard return, followed by a quick pass to Vincent Berardi which resulted in a 54-yard touchdown for The Rock, giving them the lead after their first offensive play.

    The Bulldogs would stall on the following drive, giving Slippery Rock the momentum and the chance to build on their lead. However, Jonathan Shrum and Joey Krouse would make some big defensive stops for the Bulldogs, forcing The Rock to punt. However, the Bulldogs couldn't put the stop to use, and Kwalil Shepperson would intercept Jacob Eggert just two plays into the drive.

    The defense would come back in a big way, with Ean Ackley and Mark Rendl stopping The Rock for a loss. The offense would finally break through on the next drive in a big way. Derrick Johnson, who finished with 212 yards and 3 touchdowns, would break a 79-yard touchdown drive to put the Bulldogs up 10-7.

    Ean Ackley would come up big for the Bulldogs again, as a sack and a tackle from him would stop The Rock in their tracks. Ackley would finish with 10 tackles and 1.5 TFL.

    UMD would heat up again, this time with a Peyton Menzel 20-yard reception. But a sack by Brett Kwoka would bring the drive to a halt. The Bulldogs defense would respond by forcing a three and out from Slippery Rock.

    In the Bulldogs final drive, the Bulldogs would receive their first penalty of the game at 6:08, but UMD would keep moving forward. A Peyton Menzel 19-yard reception would keep the drive going, and the Bulldogs hit paydirt off of a Jacob Eggert to Ben Fritsch pass, taking the lead up to 17-7 entering halftime.

    Slippery Rock would start with the ball, but the Bulldogs defense would not stop. A big QB pressure by Ross Rivord forced another three and out by The Rock.

    Derrick Johnson would again step up to the plate, this time with a 58-yard touchdown run to push the Bulldogs up to their biggest lead of the night, 24-7. UMD's defense would again force another three and out on the very next drive, with Gavin Schmidt making a massive tackle to freeze The Rock.

    UMD's woes would start on the next drive, as The Rock held fast, and the Bulldogs were also forced off of the field in three plays. The Rock would respond on the next drive as Vincent Berardi would make a big 31-yard reception, followed up by JayJay Jordan's 28-yard touchdown reception, cutting the Bulldogs lead down to 10.

    On the next drive, the Bulldogs got some help off of a few Rock penalties, including a targeting call on Jacob Snow, disqualifying him, but they got stopped yet again. A sack on Eggert from Brian Young Jr., as well as a holding call against the Bulldogs, would set them back, capped off by a Michael Cornick III interception.

    The Bulldogs defense would keep The Rock back, forcing yet another three and out. The Bulldogs would get called for an offensive face mask, but would continue to march down the field, aided by an 11-yard run from Zachary Welch and finished off by an Alex Riley 28-yard touchdown run. However, a missed extra point would hold the Bulldogs to a 30-14 lead.

    The defense would hold Slippery Rock to their fourth three and out of the game, but the offense wouldn't do much with the ball either, and punted right after. After 16 yards on three plays, The Rock would get 64 on the next three, with DaOne Owens leading the charge with a 36-yard pass to Reggie Fleurima, a 21-yard pass to Ethan Trettel, and finished with a John Sabo touchdown to bring the game to a 30-20 contest after a failed two-point try.

    The Bulldogs looked to strike back and put away the game. Joey Flaherty got a 44-yard pass from Jacob Eggert to put the Bulldogs within range of another field goal to go back up by two scores, but two holding penalties plus a false start would push them away. But a critical fumble would lead to The Rock getting a scoop-and-score, putting them to within three, 30-27.

    The Bulldogs would recover the onside kick, but would again be bogged down by a false start, leading to a three and out. The Rock on their final drive would end up getting a field goal to send the game to overtime. It was the Bulldogs first overtime game since 2018.

    The Rock would act swiftly in their first overtime drive, getting a touchdown on six plays to put the Bulldogs on edge. A holding penalty would yet again slow down UMD, but a massive 20-yard run by Eggert would keep the Bulldogs in the game, Johnson would almost get his third touchdown of the night, but a few tush pushes would get Eggert across the line to get the touchdown, with an extra point sending the game into double overtime.

    The Bulldogs would get the ball again, and they got right into action with a big pass to Joey Flaherty to get to the goal line. A few plays later, Johnson would get his third touchdown of the night, and the Bulldogs would retake the lead, but would fail the two-point try.

    The Rock would be pushed to the brink on the final drive, with a third and seven. However, a pass interference call would keep The Rock alive, and would get the tying touchdown on the next play. The Rock would seal the win on the two-point try, with DaOne Owens rushing in to take the win, breaking the Bulldogs seven-game opening win streak, while extending theirs to seventeen straight.

   The Bulldogs will look to bounce back next Thursday, when they take on Augustana at the home opener.