Slippery Rock eyes revenge against Kutztown in Division II quarterfinals

Kam Kruzelyak represents the WPIAL football brand. An uncompromising kid from Coraopolis, Kruzelyak was on the radar of Division I schools while at West Allegheny. Turns out, he chose to play in Division II, much like many other former WPIAL players, past and present.

This season, he became a star at No. 16 Slippery Rock.

“When I was at West Allegheny, I didn’t know about recruiting,” said Kruzelyak, a junior tight end voted to the all-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first team. “Coach (Bob) Palko really explained the process to me. We sat down and talked at length about it, and one thing he said really stuck with me.”

Palko, who won eight WPIAL championships during a 24-year run as coach at West Allegheny, insisted that Division II football can open a door to the NFL.

“He told me the difference between Division I and II is the stadium size,” Kruzelyak said.

It might not be as simple as that, but matching a given player to another has presented no shortage over the years of NFL prospects in Division II.

A total of 43 former D-II players were on NFL opening-day rosters in 2023, including four from PSAC schools.

“You’ve got to have good players to be successful at any level,” Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “We have a balance of good high school kids and those from the transfer portal. But you’ve got to recruit your butt off.”

Kruzelyak, who originally attended Division II West Liberty before transferring to Slippery Rock prior to the 2022 season, has averaged nearly 10 yards on 39 receptions this year. He is one of two Slippery Rock players to land on the all-PSAC first team.

The other, defensive back Eddie Faulker IV, from Shady Side Academy, is a son of Pittsburgh Steelers fifth-year running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, who also took over as interim offensive coordinator Nov. 21, when Matt Canada was fired from the position.

“More than anything, what drives me to play this game — at any level — is the name, ‘Faulkner,’” said Eddie Faulkner IV, a junior with 59 tackles and four interceptions this season. “It’s the pedigree. It’s not so much that my father coaches for the Steelers that drives me. It’s more the fact that he’d be successful in any field. It’s just the drive to be successful. For us, it doesn’t matter if we’re first team, second team or no team. We have bigger things at hand.”

Slippery Rock (12-1), indeed, faces a huge challenge on Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, when Kutztown (11-2) visits for a Division II quarterfinal-round playoff game.

The Golden Bears on Nov. 11 handed then-No. 4 Slippery Rock its only loss in cogent fashion, dominating The Rock, 31-7, at Kutztown’s Andre Reed Stadium.

Yes, the same Andre Reed who played 16 NFL seasons and was a three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. The 1984 Kutztown graduate is a member of the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

And, Reed is one of seven Kutztown products to play in the NFL.

Meantime, Slippery Rock has sent six players to the NFL, the last being former Seneca Valley center Brandon Fusco, a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2011. He spent eight years with the team.

“We’ve have a lot of big-play guys, this year included,” said Lutz, like Kruzelyak, a tight end himself while attending West Virginia.

Starting with quarterback Brayden Long.

The 6-3, 220-pound junior, from New Oxford in PIAA District 3, on Wednesday was named as one of the nine national finalists for the 2023 Harlon Hill Trophy, presented annually to the top Division II player.

Long joins Hillsdale running back Michael Herzog as representatives of Division II’s Super Region One.

Long, who has passed for 3,486 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, becomes the sixth Slippery Rock player and third quarterback named as a Harlon Hill finalist since the award’s inception in 1986.

The lone Slippery Rock winner is Roland Rivers, a quarterback on The Rock’s 2019 team.

There’s many more making headlines this season at The Rock, including 6-4, 220-pound wide receiver Kyle Sheets, a District 10 Conneaut product, who is attracting NFL scouts while ranking third in Division II with 17 touchdown receptions.

Others from Western Pennsylvania schools making an impact are Nick Stazer, a team captain and all-PSAC offensive guard, from Butler; freshman linebacker Max Hecker, a part-time starter from Pine-Richland; two-time all-PSAC offensive guard Colton Rossi, from Wilmington in District 10; and freshman Kylon Wilson, a return specialist who ranks eighth in Division II in kickoff return average, from Farrell, also in District 10.

The PSAC is the nation’s only D-II conference guaranteed to send a representative to the semifinals because the remaining three quarterfinal games feature two teams each from different leagues.

“If you told me right now that we’d be playing a home game for a region championship against a team that kicked our butt, I wouldn’t probably believe you,” Lutz said. “But we’ve owned it. Kutztown is a pretty good football team in all phases, so the worst thing you can do is panic. We are prepared to just go about our business. It’s hard to go undefeated and we may have needed it.”

Kutztown, led by running back Kurtis Ravenel Jr., who is averaging 15.7 yards per carry (48 for 751 yards), and quarterback Judd Novak (1,984 yards passing, 533 rushing), has won 11 consecutive games after opening the year 0-2. Included is a 31-20 loss to Cal (Pa.) in the second week of the regular season.

“They’re the most physical team we played this year,” Lutz said. “We have to start fast and establish the line of scrimmage.”

Capacity on Saturday at Division II Slippery Rock is 10,000. It likely won’t be an easy task for either team — their NFL hopefuls dotting the lineups — no matter the size of the crowd.