INDIANAPOLIS – The Slippery Rock University football team saw its season officially come to an end Sunday evening when it was left out of the NCAA playoff field after narrowly missing the cut for one of the seven spots from Super Region One.
 
The Rock were ranked No. 5 in each of the last three NCAA Super Region One rankings, but a loss on the road at 8-3 Kutztown proved to be enough to knock SRU out of the playoff picture.
 
Slippery Rock had a strong resume and was in consideration for one of the final three spots after five of the top 10 teams in the region lost yesterday, but those spots ultimately went to West Chester, California (Pa.) and Findlay. The Rock had a strong strength of schedule, head-to-head wins over California (Pa.) and West Chester and went 2-1 on the year against the playoff field, with the only loss coming to top seeded Indiana (Pa.).
 
The Super Region One qualifiers are Indiana (11-0), Shepherd (10-0), Assumption (9-1), Shippensburg (10-1), West Chester (8-3), California (9-2) and Findlay (9-2).
 
"We're obviously disappointed for the guys and especially our seniors," said head coach Shawn Lutz. "We had our chances and controlled our own destiny yesterday, but just didn't get it done. Overall, we had a better season than we were probably expected to have with so many young guys and essentially a completely new defense. It stings right now, especially seeing a couple teams we beat get in, but we're proud of what we accomplished this year. We really just want to say thank you to our seniors for everything they did for our program over the last four years."
 
That senior class finishes its four-year career with a 36-12 overall record, four straight seasons with at least seven wins, two PSAC West titles, two PSAC championships and two appearances in the NCAA playoffs.
 
The group was a part of more than 20 program records over the last four years, both as a team and individually.
 
Included in that group of seniors is Marcus Martin, who closes his career as the best statistical defensive lineman in NCAA history among all divisions. Martin set the all-time NCAA career sack record at 56.0 sacks and set the NCAA Division II record for career tackles for loss at 92.5. The next best numbers by any Division II player in history are 77.0 tackles for loss and 46.5 sacks. He finished his career with his best statistical year, posting a national-best 26.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in just 11 games, despite being the only returning starter on a defense that saw 15 different players make their first collegiate start this fall.
 
Martin is one of three pro prospects on the SRU roster that scouts have visited campus to see this year, joining offensive guard Ian Park and wide receiver and return specialist Marcus Johnson. Park missed the last four games with an injury, but is being looked at by NFL scouts after playing three years at Northwestern before coming over to SRU for his final season after graduating from Northwestern in 2016. Johnson had a breakout year, shattering the SRU program record for all-purpose yardage with 1,993 yards, which included 1,214 receiving yards. Johnson scored 17 total touchdowns on the year with three kick return scores and 14 receiving touchdowns.
 
Slippery Rock will lose 13 seniors, but will return nearly the entire defense, most of the offensive line and a strong contingent of skill players on offense. Some more notes about the record-setting members of the departing senior class can be found below.
 
 
TANNER GARRY
Tanner Garry played just one season at Slippery Rock but lit up the record books by leading the nation in passing with 3,522 yards. He broke SRU single-season program records for completions (268), touchdowns (32) and passing average (320.2 yards per game) and his yardage and attempts (437) rank second all-time at SRU. Despite only playing one season, Garry ranks seventh all-time at SRU in career TD passes and eighth in yardage and completions. He also broke the SRU record for career 300 yard games, throwing for more than 300 yards in eight games this season, including two games with more than 475 passing yards.
 
MARCUS JOHNSON
Marcus Johnson broke the SRU single-season record for all-purpose yardage this year with 1,993 yards. He ranked seventh in the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 181.2, despite no teams kicking off to him for the last three weeks of the season. He ranked sixth in the nation in receiving yards with 1,214 and fifth in the nation in receiving touchdowns with 14. Johnson's receiving yardage was the fourth most in a single-season in school history, while his TD grabs were the second most. He finished his three-year career at SRU tied for the program record in TD catches with 28, while also ranking fifth all-time in receiving yards (2,238) and sixth in total catches (133).
 
MILLY RAYE
Milly Raye caught at least one pass in 37 straight games to end his career and capped it with a memorable senior year in which he was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter in nine of the 11 weeks of the season. He grabbed a career-high 76 passes for 959 yards and nine TDs on the year and also had a punt return TD. His season numbers rank him fourth in catches, seventh in yardage and eighth in touchdowns. For his career, Raye ranks second all-time at SRU in receiving yards (2,437) and receptions (191) and third in touchdown catches (24).
 
ISIAH NEELY
Isiah Neely ran for 2,023 yards in his career, topping the 2,000-yard mark in his final career game after rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown rush was the 22nd of his career, moving him up to 11th all-time in SRU program history.
 
MARCUS MARTIN
There isn't much more than can be said about the career of Marcus Martin, who started all 48 games of his career and put up the best numbers in NCAA history for a defensive lineman at any level. He finished his career as the all-time NCAA record holder for career sacks among all players at any level with 56.0 sacks. He also posted the Division II career record of 92.5 tackles for loss. Martin, who will likely be slated to win a number of postseason awards over the next two months, led the nation this year in both sacks (15.5) and tackles for loss (24.5). He will leave the SRU program ranking first, second and third in single-season sacks and second, fourth, fifth and eighth in single-season tackles for loss. In addition to his TFL numbers, Martin recorded a total of 302 career tackles, forced six fumbles, recovered seven fumbles and had one touchdown return. His sacks accounted for a loss of 360 total yards, while his tackles for loss went for a 462 lost yards over the last four years.
 
The rest of the senior class that helped SRU to a 36-12 record over the last four years includes captains Delmar Henderson and Ian Park , along with two-year starting tight end Brian McNally, three-year starting longsnapper Garret MacFarland, offensive lineman Jim Popa, who started every game the last two years, reserve defensive linemen Corey Garry and Bishop Gethers and starting wide receiver Andrew Bridgeforth. 
 

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