SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College football team is advancing to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals after a 21-17 win against Slippery Rock, but that may not have been the case if it weren't for a change made in the fourth quarter.
 
Defensive tackle Sha'haun Williams swapped out his cleats for a fresh pair late in the game, and recorded six tackles, including three sacks and a forced fumble in the final 15 minutes as the Falcons were defending a four-point lead.
 
Slippery Rock was driving on a possession that began with its back to its own end zone as the Rock made their way to midfield. On a first down at the SRU 48-yard line, Williams came up with his third tackle of the day, stopping a three-yard carry. The Rock wouldn't gain another yard on the drive and were forced to punt, only to pin Notre Dame deep in its territory.
 
Starting with the ball on their six-yard line, the Falcons actually lost yardage on the following drive, which led to a punt that gave Slippery Rock the ball at NDC's 38.
 
With a four-point lead and 5:38 to go, Williams came up with two huge plays. The first was a five-yard sack, and the second gave Notre Dame the ball back after Williams forced a fumble on his second-straight sack.
 
With the ball again, NDC was able to take more than two minutes off the clock before giving Slippery Rock one final possession.
 
On the final drive, starting on their own 13, the Rock were able to gain 56 yards. But it wasn't enough as they turned the ball over on downs with 19 seconds to play. On that 56-yard drive, Williams recorded two tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Williams now holds the NDC record for career sacks with 27.5.
 
"Right before we took the field we huddled up and said that it was on us to finish the game," Williams said. "We knew it was up to one of our 11 guys to come up with a big play. I was just blessed with the opportunity."
 
At the start of the game, Slippery Rock was the first on the board, going up 3-0 after the NDC signature bend-don't-break defense held the Rock to a field goal attempt after a 71-yard drive.
 
The lead wasn't theirs for long, however. On the next possession, Notre Dame drove 75 yards for a touchdown that was capped off by freshman running back Jaleel McLaughlin who took the ball 22 yards to pay dirt.
 
After the game, McLaughlin was asked about his ability to be patient and read plays. He said that was key for him against Slippery Rock.
 
"I watched a ton of film this week," McLaughlin said. "I tried to make 45 minutes of time every night to watch film and I noticed that I had to be more patient coming against this team. They're so quick to jump plays and I felt like I was getting hit a lot in the first quarter and not being patient enough. That's when I started to get a groove a little bit and saw it was working for me. On the 22-yard touchdown I was just thinking the same thing I was before, just to cut back and take my time with it."
 
McLaughlin, who was named a Harlon Hill Award finalist for best DII player earlier in the week, finished with 172 yards rushing.
 
Notre Dame would keep its momentum going on the next possession after the defense stopped SRU on a fourth-and-one that was measured just inches short. Quarterback Chris Brimm found Andrew Turski in the end zone on a five-yard pass the highlight the five-play 50-yard drive to put NDC up 14-3.
 
Slippery Rock would then score late in the second quarter on a nine-yard pass as Roland Rivers threw to Jermaine Wynn Jr. for a sideline catch in the end zone to close the gap 14-10 with just over two minutes left in the first half.
 
That would end up to be too much time for the Notre Dame offense.
 
The Falcons, with the clock running down, ran the ball on the first two plays as they seemed satisfied to go into the break with a four-point lead. But they weren't satisfied. On the third play, Brimm hooked up with Conner Henry for a 14-yard gain to move the chains for an NDC first down at their own 48. The fourth play of the drive was another pass. Brimm was flushed out of the pocket and looked downfield to find an open Marvelle Ross for a 52-yard touchdown.
 
Notre Dame would lead 21-10 going into halftime.
 
"I was running a comeback route and I saw Brimm scrambling," Ross said. "We know from practice that if the quarterback's scrambling to turn up filed and that's what was going through my mind.
 
"It was much needed. It gave us a lot of momentum coming into the third quarter."
 
Ross ended the day with four receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown. Ross and McLaughlin both had special team's returns as well and the two have now broken an NCAA Division II single-season record. The two have combined for 4,314 all-purpose yards this season, which is the most by teammates since Brian Shay and Chet Pobolish set the record of 4,112 at Emporia State in 1996.
 
Slippery Rock would score one final touchdown in the third quarter on a 19-yard rush, but that would halt the scoring at 21-17 after the NDC defense made its stands in the fourth quarter.
 
"I can't say enough about our defensive line and the rotation we have up there," said head coach Mike Jacobs. "When the game is on the line and there were critical downs that we knew would be passes, they were able to continue to get after the quarterback."
 
Jacobs, in his third year as head coach, has led the first ever NCAA Division II program from Ohio to make it to the semifinals.
 
"I really couldn't be more proud of these players; I really couldn't be more appreciative to be their coach," Jacobs said. We're really excited to continue to show everybody what this college is about."
 
Brimm led both teams with 206 yards passing and two touchdowns while also rushing for 30 yards. Defensively, Guam Lee and Curtis Collins each totaled nine tackles while Davionn Johnson recorded eight stops and an interception. Williams, RJ Goodwin and Jack Kosko each forced a fumble.
 
Notre Dame will play in the NCAA Division II Semifinal round on Saturday, December 8.