CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Turnovers on three straight series in the first half and key injuries turned the momentum of the game and led No. 24 California University (Pa.) to a 52-26 victory over No. 9 Slippery Rock University Saturday in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action from Adamson Stadium.
 
The loss drops Slippery Rock to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in PSAC West play, while the Vulcans improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league action.
 
The Rock recovered a fumble on a kickoff in the second quarter and Andrew Bridgeforth returned it to the Cal four-yard line to set up a first and goal with a chance to tie the game at 14-14.
 
On the next play, Slippery Rock's all-time leading rusher, Shamar Greene, suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game. He also fumbled on the play to give Cal the ball back.
 
On the next two SRU possessions, the Vulcans intercepted passes in their own end of the field to set up two touchdowns. The first came after a tipped pass led to a 68-yard interception return for a TD. The second pick was returned 39 yards to the SRU three-yard line and Cal scored three plays later to go up 28-7 at the end of the first half, completely shifting the momentum of the game.
 
The Rock offense stalled without Greene and couldn't get much going in his absence early in the second half. Adding to the difficulty in putting together a comeback attempt was the defense missing starters Bob Vernick, Titus Howard and John Conglose, who were all out with injuries.
 
The Vulcans put the game out of reach early in the second half with a touchdown pass just 3:28 in that made it 35-7. Slippery Rock would rally with a couple of sustained drives late in the half, but could never recover from the early deficit and poor field position.
 
California finished the game with a 372-296 advantage in total offense after throwing for 280 yards and rushing for 92. The Rock managed 120 yards on the ground and 176 through the air.
 
Greene rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown on just 12 carries in the first half to lead the SRU offense. Don King III was under pressure all day and completed just 13-of-31 pass attempts for 134 yards with the two interceptions. Nathaniel Musselman played the final series of the game and completed 4-of-5 passes for 42 yards with one touchdown to Carnel Harley, marking the first TDs of each of their careers.
 
Marcus Johnson caught three passes for 44 yards. Drew Scales caught three passes for 38 yards. Leroy McClain caught two passes for 37 yards and Harley finished with three catches for 36 yards and one TD.
 
Dontez Rash rushed for 31 yards on three carries with one touchdown in Greene's absence.
 
Marcus Martin paced The Rock defense with 13 total tackles, including nine solo, along with 3.5 tackles for loss and two solo sacks. Anthony Zappone added eight tackles and one sack and Derrick Fulmore recorded his first interception of the year. The Rock defense allowed the top-ranked offense in the country just 372 total yards of offense, but great starting field position and costly mistakes put the defensive unit in poor position most of the afternoon.
 
California was paced by QB Michael Keir, who completed 20-of-35 passes for 280 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. His top target was Garry Brown, who caught six passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Grisson rushed for 102 yards on 16 carries, which included a 52-yard rush, to become the first running back to reach 100 yards against SRU this season.
 
Slippery Rock will return to action next Saturday at home against Mercyhurst University with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Mihalik-Thomson Stadium. The game will serve as The Rock's annual Salute to Military with a series of events honoring veterans and current military personnel.
 
 
NOTES: Shawn Lutz lost his first career game as a head coach and is now 4-1 … Slippery Rock continued to have trouble playing on the road at California and is now just 2-7 at Cal U in the last nine road games … Shamar Greene rushed for 74 yards and one TD on just 12 carries in the first half before he was injured … His career rushing record now stands at 4,275 yards … he has rushed for 35 touchdowns, tying for sixth in career TD rushes … Greene now has 737 career carries, moving up to No. 2 on the all-time list at SRU … Marcus Martin had 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, increasing his school and PSAC record to 37.5 career sacks … he now has 59.0 career tackles for loss and is now just one away from the school record of 60.0 set by SRU Hall of Famer Matt Kinsinger … Nathaniel Musselman threw his first career TD pass and Carnel Harley caught his first career TD … The 52 points allowed were the first time SRU has given up 50+ points in a game since Sept. 29, 2012 against Kutztown.