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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Slippery Rock University football team rallied back from a 21-point deficit to take a second half lead before No. 8 California scored with one minute to play to come away with a 45-38 win in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener Saturday night from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Vulcans picked up their first win at SRU since 2009 and handed The Rock their first loss in a night game since 2012, snapping a streak of 37 consecutive night game wins. It is also just the second regular season loss by SRU since 2022 with both coming against California (Pa.) with one on the road in 2024 and now one at home in 2025. The Vulcans improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in PSAC West games while Slippery Rock drops to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC West, losing in the division opener for the first time in the last nine seasons.
 
Slippery Rock jumped out of the gate with all the momentum after forcing a three-and-out on defense and then marching 65 yards in just 2:05 for the opening score of the day when DaOne Owens hit John Sabo for a 25-yard TD pass with 10:58 to play in the first.
 
Things went sideways in a hurry for The Rock from there. Cal put together a sustained 75-yard drive and tied the game with a 34-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down play after SRU bit on the play and left a receiver wide open for the easy score with 6:50 to play. The Vulcans took their first lead of the game less than a minute later when Keith Charney intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Slippery Rock then fumbled the next kickoff return back to Cal and the Vulcans made it count with a short TD drive to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 21-7 lead in a stretch of just 4:04 of game clock.
 
SRU narrowed the lead to 21-14 when Owens hit Sabo for their second TD of the game from 33 yards out with 1:44 left in the first quarter to close the scoring on a first period that featured two turnovers and 35 total points.
 
Cal extended the lead back out to 28-14 with a 23-yard touchdown pass with 9:03 to play in the second and pushed it out to a 35-14 lead with 9:03 to play in the half after a 73-yard drive.
 
Slippery Rock battled back and closed the half on a 14-0 run with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Latrell Sutton on a flea-flicker and an eight-yard QB run from Owens to send it to the break with Cal leading 35-28.
 
The Rock closed their own 21-0 run early in the third quarter after Teddy Gregory Jr. forced a fumble and recovered it at the Cal 11-yard line, setting up a 5-yard TD pass to JayJay Jordan that evened the score at 35-35 with 9:59 to play in the third.
 
SRU took its first lead since the opening drive when Kevin Roberts booted a career-long 37-yard field goal with 13:26 left in the fourth quarter to make it 38-35.
 
Cal marched back down the field and had a chance to take the lead, but had to settle for a chip shot 19-yard field goal to tie it up with 9:38 to play.
 
Slippery Rock had numerous chances to regain the lead, moving the ball inside the Cal 30-yard line on each of its final three possessions, but came away with only three total points on those three drives. The most promising drive reached the two-yard line, but a dropped touchdown pass on third down led to a short field goal attempt, which was missed wide to the right to keep the game tied.
 
Cal got the ball back after that missed field goal with 5:11 to play and went 80 yards for the winning score with a 14-yard run from Kendrick Agenor with just 1:00 left on the clock. SRU's desperate attempt on the final play featured four laterals but stalled out near midfield to end the game.
 
Both teams struggled with turnovers and with stopping the run with Cal turning it over three times with two lost fumbles and one interception and SRU turning it over twice. The difference was that Cal turned both turnovers into 14 points and SRU managed just seven points off three turnovers. Both teams ran for more than 185 yards with SRU rushing for 186 yards and averaging 4.3 yards per carry and Cal rushing for 237 yards and averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
 
The Vulcans finished with a 470-439 edge in total offense after also throwing for 233 yards to go with the 237 rushing yards. SRU passed for 253 yards.
 
Owens was 17-of-29 for 253 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in the second start of the redshirt freshman's career. He also rushed for one score.
 
Jordan was electric in all phases of the game, rushing for 130 yards on 22 carries while also catching two passes for 44 yards and one score. With his 149 kick return yards, he finished with a game-high 323 all-purpose yards, more than double any other players in the game.
 
Quentin Harrison rushed for 68 yards on 13 carries. Joe White grabbed five passes for 72 yards while Sabo finished with three catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Sutton caught three passes for 53 yards and one score and Xander McClure had two catches for 22 yards.
 
Ben Lane tallied a game-high 10 tackles for the SRU defense. Michael Henwood added nine tackles and had his first interception of the year, which he returned 51 yards. Kanye Thompson also had nine stops and Gregory added eight stops, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Trever Valenti chipped in seven tackles, one sack and one forced fumble and Brett Kwoka added one sack and one fumble recovery.
 
Cal quarterback Roman Purcell went 13-of-26 for 233 yards with two TD and one INT while also rushing for 45 yards and one score. Agenor became the first running back to top 100 yards against SRU this year with 103 yards and one TD. Bobbie Boyd Jr. added 88 rushing yards and one score and D'Avay Johnson caught six passes for 134 yards and one touchdown.
 
Slippery Rock will look to bounce back from just its second regular season loss in three years when it travels to Gannon University next Saturday for a noon kickoff.
 
GAME NOTES: Saturday's game was the only Division II game this week that featured two ranked teams … SRU lost its second regular season game since 2022 with both coming against Cal … SRU saw a streak of 37 straight night game wins snapped, ending a streak that dated back to 2012 … Cal won its first road game at SRU since 2009 with head coach Gary Dunn picking up his first road win at SRU … SRU head coach Shawn Lutz lost a PSAC West opener for the first time in his career as SRU saw a streak of eight straight PSAC West opening wins snapped … the loss was just the fourth PSAC West loss for SRU since 2017 as The Rock are now 40-4 in their last 44 divisional games … JayJay Jordan compiled a career-high 323 all-purpose yards … Latrell Sutton caught a TD pass for the fourth straight game … John Sabo caught two TD passes for the first multi-TD game of his career … DaOne Owens tossed four TD passes for the second straight game and has eight TD passes in his first two career starts … SRU now leads the all-time series against Cal 53-35-3 and is 31-14-1 at home as the Vulcans pick up just their 14th win at SRU in a series that dates back to 1905.





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