Slippery Rock football saw their 37 night-game win streak snap Saturday night when they fell to No. 8 California University (Pa.) at 45-38.
“We’re not used to being in this situation, to be honest with you,” Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz said. “I’m not happy at all. If anybody takes it the hardest, again, it’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job. I just feel like I let these kids down.”
The Rock came out firing on both sides of the ball, with the defense forcing a three-and-out, before quarterback DaOne Owens found John Sabo five plays later for a 25-yard touchdown.
Despite the score, any early momentum built by The Rock would be quickly deflated when California responded with a touchdown drive of their own, after quarterback Roman Purcell found Lloyd Penn streaking down the middle of the field to tie the game.
Two plays later, Owens tried to force the ball down the field to receiver Joe White. However, Vulcans safety, Keith Charney, intercepted the pass before taking the ball 40 yards back into the end zone.
Slippery Rock, looking to take back control of the game, would face another crushing blow on the ensuing kickoff, when Connor Hartle forced and recovered a Kanye Thompson fumble at the Slippery Rock 33-yard line. Eight plays later, on a designed quarterback run, Purcell would power the ball six yards up the middle and into the end zone, putting California up two scores early.
Slippery Rock, desperately needing a response, quickly got one after Owens found Sabo again for a 33-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately for the White and Green, California would not be deterred by the response, with Purcell finding D’Avay Johnson for a 23-yard score just five plays later. Then, following a fourth down stop from the Vulcan defense, running back Bobbi Boyd Jr. found the end zone on a seven-yard rushing score, extending their lead.
Slippery Rock wide receiver Latrell Sutton started the comeback with a 35-yard touchdown reception, before Owens found his way into the end zone before the half, cutting the deficit to seven heading into the locker room.
A fumble recovered by Teddy Gregory early in the second half set up The Rock offense deep in Cal territory. On fourth and goal from the five-yard line, Owens connected with JayJay Jordan to tie the game at 35 apiece.
The Rock took their first lead of the game since the first quarter following a 37-yard field goal from Kevin Roberts, before California responded with a field goal themselves, knotting up the teams yet again.
On fourth-and-goal from the Vulcans’ five-yard line, Roberts jogged back onto the field, looking to replicate what he did just minutes prior. However, the 23-yard attempt missed wide right, giving the Vulcans a chance to win the game. California jumped on the opportunity on the ensuing drive, with running back Kendrick Agenor finding the end zone for the 14-yard score and just over a minute remaining.
“We had a chance to put the game away at the end,” Lutz said. “We were moving the ball. We were running the ball and doing what we needed to do. We just shot ourselves in the foot with stupid things. Give credit to Cal, they did a good job with it.”
Slippery Rock, looking for a miracle on the last drive of the game, included a series of laterals on the final play, but was ultimately unable to reach the end zone. Redshirt freshman DaOne Owens finished 17 of 29 for 253 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception, while adding a rushing touchdown.
“There’s a lot of PSAC football to be played,” Lutz said. “We better bounce back. We did it last year when we lost to Cal and had a pretty good run. We’re not looking ahead. We’ve just got to identify the film, watch it, and see how we’re going to get better.”
Slippery Rock football will be on the road next Saturday when they head up north to Gannon University for their first noon kickoff of the season.
