CALIFORNIA, Pa. — Victory was there for the taking, but Slippery Rock University never took it.

The Rock (4-3, 1-2) overcame a disastrous start Saturday afternoon at Adamson Stadium, yet put itself in position to win in the fourth quarter. But SRU dropped a 24-14 decision to California (Pa.) in a critical PSAC West football contest.

The Vulcans' Marc Huddleston returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and California (5-2, 3-0) took a 14-0 lead on an 8-yard Joe Ruggiero touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

At that point, the Vulcans held a 114-5 advantage in total yardage.

A 61-yard kickoff return by SRU's Anthony Walls following Jackson's score set up Nate Crookshank's 31-yard touchdown pass to Luke Wetzel moments later, however. And when Demarcus Cleckley's 1-yard scoring run on fourth down capped a 63-yard drive in the third quarter, SRUhad narrowed the gap to 17-14.

"If we could keep the game in range going into the fourth quarter, I figured we could wear them down,"SRU coach George Mihalik said. "But we didn't do it."

SRUhad an opportunity to win the game anyway.

Jace Amore shanked a 12-yard punt out of bounds at the Vulcans 30-yard line with 11:12 left in the game. The Rock was penalized for holding on first down, moving the ball back to the 40.

Crookshank threw deep for Paul Favers on the next play, but Cal freshman cornerback Terrence Johnson intercepted in the end zone.

"Paul was the only one out on a route that play,"Crookshank said. "I threw the ball too much to the inside and (Johnson) made a nice move to catch the ball."

Johnson said his team was playing a zone while Cal's linebackers were blitzing.

"I had over-the-top responsibility,"Johnson said. "We had the deep ball covered. When you can pressure the quarterback like we did today, he has to throw the ball before he wants to, before the receiver is ready.

"That type of situation is tailor-made for a zone."

Crookshank was sacked five times Saturday and threw four interceptions, giving him seven picks in SRU's last two games.

"They had good pressure on me, but I wasn't hit on any of those interceptions,"Crookshank said.

"All in all, I thought we picked up their blitz packages pretty well,"Mihalik said.

Following the interception, California marched 80 yards in 17 plays for the game-clinching score. The Vulcans used up 8:06 before Ruggiero scored on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 2:32 remaining.

"This was a good, hard-fought game,"California coach John Luckhardt said. "Both teams faced adversity and I was pleased with the way our kids responded."

Ruggiero had missed his handoff to running back Brandon Lombardy and scored on a broken play.

"Sometimes it's good to be lucky,"Mihalik said. "The running back ran right by (Ruggiero) and we would have stopped him short had he gotten the ball. The miscue worked to their advantage."

Earlier in the drive, California was forced to punt on 4th-and-9 from its own 42. The Rock was flagged for roughing the punter, giving the Vulcans an automatic first down.

"That was a horrible call,"Mihalik said. "We weren't even trying to block that kick, we were setting up for a return.

"Our guy got knocked into the punter. It should have been a 5-yard penalty. Calling a personal foul there was ridiculous."

SRU managed just two first downs in the first half and netted 29 yards rushing for the game. Lombardy, who entered the game as the PSAC's second-leading rusher, had a career-high 32 carries for 140 yards.

"The football only weighs eight ounces,"Luckhardt said. "He wasn't gonna get tired carrying it."

Notes:California is 3-0 in the PSACWest for the first time since 1981. ... Ruggiero, a transfer from Wayne (Mich.) State, picked up his 11th 200-yard passing game in 23 starts for the Vulcans. ... Ruggiero was sacked by SRUdefensive back Larry Lee in the first quarter for the first sack allowed by California this season. ... Huddleston's 100-yard kick return broke the school record of 98 set by Perry Kemp in 1983. Kemp went on to lengthy NFLcareer with the Green Bay Packers and his nephew, Josh Kemp, had two interceptions for California Saturday. ... Huddleston and Lombardy are transfers from Purdue and are two of 16 Division I transfers on the Vulcans' roster. ... SRUhosts Lock Haven for homecoming at 2 p.m. this Saturday.California 24, SRU 14

Slippery Rock 7 0 7 0—14California 14 3 0 7—24SRU C11 First Downs 2024-29 Rushes-Yards 38-131183 Passing Yards 22314-25-4 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 22-35-1212 Total Yards 3540-0 Fumbles/Lost 0-04-38 Penalties-Yards 6-50

First QuarterCAL — Marc Huddleston 100 kick return (Tyler Lorenz kick), 14:43CAL — Brandon Jackson 8 pass from Joe Ruggiero (Lorenz kick), 3:18SRU— Luke Wetzel 31 pass from Nate Crookshank (Ryan Daniel kick), 1:04

Second QuarterCAL— Lorenz 25 field goal, 6:24

Third QuarterSRU— Demarcus Cleckley 1 run (Daniel kick), 5:50

Fourth QuarterCAL— Ruggiero 1 run (Lorenz kick), 2:32

Individual Statistics

Passing: SRU, Nate Crookshank 14-25-183-4. California, Joe Ruggiero 22-35-223-1.

Rushing: SRU, Demarcus Cleckley 11-39, Travis Sarver 4-8, Nate Crookshank 9-(-18). California, Brandon Lombardy 32-140, Steffan Brinson 2-2, ReMaro Rush 1-(-1), Joe Ruggiero 3-(-10).

Receiving: SRU, Colin Golden 5-46, Luke Wetzel 4-60, Terry Grossetti 3-40, Paul Favers 1-41, Demarcus Cleckley 1-(-4). California, Brandon Jackson 5-51, Marc Huddleston 5-49, Nate Forse 4-49, Perry Ivery 3-40, D'Monn Baker 3-35, Brandon Lombardy 2-(-1).