No. 4 Slippery Rock football loses 1st game to Cal (Pa.) despite DaOne Owens’ 4 TD passes, 1 rushing
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Lightning nearly struck twice for the Slippery Rock University football team.
But California (Pa.) wound up with the biggest strike of all.
The No. 8 Vulcans scored the game’s final 10 points — including a nine-play, 80-yard drive for the winning score with a minute remaining — to secure a 45-38 triumph over The Rock Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Two weeks after rallying from four points down in the final five minutes to defeat Shepherd in overtime, No. 4 SRU (3-1, 0-1) rallied from a 35-14 first-half deficit to to take a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
The California (4-0, 1-0) triumph snapped an eight-game win streak in PSAC West openers for SRU. It also ended a string of 37 consecutive victories in night games. The defeat was only SRU’s eighth in its last 71 home games.
“We’re not used to being in this position,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “It sucks. We had chances to win this game. We just didn’t finish.”
Rock quarterback DaOne Owens threw a pick-six in the first half — Cal strong safety Keith Charney returning the theft 40 yards for a score — and SRU fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, setting up another quick score for the Vulcans.
Slippery Rock High graduate John Sabo caught a pair of touchdown tosses, helping SRU pull within 21-14, but California responded with touchdowns on its next two possessions to open up a 35-14 lead with 9:03 left in the first half.
A flea-flicker resulted in a 35-yard Owens TD pass to Latrell Sutton. Two plays later, Brett Kwoka recovered a fumble, setting up an Owens 8-yard TD scamper to pull SRU within 35-28 by intermission.
“I felt good about where we were at halftime,” Lutz said. “We survived some early mistakes and got back in the game.”
The Rock tied it up moments after Teddy Gregory Jr. recovered Cal quarterback Roman Purcell’s second fumble of the night at the Vulcan 11 early in the third quarter. Owens tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to JayJay Jordan on fourth-and-5, and the game was even.
“Even when we were up big early, I knew this would be a four-quarter game,” California coach Gary Dunn said. “It always is when you come up here. We lost in overtime here once, lost on the final possession another time. ... That’s just how it is.”
The Vulcans seemed destined to lose again when Michael Henwood picked off a Purcell pass and returned it 57 yards to the California 33 midway through the third quarter. But The Rock turned the ball over on downs.
A 10-play Rock drive resulted in a third-and-2 at the Cal 13. Owens was nailed for a 6-yard loss, and SRU settled for a 37-yard Kevin Roberts field goal to take the lead with 13:22 to play.
Harry Radcliffe’s 19-yard field goal knotted the game at 38 for Cal with 9:38 left, but SRU went on another long drive. It lasted 12 plays and included a second-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Jordan was hit for a 3-yard loss, and an Owens pass went through the arms of receiver Joe White in the end zone.
Roberts’ 23-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 5:11 to play. The Vulcans responded with the winning drive, Kendrick Agenor scoring on a 14-yard run with 1:00 on the clock to seal the deal.
“We treat each play as an individual play,” Cal’s Charney said. “Each snap, the scoreboard reads 0-0 to us. Just play that way all the way through. We stopped them when we had to.”
California rushed for 237 yards and threw for 233, using a lot of zone reads with the quarterback.
“That offense is tough to stop ... a lot of misdirection stuff,” Lutz said. “We drove deep into their territory three times late and only got three points. A dropped pass, missed blocks, just a lack of execution on our part. That can’t happen.”
“I know it sounds trite, but we preach playing for 60 minutes,” Dunn said. “This was a great PSAC West football game. It was crazy, the type of game where it really is a shame someone has to lose it.”
Notes: SRU travels to Gannon for a noon kickoff Saturday. ... Jordan rushed for 130 yards, his third 100-yard rushing effort in four games. ... Freeport graduate Ben Lane led SRU with 10 tackles. ... Owens threw four touchdown passes for the second straight game. ... SRU entered the game with14 sacks — second in all of Division II — but had only one sack Saturday night.
California (Pa.) 21 14 0 10 — 45
Slippery Rock 14 14 7 3 — 38
First quarter
SRU — John Sabo 25 pass from DaOne Owens (Kevin Roberts kick), 10:58
C — Lloyd Penn 34 pass from Roman Purcell (Harry Radcliffe kick), 6:50
C — Keith Charney 40 interception return (Radcliffe kick), 5:53
C — Purcell 6 run (Radcliffe kick), 2:46
SRU — Sabo 33 pass from Owens (Roberts kick), 1:44
Second quarter
C — D’Avay Johnson 23 pass from Purcell (Radcliffe kick), 14:37
C — Bobbie Boyd Jr. 7 run (Radcliffe kick), 9:03
SRU — Latrell Sutton 35 pass from Owens (Roberts kick), 5:31
SRU — Owens 8 run (Roberts kick), 3:31
Third quarter
SRU — JayJay Jordan 5 pass from Owens (Roberts kick), 9:59
Fourth quarter
SRU — Roberts 37 field goal, 13:26
C — Radcliffe 19 field goal, 9:38
C — Kendrick Agenor 14 run (Radcliffe kick), 1:00
Individual statistics
Passing: California, Roman Purcell 13-26-233-1. SRU, DaOne Owens 17-29-253-1.
Rushing: California, Kendrick Agenor 12-103, Bobbie Boyd Jr. 16-88, Roman Purcell 15-45, Kenny Lewis IV 1-1. SRU, JayJay Jordan 22-130, Quentin Harrison 13-68, DaOne Owens 8-(-12).
Receiving: California, D’Avay Johnson 6-134, Jeff Nyamekye 2-33, Lloyd Penn 1-34, Deontae Williams 1-20, Jake Layhue 1-8, Rowen Hershey 1-3, Bobbie Boyd Jr. 1-1. SRU, Joe White 5-72, John Sabo 3-64, Latrell Sutton 3-53, JayJay Jordan 2-44, Xander McClure 2-22, Carson Heckathorn 2-(-1).
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock’s Joe Cooper (78) takes a moment after a loss to California in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock running back JayJay Jordan (4) fends off California’s defense in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock quarterback DaOne Owens (1) scores a touchdown in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock running back JayJay Jordan (4) celebrates a touchdown in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock quarterback DaOne Owens (1) throws a pass over California’a defense in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock fell to California 45-38 in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Slippery Rock’s Nick Frisco (91) and Trever Valenti (6) celebrate a turnover in Slippery’s favor in a college football game on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
