Slippery Rock pulls away from Cal in 4th quarter
Slippery Rock rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second quarter and scored three touchdowns in the fourth period for a 41-26 victory over California on Saturday in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) at Adamson Stadium in California.
The Vulcans (2-2, 0-1 PSAC) opened the scoring with 10:37 left in the first quarter when Amire Spencer caught a 30-yard touchdown reception from Eric Gibson Jr. and Laurel Highlands graduate Harry Radcliffe connected on the first of two extra points for a 7-0 lead.
Radcliffe made field goals of 22 and 27 yards for a 13-0 advantage with 13 minutes remaining in the second period.
The Rock, who entered the game No. 10 in the country, scored three straight touchdowns and Connor Macek made three of his five PATs for a 21-13 lead with 1:47 left before halftime.
DaOne Owens 45-yard run put Slippery Rock (4-0, 1-0 PSAC) on the scoreboard with 8:53 remaining in the quarter before he threw a 14-yard pass for a score to Vincent Berardi with 4:19 left. Owens capped off the scoring run with a 53-yard run.
Owens gained 117 yards on nine carries. He was 14 of 25 for 245 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Bobbie Boyd Jr. pulled California within two when he scored on a 20-yard run with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter. The Vulcans attempted the two-point conversion, but Gibson’s pass was incomplete for a 21-19 score.
JayJay Jordan scored on a two-yard run, Hamilton Gates pulled in a 36-yard reception from Owens for a touchdown and Luke McCoy reached the end zone on a 22-yard run that extended the Rock’s advantage to 41-19 with 6:01 left in the fourth frame.
Sam Stoner threw a five-yard pass for a touchdown to Kenny Lewis IV with 1:13 remaining and Radcliffe made the extra point for California’s final score.
Laurel Highlands graduate and Vulcans wide receiver Keondre DeShields caught three passes for 22 yards, and a long of 12. Jefferson-Morgan product Deakyn DeHoet returned three kickoffs for 43 yards, including a long of 18 for California.
Gibson was 21 of 44 for 237 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Boyd rushed for 87 yards on 16 attempts.