• Game Notes (.pdf)

#14/12 CAL U (5-1, 3-0) vs. SLIPPERY ROCK (5-1, 3-0)
• When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
• Where: Slippery Rock, Pa.
• Stadium: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (10,000)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WJPA I WISR (680 AM)
• Live Video: Ameria One (PPV) I WatchESPN
• Live Stats: Click here

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Slippery Rock leads 42-28-3
• First Meeting: 1919 - Cal U won 7-0
• Last Meeting: Oct. 16, 2010 @ Cal U - Cal U won 28-3

CAL U NOTES
• Cal U returns to action this weekend tied with Slippery Rock for first place in the PSAC West standings following a 33-9 win over Gannon last Saturday. Meanwhile, The Rock forced six turnovers and scored 21 points in the last two-plus quarters to complete a 24-23 comeback at Edinboro.

• The Vulcans scored 24-unanswered points in the second half last week in a 33-6 win over Gannon. Quarterback Peter Lalich finished with 286 yards and three touchdowns against Gannon. He completed 27-of-41 attempts with two first-half interceptions. Junior running back Lamont Smith recorded his fourth-straight 100-yard game, rushing for 100 yards on 17 attempts. The Vulcans held the Golden Knights to a scant 16 rushing yards on 20 attempts after recording a season-high six sacks. Cal U also forced three turnovers and limited Gannon to 171 yards of total offense on 48 plays.

• Slippery Rock leads the all-time series that started in 1919 by a 42-28-3 margin. The Vulcans have won seven of the last eight meetings against The Rock.

• Following a 12-year career as an assistant coach at Slippery Rock, Dr. George Mihalik is in his 24th year as head coach of The Rock. He is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 157-96-4 overall record and guided his alma mater to three-straight NCAA Playoff appearances from 1997-99. While a player, Mihalik was the quarterback for the 1972 and 1973 PSAC Championship Teams.

• Slippery Rock is off to a 5-1 record for the third-consecutive season, and the fourth time in the last five years, behind the play of one the nation's top defensive units. The Rock enters the weekend leading NCAA Division II in total defense (201.3 yards/game) and ranking second and third in scoring (12.7 points/game) and passing defense (124.0 yards/game), respectively. Senior linebacker Jake Wickline, who played at Edinboro the last three years, leads the team with 48 tackles (21 solo) and is second with 7.0 tackles for loss (TFL). Fellow linebacker Zach Sheridan has made 46 stops (21 solo) with 5.0 TFL and 2.5 sacks after leading the team with over 100 tackles last season. Junior defensive lineman Jeff Thompson leads Slippery Rock with 10.0 TFL and ranks third on the team with 35 tackles (14 solo), while senior defensive back Brandon Watters has already tied his career high with four interceptions in only six games. Offensively, The Rock features a balanced attacked with Connecticut transfer Cody Endres at quarterback and junior running back Akeem Satterfield. In his first year with the program, Endres has passed for over 1,300 yards, completed nearly 65 percent of his passes and posted nine touchdown passes with six coming in the last two games. Satterfield, who rushed for 20 touchdowns last year, enters the weekend with 506 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Devin Goda is on pace for a career year this season, leading the team with 40 receptions, 485 yards and three touchdowns. The Rock rank among the national leaders in kickoff returns with 25.2 yards/return behind the play of redshirt freshman Ken Amos, who returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown at Seton Hill in the season-opener. In his second year at Slippery Rock, James McCombie leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally by averaging 42.8 yards/punt. McCombie paced the PSAC in punts inside the 20-yard line last year and already has 12 of his 23 punts inside the red zone in 2011.

• Cal U and Slippery Rock enter this weekend tied for first place in the PSAC West standings at 3-0 and both have identical 5-1 overall records. The winner of the game will have the inside track of advancing to the PSAC Championship Game on Nov. 12. The Vulcans and Rock are also battling for positioning in the first NCAA Super Regional One rankings, which will be released on Oct. 24. There are currently five teams in the region with 5-1 overall records, while three teams remain unbeaten after six games.

• Junior running back Lamont Smith has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in each of the last four games for the Vulcans. After rushing for only 79 yards in the first two weeks, the 5-10 junior has rushed for almost 500 yards in the last four games and now ranks fifth in the PSAC in rushing (96.0 yards/game). Smith has surpassed the century mark 10 times in his career with Cal U posting a 10-0 record in those games. In last year's 28-3 win over Slippery Rock, he rushed for a career-high 194 yards on 31 carries.

• Cal U and Slippery Rock have a combined five players on NFL active rosters and each school had a player selected in the 2011 NFL Draft. Former Vulcans cornerback Tommie Campbell was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round, while former Rock center Brandon Fusco was chosen in the sixth round by the Minnesota Vikings. Campbell played on special teams last Sunday in the Titans' 38-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.

• Senior wide receiver Thomas Mayo enters this weekend second in the PSAC and tied for third in NCAA Division II with nine receiving touchdowns in only six games. The 6-2 senior has caught two touchdown passes in four of the last five games and added a rushing touchdown in the win at Lock Haven. He also is fifth in country in receiving yards (125.8 yards/game) and tied for 10th in receptions (7.0 receptions/per game). Mayo is currently halfway to the single-season school record of 18 receiving touchdowns established by All-American A.J. Jackson in 15 games during the 2009 season.

• Since allowing 400-plus yards and 26 points in the season-opener, the Vulcans defense has regained its traditional dominance. Over the last five games, Cal U is allowing only 12.8 points/game and 239.4 yards of total offense/game. In each of the last two weeks, the Vulcans have limited opponents to under 100 rushing yards and less than 175 yards of total offense.

• Following last week's fifth-straight win, Cal U moved up one spot to No. 14 in the AFCA Top 25 poll. The Vulcans have been ranked for 22-consecutive weeks, including all 14 weeks last season, dating back to the final poll of 2009.

• The Vulcans feature a group of 21 seniors in 2011. The senior class has compiled a record of 38-9 and started a combined 278 games. Senior defensive lineman Marcus Cook leads the team with 33-consecutive starts dating back to the 2009 season.

• In its last three games, Cal U has out-scored its opponents by a 127-32 margin; however, the points haven't always come in the most traditional ways. Against Clarion on Sept. 24, senior defensive lineman Steve Santia forced and returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown, marking the first fumble recovery return for a touchdown by the Vulcans since 2006. The following week at Lock Haven, junior Robby Green returned a blocked PAT for two points. It was the first time a blocked PAT was returned for a score in recent program history (since 2002). Last week against Gannon, Green tackled a Golden Knights running back in the end zone for a safety. Cal U last registered a safety against Cheyney in the final game of the regular season in 2010.

• For the second time in three weeks, true freshman Jack Abercrombie started along the offensive line. After making his first career start at center on Sept. 24, he received the start at left guard last week against Gannon with two-year starter Devin Cox shifting over to right guard. Through the first six games of the seasons, the Vulcans have started only six different offensive linemen.

• Since missing most of the game at East Stroudsburg due to injury, senior wide receiver Chedrick Cherry has combined for 19 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the last three games. Cherry, who led the PSAC in receiving touchdowns last year, has been the Vulcans leading receiver in each of the last two games with a season-high 113 yards at Lock Haven.

• After establishing himself as one of the top defensive backs in the region, senior Erik Harris has also served as the punter for the Vulcans in 2011. Harris ranks third on the team with 31 tackles this season (17 solo) with 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack and one interception, while also averaging 39.8 yards/punt. Last week against Gannon, he tied for the team lead with seven stops (two solo) and averaged 42.0 yards on four punts with a long of 56 yards.