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CALIFORNIA (Sept. 1) – In a season-opener with two nationally-ranked programs, the No. 12 Vulcans suffered a 26-3 loss to No. 13 St. Cloud State (Minn.) on Thursday night at Adamson Stadium.

The California University of Pennsylvania football team drops to 0-1 this year and have lost the season-opener only three times in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, St. Cloud State opens the season at 1-0 after tying the school record with 10 wins last year.

Junior defensive back Rontez Miles (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills), a preseason First-Team All-American by D2Football.com, led all players and establshed a career high with 14 tackles (11 solo) against the Huskies. In their first career starts, linebackers Spencer Lynn (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) and Brian Justice (Cape Coral, Fla./Cape Coral) combined for 17 stops (eight solo) with Justice registering 1.5 tackles for loss (TFL).

St. Cloud State seized momentum on the opening kickoff, forcing and recovering a fumble deep inside Cal U territory. The Huskies took advantage of the turnover and claimed a 6-0 lead (PAT missed) when sophomore quarterback Phillip Klaphake rushed for a three-yard touchdown. St. Cloud State expanded its lead in the second quarter when Klaphake found running back Damon Treat for a 14-yard touchdown with 5:10 left before halftime.

Klaphake finished the game with 201 passing yards and one touchdown on 20-of-26 attempts and also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

On the next Huskies' possesion, senior defensive lineman Thomas Mulabah (Sterling, Va./Parkview) registered his second career interception and returned it to the 21-yard line of St. Cloud State. The Vulcans moved the ball inside the five-yard line, but were unsuccessful on a fourth-down pass as time expired in the first half.

St. Cloud State opened the second half with a 37-yard field goal to stretch its lead to 16-0. Cal U responded with its longest drive of the night – 17 plays, 67 yards – that was capped by a 30-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Cody Nuzzo (Bradford, Pa./Bradford).

The Huskies then sealed the win with back-to-back lengthy scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including a three-yard touchdown by Klaphake with 4:31 left in the game.

In his first start at Cal U, redshirt junior quarterback Peter Lalich (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) finished with 150 passing yards and completed 20-of-34 attempts with no interceptions.

The Vulcans continue their season-opening homestand on Saturday, Sept. 10, when they host C.W. Post at 3:30 p.m. Last year, Cal U posted a 40-13 victory in the first all-time meeting between the two schools.

Notes:
Senior wide receiver Thomas Mayo (Reston, Va./South Lakes), a preseason All-American, led all players with seven receptions for 80 yards … The Vulcans managed only 56 rushing yards on 24 attempts, while the Huskies totaled 205 yards on the ground … The two teams combined for nearly 150 penalty yards and 18 penalties