Full Game Notes (PDF)

CAL U (4-1, 2-0) @ #-/25 SLIPPERY ROCK (4-1, 1-1)
• When: Saturday, October 10, 2015
• Where: Slippery Rock, PA
• Stadium: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (10,0000)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WLER (97.7 FM)
• Live Video: SIDEARM Sports
• Live Stats: Fan Stats I Media Stats

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Slippery Rock leads 45-29-3
• First Meeting: 1919 - Cal U 7-0
• Last Meeting: Oct. 11, 2014 @ California - Cal U won 48-26 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +1

CAL U NOTES
• Cal U returns to action with the first of back-to-back road games on Saturday. The Vulcans rallied for a 38-34 victory last week over Seton Hill to remain unbeaten in divisional play. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock earned a 41-14 victory at preseason PSAC West-favorite Gannon.

• Cal U erased a 17-point halftime deficit by scoring 35 points in the second half before sealing a 38-34 victory over Seton Hill with an interception just outside their end zone in the closing seconds. Senior quarterback James Harris finished with 309 passing yards and four touchdowns - all in the second half. The Vulcans took their only lead of the second half with a 37-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Garry Brown on a fourth-and-one. Cal U sealed the win when redshirt freshman Isaiah Scott made an interception at the 1-yard line with 29 seconds left to play.

• Slippery Rock leads the all-time series, which started in 1919, by a 45-29-3 margin. The Vulcans snapped a three-game losing streak in the series last year, but have not won at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium since 2009.

• One of the winningest active coaches in NCAA Division II, Dr. George Mihalik is in his 28th season as head coach of The Rock. He ranks fourth in PSAC history with 189 career victories and has led Slippery Rock to at least a share of seven divisional titles since 1997. Last year, Mihalik guided The Rock to its first PSAC Championship since 2000 and a consecutive appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.

• Led by nine returning starters, Slippery Rock leads the PSAC and ranks fourth in the country in scoring offense at 45.4 points/game. The Rock features one of the top rushing offenses in NCAA Division II this year at 273.2 yards/game and was bolstered by the return of junior Shamar Greene last week. Greene finished last season with nearly 1,500 rushing yards and totaled nearly 250 yards on the ground through the opening two games this year before missing two weeks due to injury. Senior Julian Durden leads the team with 404 rushing yards and eight touchdowns after scoring three times in both games Greene missed. At quarterback, senior Dante Nania averages over 230 passing yards/game after transferring from Youngstown State. Slippery Rock also boasts one of the most aggressive defenses in the country by forcing 16 turnovers. The Rock sits sixth in NCAA Division II in rushing defense at 65.6 yards/game, which is aided by 17 sacks. Junior linebacker Bob Vernick leads the team with 39 tackles (22 solo), including 5.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks, while sophomore defensive lineman Marcus Martin has posted 34 stops (8 solo), 5.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks. Junior defensive back Derrick Fulmore is one of three players in the PSAC with three interceptions already this season. On special teams, senior Andrew Huska is averaging 41.6 yards/punt, while senior kicker Mike Wainauskis has made five-of-nine field goals with three of the misses coming in the loss at Seton Hill two weeks ago.

• The Vulcans were picked to finish fourth in the preseason PSAC West poll after tying for third place in the divisional standings in each of the last three seasons. Cal U had earned at least a share of the top spot in the preseason divisional poll every year from 2005-12. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock was picked to finish second in the PSAC West after capturing the league title last year for the first time since 2000.

• Last week, Cal U and Seton Hill combined for 1,045 yards of total offense while running a combined 160 plays, including 97 pass attempts. It marked the third time in the last 13 games in which the Vulcans were involved in a game that featured over 1,000 yards of total offense. Prior to the first occurrence last year, Cal U previously was involved in that feat during the semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Playoffs - a span of 49 games.

• Sophomore John Franklin III is one of only two players in the PSAC to rush for at least one touchdown in each game this season. Last year, Terrell Roberson scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the last eight games and finished second in the PSAC with 17 rushing touchdowns. Franklin sits third in the league with 505 rushing yards while leading the PSAC with eight rushing touchdowns and 99 carries.

• Senior quarterback James Harris passed for four second-half touchdowns in last week's comeback victory over Seton Hill. He has now thrown four touchdowns in a game four times in his career and is on pace to become the fifth quarterback in school history with at least 50 career touchdown passes (44). Last week, Harris surpassed Jeff Petrucci (1966-68) fox sixth all-time in school history with 5,748 passing yards.

• Last weekend, senior Kowan Scott became the eighth player in school history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards. He registered his sixth career 100-yard game, as he set a season high with 142 yards on just four receptions with two touchdowns. Scott ranks fifth in the country this year with an average of 24.78 yards/reception behind seven catches of at least 20 yards, including all three of his touchdowns.

• The Vulcans have lost the last two meetings at Slippery Rock by a combined score of 52-20 with their last road win in the series coming in 2009. Two years ago, The Rock earned a 35-17 victory after totaling 531 yards of offense and holding the Vulcans to only five first downs in the first half. In 2011, Slippery Rock posted a 17-3 win over No. 14 Cal U despite the Vulcans forcing four first-half turnovers.

• Freshman running back Jimmy Wheeler posted his first career 100-yard game against Seton Hill last week. He finished with 105 rushing yards on 13 carries despite having only one attempt for six yards in the first half. Wheeler is the first freshman to rush for 100 yards in a game since Jeff Knox, Jr. accomplished the feat in 2011. Wheeler is averaging a startling 8.2 yards/attempt since making his college debut three weeks ago.

• The Vulcans have used a fourth-quarter interception to seal each of their last three victories. Junior defensive back Aaron Terry picked off a pass with 1:15 remaining against Shippensburg and the following week intercepted an Edinboro pass at the 4:53-mark. Last week, redshirt freshman defensive back Isaiah Scott registered his first career interception against Seton Hill at the 1-yard line with 29 seconds left to play.

• Against Seton Hill last week, Cal U set a season high with six offensive plays that went for at least 20 yards with three resulting in touchdowns (44, 47, 37). The Vulcans have tallied a combined 24 'explosive plays' this season, including 14 in the second half of games. Wide receivers Garry Brown, Kowan Scott and Luke Smorey have combined for 18 'explosive plays' with half of those plays resulting in touchdowns.

• Sophomore linebacker Luke Hrapchak has recorded double-digit tackles in each of his last three games. He leads the team with 46 stops (30 solo) this season and sits second in the league with 11.5 tackles/game after missing the game two weeks ago due to injury. The last time Cal U boasted a player with at least 10 stops/game was in 2005.

• Cal U faced its first halftime deficit of the season last week against Seton Hill, trailing 21-3 after totaling only 82 yards of offense (including a 57-yard scoring drive). The Vulcans scored touchdowns on their opening five possessions of the second half behind a balanced attack that amassed 392 yards of total offense (260 passing, 132 rushing) in the final two quarters.

• The Vulcans rank third in the PSAC this season with 16 sacks and boast 10 players who have registered at least 0.5 sack. Redshirt sophomore Cameron Tarver leads the team with 3.5 sacks, while classmate Tyler Haddock and senior Errol Brewster each have tallied 3.0 sacks. Last week, Tarver and sophomore Justin Baker combined for a sack on the play before the game-sealing interception in the final seconds.