CALIFORNIA (Oct. 19) – The California (PA) football team claimed sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West standings by capturing a 28-7 victory over No. 6 Slippery Rock on Homecoming at Adamson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
NOTES
• The Vulcans (6-1, 4-0) snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with The Rock, dating back to 2016.
• Cal earned its first win over a nationally-ranked team since Week 8 of the 2021 season.
• The Vulcans posted their fifth victory against a top-10 team since the 2000 campaign.
• Senior quarterback
Davis Black finished with 250 passing yards on 16-of-26 attempts with one touchdown and no interceptions, plus rushed for a touchdown and caught a two-point conversion.
• Junior
Eric Willis III posted a game-high 106 receiving yards on five catches, including a 65-yard touchdown.
• Sophomore
Bobbie Boyd, Jr. led the team with 67 rushing yards on 14 carries and senior
Eric McKan III finished with 59 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts.
• Senior defensive back
Dominic Solomon, Jr. paced the team with eight tackles (three solo) and added 1.0 TFL and one interception.
• Senior linebacker
Armani Caraballo tallied five stops (two solo) and 1.5 sacks in the victory.
• The Vulcans limited The Rock to just 10 rushing yards and Slippery Rock finished 0-for-8 on third downs.
GAME RECAP
• Cal took a 7-0 lead when Willis caught a 65-yard touchdown from Black on the game's opening offensive play.
• The Vulcans added to the lead on the initial play of the second quarter with a 14-yard touchdown run by McKan.
• Cal extended the lead to 17-0 on a 41-yard field goal by senior
Anthony Beitko with 9:04 left before halftime.
• The Rock cut the deficit to 17-7 on the ensuing possession with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
• Beitko later added a 20-yard field goal with 6:54 left in the third quarter, 20-7.
• Slippery Rock advanced to the red zone on the next drive before Solomon registered an interception at the Cal 2-yard line.
• The Vulcans then mounted a nearly nine-minute scoring drive that was capped with a two-yard touchdown run by Black and a two-point conversion reception by Black from redshirt freshman wide receiver
Deontae Williams.
• Cal sealed the victory after forcing a turnover on downs on the final two drives of the game by Slippery Rock.
NEXT
• The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 26 when they host IUP for the 15th Coal Bowl at Adamson Stadium with kickoff set for 12 p.m.