Ride ends: Slippery Rock handles Cal in rematch, 31-13
CALIFORNIA 鈥� The winning streak in the NCAA Division II playoffs came to an end for California University Saturday.
The Vulcans鈥� offense was invisible for most of the game, the defense allowed three first-half touchdowns and Cal dropped a 31-13 decision in a quarterfinal game at Adamson Stadium.
Cal finishes the season with a 10-3 record and its first appearance in the Division II playoffs since 2016.
Slippery Rock moves to 12-1.
鈥淲e shot ourselves in the foot,鈥� said Cal head coach Gary Dunn. 鈥淥ur injuries on defense finally caught up with us.鈥�
Slippery Rock tore up Cal鈥檚 defense to the tune of 245 rushing yards. Running back Idris Lawrence ran for 162 yards on 23 carries and quarterback Brayden Long, a Harlen Hill finalist, completed 17 of 21 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Long has back-to-back 3,000 yards passing seasons. Two of those touchdowns went to Logan Ramper, who had four receptions for 73 yards.
鈥淲hen you have three seniors out, that just is hard to make up for,鈥� said Dunn. 鈥淕ive Slippery Rock credit. They made the plays and we didn鈥檛.鈥�
Slippery Rock鈥檚 defense kept Cal鈥檚 passing game in check. Quarterback Davis Black completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for just 90 yards, one of his lowest outputs in his college career. Black鈥檚 12-yard pass to Omari Hopkins was his lone touchdown.
鈥淲e had two or three good drives and didn鈥檛 score,鈥� said Black. 鈥淎gainst a good team like that, you can鈥檛 do that and hope to survive.鈥�
Slippery Rock dominated all facets of the game to build a 21-0 lead at halftime. This was the first time California was shut out in the first half in the playoffs.
The Rock took the lead, 7-0, when Logan Ramper snagged an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brayden Long.
Mike Solomon made it 14-0 when he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter.
Slippery Rock made it a three-touchdown lead when Chris D鈥橭r bulled over from two yards out.
鈥淐al was down some players on defense and that鈥檚 never easy,鈥� said Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz. 鈥淭hey kicked our butts last time (28-7) and we owned that. I felt we were on a high after beating Kutztown last week. We made plays today and it feels good. Cal took something away from us, winning the PSAC title. These guys were ready to play.鈥濃��
California鈥檚 offense wasn鈥檛 able to do much.
Demonte Martin bobbled a pass in the end zone to end one scoring threat and Hopkins couldn鈥檛 hold onto a pass on the other side of the end zone to end another scoring threat.
Anthony Beitko missed a 36-yard field goal in the second half.