Tis the season for tricks and treats and the Cal U football team had a few of both in their 28-26 loss to Slippery Rock Saturday.

The treat is that even though the 13th-ranked Vulcans lost to The Rock, 28-26, they can still host the PSAC Championship game on Nov. 10 if they win at Mercyhurst this weekend.

“I told the team in the locker room that the goals that we have are still in front of us,” Vulcans coach Mike Kellar said following the win. “I just can't believe some of the things I saw today.”

The Vulcans (8-2, 5-1) blocked two punts and forced three turnovers and ended up on the losing side. They also had two drives that began inside the Slippery Rock 15-yard line and only managed one touchdown.

“We're one of, if not tops, in the league in the red zone,” Kellar said of his team. “We knew they were really good defensively in the red zone and they came out on top. They did a good job.”

Redshirt freshman Cody Schroeder made his third-straight start for the Vulcans and completed 23-of-46 passes for 224 yards and a score, but it was his interception that sealed the win for The Rock (5-4, 4-2) with 39 seconds remaining as the Vulcans were deep in Slippery Rock territory, driving for a winning score.

“He made a mistake. I can't fault the kid,” Kellar said of his quarterback. “Cody has done a great job for us. He got all the reps in the spring since Pete was a 10-semester kid. That's really helped him.

“We knew that with the coverage they were playing that we could hit them over the middle and we did on that last drive. He just made a mistake trying to make a play instead of throwing the ball away. Overall, I'd say that he played beautifully for us.”

Kellar said that he is unsure when, and if, Lalich will be able to return and it's been rough watching him around practices.

“He has a staph infection that developed from a cut he got on his hand,” Kellar said. “It's in his knee. I've talked to just about every doctor on the east coast. It's usually about a six week thing. We're taking it week by week. He's been messing around a little bit and dropping back, making some throws. It's all up to the doctors and how he responds to the medications.”

The Vulcans had a hard time stopping Slippery Rock quarterback Nigel Barksdale. The junior accounted for 402 total yards, rushing for 119 and throwing for 283. He ran for a score and threw for one. He was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week.

Former Monessen Greyhound Brett Crenshaw scored twice for The Rock on runs of two and four yards. He finished with 36 yards on 11 carries.

“We've had a few games like this and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of this one,” Kellar said. “We'll come to work next week and prepare for Mercyhurst. Our goal is in front of us and we need to take care of our business Saturday.”

Jeremy Sellew is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2667 or jsellew@tribweb.com.

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