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Game Notes (.pdf)
CALIFORNIA (Oct. 12) – The Vulcans posted a season-high 474 yards of total offense and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon en route to claiming a 35-7 victory on Homecoming against Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in divisional action. The Vulcans are now in a three-way tie for second place in PSAC West standings behind Gannon. Meanwhile, Clarion falls to 3-3 this season with a 1-2 mark in league play.
The Vulcans rushed for a season-high 230 yards and three touchdowns on 43 attempts. Junior
Jeff Knox, Jr. (Pittsburgh, Pa./DeMatha Catholic (Md.)) finished with a game-high 89 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while freshman
Nick Grissom (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) posted 63 yards and one score on 12 attempts. Senior
Trey Johnson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester) totaled 49 yards on a pair of reverses and sophomore
Derrick Fiore (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) rushed for 42 yards on 10 carries.
Sophomore quarterback
James Harris (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah) finished with 214 passing yards and completed 14-of-25 attempts with one touchdown and one interception. Senior wide receiver
Mike Williams (Hershey, Pa./Milton Hershey) recorded his seventh career 100-yard game, posting 118 yards and one score on seven receptions.
The Vulcans took a 7-0 lead midway through the first half when Knox scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive started with a 61-yard scamper by Johnson on a reverse and Harris completed a six-yard pass inside the red zone on a four-and-three. Early in the second quarter, Harris connected with Williams for a 52-yard touchdown down the sideline with 13:06 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles moved inside the red zone midway through the second quarter before the Vulcans forced a turnover on downs at the 14-yard line. Cal U looked to add its lead on the ensuing drive, moving inside the red zone behind back-to-back, 20-yard plays before Harris was intercepted in the end zone with just over three minutes left in the second quarter.
The two teams traded field position in the third quarter, combining for only six first downs and 88 yards of total offense. Cal U opened the fourth quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by Knox to cap a 10-play drive with 14:17 left to play. Senior
CJ Goodwin (Wheeling, W.Va./Linsly) blocked a punt on the ensuing drive and the Vulcans quickly moved inside the red zone before losing possession on a fumble.
On the first play of the next drive, freshman defensive back
Aaron Terry (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) made his team-leading third interception of the year. Following a missed field goal, Cal U prevented Clarion from converting a fake punt into a first down and took possession deep in Golden Eagles' territory. Grissom then rushed for 36 yards on three-straight plays, scoring a 7-yard touchdown with 7:21 remaining. The Vulcans added their final score of the game less than two minutes later when sophomore quarterback
Cody Schroeder (Avon, Ohio/Avon) threw a 23-yard touchdown to freshman wide receiver
Garry Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) with 5:45 left to play. Clarion prevented the shutout with a 75-yard drive, highlighted by three-straight completions before quarterback Darelle Carson posted a 1-yard touchdown run.
Senior linebacker
BJ Stevens (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) led the team with nine tackles (three solo) and recorded 1.0 TFL and 0.5 sack in the victory. Classmates
Dewey McDonald (Ranson, W.Va./Jefferson) and
Noah Taylor (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) both finished with six stops, while sophomore
Rodney Gillin (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) made five tackles.
Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 19, when it travels to face league-newcomer Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pa., at 3 p.m. In the first and only meeting between the two programs, the Vulcans earned a 48-7 victory in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Playoffs.
Notes:
The Vulcans have won nine-consecutive games on Homecoming … Cal U scored only three times on six red-zone chances and converted just 1-of-9 on third down … Johnson posted a career-long 61-yard run in the first quarter to mark the program's longest run since the 2009 season … Johnson also recorded the second-most all-purpose yards of his career (169) with the most coming last year at Clarion (181) … A total of eight different players made at least one reception for each team
