• Box Score
• Game Notes (.pdf)

ERIE, Pa. (Oct. 18) – Juniors Freddie Bacco (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and AJ Jackson (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Lehigh/Sequoias) each scored two touchdowns as the No. 8 Vulcans remain in first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West standings after registering a 42-24 victory over Gannon University on Saturday night.

The California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in divisional play, while Gannon falls to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in league play.

The Vulcans scored on the game's opening possession when quarterback Kevin McCabe (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland/Virginia) found Jackson for a two-yard touchdown, capping a 12-play drive that covered over seven minutes. The Vulcan defense then forced a turnover when freshman linebacker Brett Diamond (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) recovered a fumble forced by senior linebacker Jake Howell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) at the Golden Knights' 18-yard line. Using the short field, McCabe again found Jackson for a two-yard score to increase the lead to 14-0 with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

McCabe finished the game with 230 passing yards on 21-of-28 attempts with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Jackson led all players with 87 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions.

Gannon cut the deficit to 14-7 in the opening seconds of the second quarter when sophomore Kevin Minor returned a McCabe interception 73 yards for a touchdown. The Golden Knights evened the contest at 14-14 on their next possession, which was set-up by a poor snap on a punt attempt that resulted in a loss of 32 yards.

Cal U then reclaimed the lead with 4:31 left before halftime when senior running back Brandon Lombardy (Moureland Hills, Ohio/Chagrin Falls/Purdue) scored on a five-yard run. The touchdown moves Lombardy into a tie for second place in school history with 45 total touchdowns and eighth place in PSAC history with 44 career rushing touchdowns. The Lombardy score was set up after Gannon was called for an offside penalty on the preceding fourth-and-two play.

The Vulcans took a 21-14 lead into halftime despite allowing only 23 yards of total offense and one first down to the Gannon Knights, while Cal U ran 49 total plays and maintained possession for 23 minutes, 13 seconds.

Cal U scored on its first possession of the third quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass from McCabe to freshman wide receiver Chedrick Cherry (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) with 7:11 left in the quarter. Gannon countered with a field goal before the Vulcans then seized control of the game with a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Bacco to increase the lead to 35-17. His kickoff return for a touchdown was the first for a Cal U player since Jermaine Moye returned a kickoff for a score at West Chester last season (Nov. 3).

Bacco added a 10-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth before the Golden Knight s added the final score of the game with 2:12 remaining.

Junior defensive back Terrence Johnson (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills) and senior linebacker Darren Burns (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) led the defensive effort for Cal U with five stops each. Johnson collected 2.0 tackles for loss (TFL) and a pass break-up, while Burns also had 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble and a pass break-up. Freshman defensive lineman Thomas Mulabah (Sterling, Va./Parkview) finished with four tackles (two solo) and 2.0 sacks.

The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they host Slippery Rock University at Adamson Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. contest, which will be broadcast on FSN Pittsburgh. With a win against The Rock, Cal U would clinch at least a share of its fourth-straight PSAC West title.

Notes:
Senior running back Daine Williams (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls/Howard) led the Vulcans with 80 rushing yards on 19 attempts …The Vulcans' defense registered 8.0 TFL and three sacks against the Golden Knights, who only managed 58 rushing yards on 29 attempts…Cal U converted five-of-seven red-zone trips into points.