• Box Score
• Game Notes (.pdf)

CALIFORNIA (Sept. 13) – The No. 16 Vulcans featured six different players that scored touchdowns in cruising to a 54-0 victory against Lake Erie College on Saturday night at Adamson Stadium.

The California University of Pennsylvania football team (2-1) scored touchdowns on seven of their first eight possessions to take a 48-0 lead into halftime.

As a team, the Vulcans rushed for 347 yards and five touchdowns on 39 attempts (8.9 yards per carry) against the Storm (0-3). Sophomore running back Freddie Bacco (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) led all players with a career-high 143 yards and one touchdown on 11 attempts.

Senior Brandon Lombardy (Moureland Hills, Ohio/Chagrin Falls/Purdue) rushed for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns on six carries. The two-time, all-PSAC West selection reached a personal milestone in the victory, as he became just the third player in school history to rush for 3,000-plus yards in a career (3,019).

Cal U started the scoring on the game's opening possession on a two-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Daine Williams (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls/Howard). The Vulcans extended their lead with 5:41 left in the opening quarter when Lombardy rushed for a 13-yard score.

Senior Marcel Pestano (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Lehigh/Pittsburgh) capped the scoring in the first quarter with a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown. His punt return for a touchdown was the first by a Vulcan since Marc Huddleston returned a punt for a score at Mansfield in 2005 (Sept. 10).

After the Cal U defense forced a three-and-out, graduate student Kevin McCabe (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland/Virginia) connected with tight end Cory Garver (Cumberland, Md./Fort Hill/Delaware State) for a 23-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

On the Vulcans' next possession, McCabe found Pestano for a 24-yard score.

Playing only the first half, McCabe completed 11-of-15 attempts for 177 yards with no interceptions and two touchdowns. Pestano, who also played the only the first two quarters, led the receivers with 77 yards on four catches.

Cal U increased its lead to 48-0 before halftime with a 26-yard touchdown by Lombardy and a seven-yard score by Bacco.

In addition to the high-scoring offense, the Vulcans were dominant on defense in the first half while playing their primary starters. In the first two quarters, Cal U allowed Lake Erie to collect only three first downs and 24 yards of total offense. The Storm were held to negative-11 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first two quarters.

Cal U added its final touchdown of the game with 3:23 left in the third quarter on a 45-yard scamper by Dennis Cole (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), who finished the game with 86 rushing yards on six carries.

Junior linebacker Matt McClellan (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) led the Vulcans' defense with seven tackles (four solo), 2.0 tackles for loss (TFL) and 1.5 sacks. Defensive back Josh Menendez (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls/Dayton), defensive lineman Marcus Cook (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) and linebacker Brent Whiteleather (Rochester, Pa./Rochester/Duquesne) all collected five stops while playing extended action off the bench.

Junior defensive lineman Willie Walker (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) registered a team-best 2.0 sacks in the contest.

The shutout marks the fifth for the Vulcans in the last three seasons with the last coming against Clarion on Sept., 29, 2007 (56-0).

Cal U opens Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Saturday, Sept. 20, with a road contest at Sox Harrison Stadium against Edinboro University (3-0). The Vulcans lead the all-time series against the Fighting Scots by a 37-35-2 margin after having won the last three meetings.