• Game Notes (.pdf)

CAL U (0-2) vs. WEST CHESTER (1-1)
When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
Where: West Chester, Pa. (John A. Farrell Stadium)
TV: CUTV
Radio: WCAL 91.9-FM

SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: West Chester leads 4-3
First Meeting: 1956 - West Chester won 31-7
Last Meeting: 2008 @ Cal U – Cal U won 47-36 (PSAC Championship)
Streak: Cal U +3

CAL U NOTES

• Cal U returns to action this Saturday after losing 17-10 to Bloomsburg in the final minute last weekend. West Chester suffered a 36-0 road loss to local rival Delaware last Friday.

• Trailing 10-3, the Vulcans rallied to tie the game last Saturday with a touchdown in the final minute. However, Bloomsburg mounted a 61-yard, game-winning drive with only 22 seconds remaining. Graduate student linebacker #Dontey Brown# led Cal U with 12 tackles and was one of nine Vulcans to post a TFL in the loss. Senior #Freddie Bacco# led the ground attack with 88 yards.

• Bill Zwaan is in his seventh season as head coach of the Golden Rams and holds a 109-37 career record. He has guided West Chester to three PSAC East titles (2004, 2007 and 2008) and five-straight NCAA Playoff appearances. He came to the Golden Rams after a six-year tenure as head coach at Widener. Zwaan is a 1979 graduate of Delaware and was a standout quarterback for the Blue Hens.

• West Chester returns several key players from last year's squad that finished 9-4, won the PSAC East Division and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs. The offense is again directed by senior quarterback Joe Wright, who led the PSAC in passing yards and ranked second in the league in touchdowns and passing efficiency. Wright's primary target will be seniors Steve Miller and Ryan Paulson, as the duo combined for over 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Defensively, the Golden Rams are anchored by senior linebacker Mike Dell, last year's PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year.

• Eighth-year head coach #John Luckhardt# has established a winning tradition at Cal U. That tradition has carried over into games against teams from the PSAC East. In the last seven seasons, the Vulcans hold a combined 16-5 record against PSAC East opponents.

• For the first time since October of 2003, Cal U has suffered three-straight losses dating back to the NCAA Semifinals last year. The Vulcans have also lost their first two games in a season since the 1999 campaign (5-6) and haven't started a season with three-straight losses since the 1991 season (1-9).

• Following last week's loss to Bloomsburg, Cal U dropped from 17th in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll to out of the top 25 poll. The Vulcans had been ranked for a school record 28-consecutive weeks in the AFCA poll dating back to the preseason 2007 poll.

• The Vulcans received the ECAC Lambert Trophy last year after posting a 12-2 record and advancing to the NCAA Semifinals. This week, Cal U will face the third-place team in the ECAC Trophy standings in West Chester after facing second-place Bloomsburg last Saturday.

• In a combined 25 years as a head coach, #John Luckhardt# has coached only three teams that have started a season 0-2. This year marks the first time since 1997 when a Luckhardt-led Washington & Jefferson program started 0-3 before winning six of its last nine games.

• This weekend's game will feature two of the top punters in the PSAC. Graduate student #Derek Fiorenza# earned all-region honors last year in his first year with the program after averaging 42.8 yards per punt. This year, he is fifth in the PSAC at 40.2 yards per punt with half of his eight total punts being placed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. West Chester sophomore Chris Hill is handling the punting duties in 2009. Hill leads the league with five punts placed inside the opponents' 20-yard line and is fourth in punting average at 40.6 yards per punt.

• The Vulcans have won 41 of their last 50 games (.820) overall, dating to the start of the 2005 season. Cal U has posted a 25-4 record (.862) in regular season games dating back to the 2006 campaign.

• West Chester has opened the 2009 campaign on the opposite side of two shutouts. The Golden Rams opened the season with a 43-0 victory over Lock Haven after allowing 52 yards of total offense to the Bald Eagles. Last week, West Chester dropped 35-0 contest to local rival and NCAA Division I FCS-powerhouse Delaware, who yielded only 84 passing yards to the Golden Rams.

• Graduate student linebacker #Dontey Brown# posted a career game for the second-straight week against Bloomsburg. In his second start with the Vulcans, he led the team with a career-high 12 tackles (five solo) with 1.0 TFL and 1.0 sack after establishing a then career best with 11 stops against Saginaw Valley. Through two games this year, the Penn State transfer ranks second in the PSAC with 11.5 tackles per game and fifth with 2.00 TFL per game.

• With the revival of the PSAC Championship last year, the Vulcans and Golden Rams met twice last season with the teams combining for over almost 160 points in the two games. Cal U won both games at Adamson Stadium, highlighted by a 47-36 victory in the conference title game. This marks the fourth meeting between the two programs in less than two calendar years. The Vulcans have won the previous three games after the Golden Rams opened the series with four-consecutive victories.

• After staring for three years on the gridiron and four years on the hardwood at Cheyney, graduate student wide receiver #Dominique Curry# returns to the PSAC East this weekend. Curry was a three-time All-PSAC East receiver for the Wolves, while also finishing his basketball career with over 1,000 points. Curry has appeared in both games for the Vulcans this year and has excelled on special teams, making three tackles and registering a punt block that accounted for a safety.

• This weekend's contest features a pair of the top early-season defenses in the PSAC. West Chester currently boasts the top total defense in the 16-team league, allowing a scant 227.5 yards per game. The Golden Rams are also second in the PSAC in rushing defense and haven't allowed a rushing touchdown in their first two games. Meanwhile, the Vulcans are fifth in the PSAC in total defense by allowing 290.5 yards per game. Cal U is yielding only 2.8 yards per carry and 103.5 yards per game after playing Bloomsburg - one of the top rushing teams in the nation last year.