• Game Notes (.pdf)

MERCYHURST (5-4, 3-3) vs. CAL U (6-3, 4-2)
• When: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
• TV: CUTV (tape delay)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WMCE (88.5 FM)
• Live Video: America One (PPV)
• Live Stats: Fan Stats I Media Stats

GAME INFORMATION
• General Admission: $10 adults/$5 students/FREE 12 and under
• Chairback Seats: $15 adults/$10 students
• Parking: $3
• Directions to Adamson Stadium

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 3-2
• First Meeting: Nov. 1, 2008 @ Mercyhurst - Cal U won 17-6 I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Nov. 3, 2012 @ Mercyhurst - Cal U won 40-7 I Box Score
• Streak: Mercyhurst +1

CAL U NOTES
• The Vulcans enter the final week of divisional play in a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings. Last week, Cal U suffered a 35-17 loss at division-leading Slippery Rock, while Mercyhurst posted a 19-6 victory over Edinboro for its fourth win in the last five games.

• The Vulcans allowed 21 points in the second quarter during a 35-17 loss at Slippery Rock after both teams entered the game tied for first place in the PSAC West standings. Senior wide receiver Mike Williams finished with a season-high 134 yards on six catches, marking the eighth 100-yard game of his career. The Vulcans allowed a season-high 531 yards of total offense with Slippery Rock quarterback Nigel Barksdale finishing with 399 yards of total offense and accounting for three touchdowns. Senior defensive back Dewey McDonald led the team with 13 tackles and was one of seven players with at least 0.5 TFL.

• This weekend marks only the sixth all-time meeting between the Vulcans ans Lakers. Prior to Mercyhurst joining the PSAC in 2008, the two teams had never faced each other.

• After guiding the Lakers to a share of the PSAC West title last season, Marty Schaetzle is in his 12th year as head coach at Mercyhurst. The school's all-time wins leader, he holds a 60-70 overall record and was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 2010 after Mercyhurst captured its first-ever conference championship. Prior to his time with the Lakers, Schaetzle worked five years as an offensive assistant at Bucknell.

• Mercyhurst returns 10 starters from last year's team that finished 9-2 overall and tied for first place in the PSAC West standings with a 6-1 mark. Behind the tandem of sophomore Brandon Brown-Dukes and senior Allen Jones II, the Lakers feature the second-best rushing offense in the PSAC with an average of 238.7 yards per game. The reigning PSAC West Freshman of the Year, Brown-Dukes ranks fifth in the league with 953 rushing yards behind an average of 7.3 yards per attempt. Jones II posted his third 100-yard game of the season last week after Brown-Dukes left the game before halftime. Mercyhurst boasts an experienced quarterback in third-year starter Anthony Vendemia, who ranks third in school history in both passing yards and touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Jaquan Williams leads the team with 25 catches and 388 receiving yards this season, while junior transfer Marcus Snipes averages over 26 yards per catch and paces the team with four touchdown receptions. Defensively, senior Dustin Galich leads the team with 51 tackles (28 solo), 12.0 TFL and 4.0 sacks. A two-time All-PSAC West selection, he has recorded at least 1.0 TFL in seven of eight games played this season. Junior defensive back Colin Kimball has posted 48 stops (31 solo) and a team-high four interceptions, while sophomore linebacker Joe Dever has tallied 45 tackles (34 solo), 6.0 TFL and four fumble recoveries. On special teams, senior Steven Wakefield leads the league with 10 field goals on 11 attempts after earning All-PSAC honors at both kicker and punter last season. Snipes has also displayed big-play ability on special teams, averaging over 30 yards per kick return.

• After ranking eighth in the initial rankings, Cal U fell out of the Super Region One rankings released on Monday. The region enters Week 10 with two undefeated teams and four one-loss teams. The marquee game in the region this weekend will be Bloomsburg (No. 6) at West Chester (No. 1). Super Region One consists of four conferences - PSAC, MEC (formerly WVIAC), CIAA and NE-10 - with no league earning automatic qualifiers to the post-season and only the top-six teams being selected to the NCAA Playoffs.

• For the first time since 2004, the Vulcans failed to earn at least a share of the top spot in the preseason PSAC West poll. Cal U was selected fourth in the league poll by the coaches after losing its last two divisional games in 2012. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst was picked to finish second in the division after tying IUP for first place last season.

• The Vulcans currently feature a total of five players on NFL active rosters, including two players selected in the NFL Draft since 2011. Former Cal U All-American offensive linemen Eric Kush and Rishaw Johnson are both members of the Kansas City Chiefs, while Tommie Campbell is with the Tennessee Titans and James Nixon plays for the Green Bay Packers. Last week, former All-American defensive back Rontez Miles was signed to the active roster by the New York Jets.

• Against IUP, sophomore Andrew Cerett recorded the longest punt in NCAA Division II this year at 79 yards. The distance ranks as the eighth-best punt in all NCAA divisions this year and is the longest by a Cal U punter in over a decade. Cerett led the PSAC in punting as a freshman and ranks third this season with a mark of 42.7 yards per punt.

• The Vulcans feature a group of 15 seniors in 2013. The class has collectively posted a 34-11 overall record (.756) over the last four years and an impressive 21-6 mark (.778) mark in PSAC West games. Combined, the 2013 seniors have started 160 career games.

• Last week at Slippery Rock, senior wide receiver Nadir Brown became the first non-quarterback to complete a pass since the 2009 season. Brown connected with classmate Mike Williams for a 53-yard gain on the second play of the opening possession for the Vulcans. In 2009, running back Freddie Bacco and wide receiver Terrance Moore both completed their only career pass attempts for touchdowns.

• Cal U senior Dewey McDonald and Mercyhurst junior Colin Kimball are two of the top play-making safeties in the PSAC. After missing all of last season due to injury, McDonald leads the Vulcans and is tied for ninth in the league with 73 tackles. Kimball ranks second on the Lakers with 48 stops and is tied for third in the PSAC with four interceptions. McDonald and Kimball are the only players in the league to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns this season.

• Cal U recorded its sixth blocked kick (four field goals, one punt, one PAT) of the season last week at Slippery Rock when junior Tyrone Taylor blocked a 20-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. The Vulcans rank eighth in the country this season in blocked kicks and are one of nearly two dozen teams that have yet to allow a blocked kick. Cal U totaled six blocked kicks last year and have combined to block 16 kicks since the start of the 2011 campaign.

• Senior wide receiver Mike Williams moved into fourth place in school history with 147 career receptions last week. The all-time school record of 165 catches is held by former NFL veteran Perry Kemp (1980-83). Williams also slid into fifth overall with 2,106 receiving yards and needs only 25 yards to move ahead of former teammate and All-American A.J. Jackson (2008-09). A two-year starter, Williams leads the team in all three major receiving categories this season and ranks sixth in the PSAC with 697 receiving yards.

• Last week, junior kicker Cody Nuzzo made a season-long, 44-yard field goal at Slippery Rock. He has converted 7-of-11 field-goal attempts this season with six of the seven being at least 33 yards. A former all-state kicker and punter, Nuzzo ranks third in school history with 24 career field goals and fourth all-time with 187 points. He is just three points shy of surpassing former All-American Tyler Lorenz (2006-07) for third place.

• This weekend's game features three players who received Capital One academic all-district honors for the first time in their careers. Cal U junior Jack Abercrombie has started all nine games at center this season after earning All-PSAC West honors while playing right guard last year. Mercyhurst junior Colin Kimball and sophomore tight end John Matarazzo also garnered the academic laurel. Kimball ranks second on the team in tackles and is tied for third in the PSAC in interceptions, while Matarazzo has totaled six receptions while also serving as a key blocker for a team that averages 238.7 rushing yards per game.

• Through nine games this season, the Vulcans have started only six different players on the offensive line.  The quartet of juniors Jack Abercrombie and Chris George, redshirt sophomore Jeremy Seaman and true freshman Tyler Peerson have started all nine games, while redshirt junior Mike Price has made eight starts this year.