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CALIFORNIA (Sept. 6) – In a game which featured a pair of lightning delays and a combined 48 first-half points, the Vulcans claimed a 33-24 season-opening victory against Virginia State at Adamson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The California University of Pennsylvania football team has won four of its last five season-openers and head coach Mike Kellar improves to 5-0 all-time as a head coach in season-openers. Meanwhile, Virginia State opens the year with a loss after finishing last season on an eight-game winning streak.

Junior quarterback James Harris (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah) finished with a career-high 280 passing yards while making his seventh career start. He completed 15-of-27 attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Trojans. Harris recorded three lengthy passes in the first half, throwing for 207 yards before halftime behind touchdown passes of 69 and 49 yards.

On the game's opening possession, senior kicker Cody Nuzzo (Bradford, Pa./Bradford) made a 26-yard field goal with 12:41 left in the first quarter. The game was then delayed 30 minutes due to lightning before the ensuing kickoff. When play resumed, the Trojans mounted a scoring drive on their first possession to take a 7-3 lead with 8:03 remaining in the first. Cal U then turned the ball over on downs just outside the red zone before Virginia State was forced into a three-and-out. Senior Corey Ford (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) blocked the punt and sophomore Jordan Bowman (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) recovered the ball at the 1-yard line before diving into the end zone to give the Vulcans a 10-7 lead with 3:12 left in the first quarter.

The opening four minutes of the second quarter featured three quick touchdown passes, all nearly at least 50 yards. The Trojans reclaimed the lead on a 60-yard score before Harris connected with sophomore wide receiver Garry Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) for a 69-yard touchdown on the opening play of the ensuing drive. Cal U forced a three-and-out before stretching the lead to 24-14 on another one-play touchdown drive, as Harris found junior wide receiver Kowan Scott (Easton, Pa./Wilson) for a 49-yard score with 12:26 left before halftime. The Trojans responded with a touchdown pass over four minutes later before the teams traded interceptions deep in Virginia State territory. Cal U converted an interception by redshirt freshman defensive lineman Daemond Pierce (Chester, Pa./Ridley) into a 20-yard field goal by Nuzzo with 3:21 remaining in the first half, 27-21.

Cal U capped its opening possession of the second half with a 26-yard field goal by Nuzzo. After the first play of the ensuing drive, the game was delayed for another 30 minutes due to lightning. When play resumed, the Trojans capped a seven-minute drive with a field goal to cut the deficit to 30-24 with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Vulcans worked nearly 12 minutes off the clock on their three possessions. Cal U mounted a 14-play drive to start the quarter that was capped by another 26-yard field goal by Nuzzo. The Trojans looked to answer before Bowman registered an interception at the Cal U 29-yard line. Both teams struggled to sustain lengthy drives over the final seven-plus minutes of the game, as no drive lasted more than five plays and more than 24 yards.

Senior linebacker Branko Busick (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) led the team and tied his career high with 10 tackles (five solo), while junior defensive lineman Kenny Wilkins (Washington, Pa./Trinity) tallied nine stops and 3.0 tackles for loss (TFL) in his college debut.

The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they travel to face defending-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion Bloomsburg with kickoff set for 2 p.m.

Notes:
Nuzzo tied the all-time school record of 32 field goals set by Tyler Lorenz (2006-07) and also broke the single-game school record with four field goals … Ford blocked a pair of punts in the season-opener … Cal U and Virginia State combined for nearly 800 yards of total offense and ran 136 plays … The game lasted for three hours, 58 minutes with the two lightning delays