CALIFORNIA (Nov. 7) – The Vulcans scored a touchdown on the first offensive play of the game before claiming a 31-21 victory against Mercyhurst on Senior Day at Adamson Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 7-3 overall behind its second three-game winning streak of the season. The Vulcans also finish third in the PSAC West standings with a 5-2 league mark. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst falls to 5-5 this season and finishes tied for sixth in the league standings with a 2-5 divisional record.

Senior quarterback James Harris (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah) finished with 316 passing yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-16 attempts (81.3 percent). He became the third quarterback in school history to throw for 7,000 passing yards (7,050) in a career and also became the fifth player with at least 50 career touchdown passes (51).

Junior wide receiver Garry Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) posted the ninth 100-yard game of his career, finishing with 155 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches. Brown now ranks fifth all-time in school history with 2,175 receiving yards.

The Vulcans jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Harris connected with sophomore wide receiver Luke Smorey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) for a 75-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game. Mercyhurst looked to answer on the ensuing drive before senior Chaz Veal (Cleveland, Ohio/Hamilton) blocked a 31-yard field goal. Two players later, Harris found senior wide receiver Kowan Scott (Easton, Pa./Wilson) for a 51-yard gain that helped setup a 24-yard field goal by sophomore William Brazill (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) with 5:12 left in the first quarter.

Mercyhurst then mounted a lengthy drive that lasted 20 plays and over nine minutes. The Lakers punted on the initial play of the second quarter before a roughing the kicker penalty resulted in a first down. Mercyhurst later made a 23-yard field goal before a personal foul resulted in a first-and-goal. After three more unsuccessful attempts to find the end zone, the Lakers attempted another 23-yard field goal that was blocked by junior Jordan Lardani (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett). Cal U then mounted an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back John Franklin III (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) with 5:33 left before halftime. During the drive, the Vulcans converted a third-and-15 with a 44-yard completion from Harris to Brown and Harris later rushed for four yards to convert a fourth-and-two. On its next drive, Mercyhurst advanced inside the red zone before Cal U forced a turnover on downs with less than one minute remaining in the second quarter.

On the opening drive of the second half, the Lakers cut the deficit to 17-7 after mounting a 15-play drive that lasted nearly nine minutes. Cal U answered with a scoring drive to claim a 24-7 lead on a two-yard touchdown pass from Harris to Brown with 2:50 left in the quarter.

The teams traded field position until Mercyhurst trimmed the deficit to 24-14 on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Vulcans recovered the onside kick attempt and worked over four minutes off the clock before Franklin posted a five-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 31-14 with 1:51 left to play. The Lakers responded with another touchdown and recovered an onside kick with 50 seconds remaining. Cal U then halted the drive with a red-zone interception by Veal that was returned 80 yards to the 5-yard line.

Junior defensive back Aaron Terry (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) led the team with a career-high 13 tackles (eight solo) and was one of eight players with least 1.0 TFL. Junior defensive lineman Jawan Turner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) finished with five stops (three solo) and 2.0 TFL and Veal finished with four tackles (two solo), 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble, one interception and one blocked kick.

Cal U closes out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Lock Haven with kickoff at 1 p.m.

Notes:
Mercyhurst finished with over a 15-minute advantage in time of possession after totaling 30 first downs … The Vulcans held a 432-428 advantage in total offense despite running 35 less plays than the Lakers … Scott moved into a tie with Jim Kubina (1996-99) for second all-time in school history with 2,524 receiving yards, which is nine yards short of eclipsing the school record … Cal U was without a punt attempt for the first time since the 2007 NCAA Playoffs … Franklin finished with 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts