CALIFORNIA (Oct. 8) – The No. 15 Vulcans scored 10-straight points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning 39-yard field goal with under one minute left to play, to earn a 31-28 victory over No. 6 IUP in the eighth-annual Coal Bowl on Saturday night at Adamson Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.

With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 5-0 overall and takes sole possession of first place in the divisional standings with a 3-0 mark. The Vulcans have won nine of the past 12 meetings against the Crimson Hawks, including six of the eight games in the history of the Coal Bowl. Meanwhile, IUP falls to 4-1 this year with a 2-1 record in league play.

Junior quarterback Michael Keir (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) was named the Coal Bowl MVP after posting nearly 340 yards of total offense and three touchdowns (two rushing). He finished with 308 passing yards on 19-of-39 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions. Keir also totaled 30 rushing yards, which was double his season total, on eight attempts and two scores.

The Vulcans trailed 28-21 entering the fourth quarter before mounting a 13-play drive to tie the score at 28-28 on a five-yard touchdown run by Keir with 9:15 left to play. Early in the drive, Keir connected with senior wide receiver Garry Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) for a 15-yard gain while facing a third-and-nine at the Cal U 16-yard line. The Vulcans later faced a fourth-and-10 at the IUP 27-yard line following three-straight incompletions before calling a timeout with 10:34 remaining in the game. Cal U was flagged for a false start after the timeout before Keir then found junior wide receiver Luke Smorey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) for a 23-yard gain on a fourth-and-15.

On the ensuing drive, IUP advanced to near midfield before sophomore quarterback Lenny Williams, Jr. suffered an injury on a second-down rushing attempt. Following the injury, the Crimson Hawks were flagged for a false start before backup quarterback Mike Pietropola was unable to complete a pass on third-and-10.

IUP pinned Cal U inside its own 10-yard line on the ensuing punt before the Vulcans mounted a 12-play scoring drive to take the final lead change of the game. On the second play of the drive, Keir connected with Brown for a 29-yard gain and Cal U later advanced to midfield before a pass interference penalty forced the Vulcans back to their own 35-yard line. Facing a second-and-25, Keir found Brown for a 37-yard gain to the IUP 28-yard line before a holding penalty moved Cal U back to the 30-yard line. Junior Nick Grissom (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) nearly picked up a first down on a third-and-11 carry by advancing to the IUP 22-yard line. The Crimson Hawks called their second timeout of the half with 1:00 left to play before junior kicker Will Brazill (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) converted a 39-yard field goal, the longest of his career.

The Crimson Hawks moved the ball past midfield on the final drive of the game with two first-down runs by Pietropola. Following a quarterback spike, Pietropola was sacked for a loss of seven yards by junior linebacker Cameron Tarver (Columbus, Ohio/Central Crossing) and IUP was forced to call its final timeout with 12 seconds left. Pietropola then completed a pass near the sideline for a 15-yard gain before junior defensive back Vondel Bell (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) made the tackle in bounds in the closing seconds that prevented IUP from running another play.

Junior linebacker Luke Hrapchak (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior) led the team with eight tackles (four solo), while classmate DeVonte Suber (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) and sophomore Nigel Garnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) both tallied seven stops. Senior defensive back Aaron Terry (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) added five tackles (three solo), 1.0 TFL, one interception and one quarterback hurry in the victory.

The Vulcans scored touchdowns on their opening two drives of the game, converting an interception by Terry at midfield into an eight-yard touchdown pass from Keir to Smorey with 4:22 left in the first quarter. IUP answered by scoring 21-unanswered points in the second quarter, as Cal U trailed for the first time this season following a touchdown by the Crimson Hawks with 37 seconds left before halftime. The Vulcans started the ensuing drive at their 35-yard line and advanced inside the red zone on just two plays following lengthy completions by Keir to junior wide receiver Tom Greene (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) and senior tight end Paul Butler (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois). Cal U then called a timeout before Keir rushed five yards and a personal foul penalty moved the ball inside the five-yard line. The Crimson Hawks then called a pair of timeouts before Keir scored on a touchdown run to tie the score at 21-21 with five seconds left before halftime.
 
On its initial drive of the second half, Cal U advanced inside the IUP 10-yard line before a holding penalty and an interception halted the drive. The Crimson Hawks capitalized on the turnover by mounting a 77-yard scoring drive to take a 28-21 lead on a 20-yard touchdown run by Williams on a third-and 17.

Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 15, when it travels to face Clarion at 6 p.m.

Notes:
Brown registered his second-straight 100-yard game after finishing with 116 receiving yards on six catches … He was held to no touchdowns after scoring at least two touchdowns in each of the previous four games … Grissom also eclipsed the century mark for a consecutive game, rushing for 121 yards on 24 attempts … The Vulcans were flagged 12 times for 115 yards, their fourth-straight game with over 100 penalty yards … At the time of his injury, Williams had posted 285 yards of total offense with three touchdowns (two rushing) … The Vulcans have defeated top-10 opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history and No. 6 IUP was the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated in program history (previously No. 9 twice)