CALIFORNIA (Nov. 5) – The No. 6 Vulcans secured a berth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and claimed an outright PSAC West title on Saturday afternoon with a 52-7 victory over No. 24 Edinboro at Adamson Stadium.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 9-0 overall and finishes divisional play with a 7-0 mark – its first undefeated PSAC West season since 2009. The Vulcans will host Kutztown, which finished PSAC East play with a 7-0 record, in the PSAC Championship at Adamson Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12 p.m. Meanwhile, Edinboro falls to 8-2 this season and finishes third in the PSAC West standings with a 5-2 mark.
The Vulcans limited one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the country to only seven points, as the Fighting Scots entered play averaging 42.7 points per game. Edinboro quarterback Jake Sisson was held to a season-low 145 passing yards on 18-of-46 attempts after being one of only three 3,000-yard passers in NCAA Division II entering the weekend. Cal U also recorded a pair of interceptions while allowing Edinboro to mount only two drives of at least 40 yards.
Senior wide receiver
Garry Brown (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) finished with three touchdowns and 230 all-purpose yards against the Fighting Scots. He posted 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions, marking his fourth 100-yard game in six weeks. Brown eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the third-straight season and now ranks No. 10 in PSAC history with 3,402 career receiving yards. The Ohio native also scored on a 53-yard punt return on Saturday for his second special teams touchdown this season.
Junior quarterback
Michael Keir (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) posted 254 passing yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-28 attempts. He became only the fourth quarterback in school history, all since 2008, to pass for at least 30 touchdowns in a season. Keir helped the Vulcans total 45-unanswered points on Saturday after the score was tied early in the second quarter.
On its opening drive of the game, Cal U converted a pair of third downs before Keir connected with junior wide receiver
Tom Greene (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) for a seven-yard touchdown with 9:38 left in the first quarter. The Fighting Scots then mounted their longest drive of the game at 46 yards before Sisson was intercepted by senior defensive back
Aaron Terry (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) at the Cal U 24-yard line.
The teams traded field position for the remainder of the first quarter before Edinboro intercepted Keir near midfield early in the second quarter. Sisson then completed three-straight passes before scoring on a four-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7 with 11:59 left in the first half. On the next Fighting Scot possession, Sisson was intercepted by senior defensive back
Jordan Bowman (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) in Cal U territory and Bowman returned the turnover 53 yards to the Edinboro 2-yard line. Junior running back
John Franklin III (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) scored on the next play with 9:10 remaining in the second quarter. Edinboro turned the ball over on downs on its next drive before Franklin stretched the lead to 21-7 on a three-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left in the first half. On the drive, Keir found Greene for a 27-yard completion on third-and-10 before a pair of Edinboro penalties helped extend the drive.
On the opening possession of the second half, Keir connected with Brown for a 33-yard touchdown while the Fighting Scots were flagged for offside penalty on the play. The Fights Scots turned the ball over on downs near midfield on the next drive and the Vulcans expanded the lead to 35-7 when Keir found senior tight end
Paul Butler (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois) for a five-yard touchdown with 8:21 left in the third quarter.
Cal U took a 38-7 early in the fourth quarter when junior kicker
Will Brazill (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) made a 22-yard field goal. The Vulcans added to their lead less than two minutes later when Keir connected with Brown for a 59-yard touchdown with 9:51 left to play. Brown registered the last touchdown of the game when he scored on a 53-yard punt return with 8:04 remaining in the game, 52-7.
Senior defensive back
Arnel Farmer, Jr. (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) led the team with eight tackles (four solo), while sophomore defensive back
Nigel Garnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and junior linebacker
Luke Hrapchak (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior) both added six stops. Hrapchak registered a strip sack in the first quarter and Bowman and Terry each collected four stops.
Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 12, when it hosts the PSAC Championship against Kutztown at 12 p.m.
Notes:
Cal U will be making its first appearance in the PSAC Championship since 2009, while Kutztown last played for the league title in 2011 … The Vulcans finished with 161 rushing yards on 42 attempts and junior
Nick Grissom (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) led the team with 69 yards on 17 carries … Cal U has posted a 3-0 record against AFCA Top-25 teams this season, all at Adamson Stadium … The Vulcans finished with a 15-minute advantage in time of possession despite running only one more offensive play … Franklin has scored five rushing touchdowns in the last four games … Eight of the top-10 teams featured in the latest NCAA Super Region One rankings won on Saturday, as the only two losses came against other regionally-ranked teams (Fairmont State, Edinboro)
