Full Game Notes (PDF)

#3/4 SHEPHERD (12-0) @ #6/8 CAL U (11-0)
• When: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: SIDEARM Sports
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WJPA (95.3 FM) I WRNR (106.5 FM / 740 AM)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 4-0
• First Meeting: 1982 @ California - Cal U won 15-14
• Last Meeting: Dec. 1, 2007 @ California - Cal U won 58-38 I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +4

NOTES
• Cal U will host Shepherd in the Super Region One Championship of the NCAA Playoffs with the winner advancing to the national semifinals. The Vulcans posted a 44-23 comeback victory over IUP last week, while Shepherd scored 19-straight points in the second quarter last weekend in a 40-21 win at LIU Post.

• Cal U overcame a 17-point deficit to advance in the NCAA Playoffs with a 44-23 victory over IUP. Junior Michael Keir broke the single-season school record for touchdown passes, as he finished with 274 passing yards and four touchdowns. Senior Garry Brown finished with 129 receiving yards on 11 catches and two touchdowns, as he set the single-season school record with 20 receiving touchdowns. Junior linebacker Luke Hrapchak finished with a game-high 11 tackles (five solo), while freshman defensive back Aaron Brown posted seven stops and three pass break-ups.

• The Vulcans have won each of the four all-time meetings against the Rams, including three times at Adamson Stadium. Cal U played Shepherd three times from 1982-86 before not meeting again until the 2007 NCAA Playoffs.

• The second-winningest active head coach in all NCAA divisions, Monte Cater is in his 30th season as head coach of the Rams. He has posted double-digit wins in three of the last four years, highlighted by an appearance in the NCAA National Championship last year. Cater is the all-time winningest college football coach in the state of West Virginia with 233 victories.

• Shepherd recorded an undefeated regular season for a second-straight year and has posted three victories over top-25 teams in the last four weeks. The Rams rank sixth in the country in passing offense with 339.0 yards/game while leading the MEC with 40.6 points/game. Senior quarterback Jeff Ziemba, a Harlon Hill finalist, sits second in NCAA Division II with a 177.3 passing efficiency and ranks 10th with 3,315 passing yards. Senior Billy Brown sits among the top five in the country with both 1,391 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions, including six over the past two weeks. Classmate CJ Davis also has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards this season while averaging 18.5 yards/reception. Freshmen Brandon Hlavach and Deonte Glover have combined for over 1,500 rushing yards and nearly 20 touchdowns this year. Shepherd boasts one of the top defenses in the country in 2016, ranking eighth in rushing defense at 89.5 yards/game and ninth in total defense at 292.4 yards/game. Senior linebacker Octavius Thomas leads the team with 85 tackles (60 solo) and also has registered 10.5 TFL and 5.0 sacks. Junior James Gupton has tallied 84 stops and 8.0 TFL, while classmate Tre Anderson has posted 65 tackles and 5.0 TFL. Junior defensive lineman Myles Humphrey paces the team with 19.0 TFL and 10.0 sacks, while also registering four fumble recoveries. The Rams rank second in the country in net punting at 39.41 yards/punt, while also being the most penalized team in NCAA Division II, yielding 113.75 yards/game on penalties.
 
• The Vulcans are in the NCAA Playoffs for the sixth time in school history, while the Rams are in the post-season for the 10th time. Shepherd played in the National Championship last year after previously advancing as far as the national semifinals in 2010. Cal U has returned to the post-season for the first time since 2011 after advancing to the national semifinals in three-consecutive years from 2007-09.

• Cal U and Shepherd are meeting in the NCAA Playoffs for the second time in a decade, as the previous meeting came on Dec. 1, 2007. The Vulcans posted a 58-38 victory over the Rams to capture the first of three-straight regional championships. Cal U, which featured a pair of 100-yard rushers, finished with 535 yards of total offense and scored on all seven of its red-zone trips.

• This weekend marks the 48th game for the Vulcans against an opponent ranked in the AFCA Top 25 poll since the start of the 2000 season. During that span, Cal U has posted a 25-22 record against nationally-ranked programs with a 15-9 mark at Adamson Stadium, including eight-straight victories at home. 

• Cal U wide receiver Garry Brown and Shepherd quarterback Jeff Ziemba are the Super Region One finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Ziemba, who was also a finalist last year, has posted over 3,000 passing yards for a consecutive season with 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions on 330-plus attempts. Brown ranks fourth in the country with 23 total touchdowns this year, including a school-record 20 receiving touchdowns.

• Cal U and Shepherd enter the weekend as two of the remaining five undefeated team in NCAA Division II. Additionally, the Super Region Four Championship features a pair of undefeated teams in Harding (Ark.) and Northwest Missouri State, which is currently on a 27-game win streak dating back to the 2014 NCAA Playoffs.

• This weekend features two of the elite wide receivers in the country in Cal U senior Garry Brown and Shepherd senior Billy Brown. Both players are tied for third in NCAA Division II with 20 receiving touchdowns this year while combining for over 2,700 receiving yards. Billy ranks seventh among all active NCAA players with 3,882 career receiving yards, while Garry has 3,634 yards in his career despite playing six fewer games.

• Junior linebacker Luke Hrapchak has tallied a combined 36 tackles over the past two games and now leads the team with 86 stops (52 solo). He has recorded 1.0 sack in each of the last four games and has collected double-digit tackles four times this season. An All-PSAC West First-Team selection, Hrapchak has led the team in tackles in eight games while posting at least five stops in nine of 11 games.

• Last week, junior quarterback Michael Keir broke the single-season school record for touchdown passes and completed over 80 percent of his attempts for the second time this year. He now ranks fourth in the country with 39 touchdown passes and enters the weekend less than 50 yards shy from posting the sixth 3,000-yard season in program history. Keir has thrown at least two touchdowns in each of the last six games.

• Juniors Will Brazill and Taylor Nikithser were both selected CoSIDA Academic All-Americans this week. It marks the first time in program history in which the Vulcans featured multiple Academic All-Americans in the same year. Brazill is one of nine kickers in the country to reach the 100-point mark this season, while Nikithser anchors an offense line that has helped Cal U average over 450 yards of total offense and 50 points per game.

• The Vulcans faced a 17-point deficit early in the second quarter against IUP last week before rallying to earn a 44-23 victory. It marked the largest comeback victory for Cal U in post-season history. The largest previous comeback margin was seven points against Shepherd in 2007 when the Rams returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.

• Last week, junior running back Nick Grissom totaled 21 carries and led the team in rushing for the eighth time this year. Cal U boasts a 10-1 record over the past five years when at least one player finishes with 20 rushing attempts or more in a game, including a 5-0 mark when Grissom accomplishes the feat. The Cincinnati native is less than 35 yards away from becoming the program's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2011.

• Cal U holds a 65-11 record at Adamson Stadium since the start of the 2005 season. The Vulcans have earned seven victories at home this year, which is one shy of the school record of eight wins set in 2007. Cal U has posted a 6-3 all-time record in the NCAA Playoffs while playing at Adamson Stadium with two losses coming in the national semifinals.