EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (Nov. 11) – Behind 350 passing yards from senior quarterback
Michael Keir (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), the Vulcans scored 17 points off turnovers while posting a 31-14 win at East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon to close the regular season.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania football team extends its winning streak to five games and sits at 9-2 overall. The Vulcans entered the weekend ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Super Region One rankings with the selection show for the NCAA Playoffs scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 12. Meanwhile, the Warriors finish the year with a 3-8 mark.
Keir posted 350 passing yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-48 attempts with no interceptions. He helped the Vulcans build a 21-7 halftime lead after totaling 223 yards on 20-of-31 passes with two scores before the break. Keir moved past
Peter Lalich (2011-12) for fifth all-time in school history with 6,357 passing yards while joining
James Harris (2013-15) as the only players with multiple 3,000-yard seasons. Keir also became one of only three quarterbacks in school history with 60 career touchdown passes.
Senior wide receiver
Luke Smorey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) recorded his second-straight 100-yard game and fourth of the year. He led the team with 119 receiving yards with one touchdown and tied his career high of 10 receptions. Classmate
Tom Greene (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) posted 65 receiving yards on four catches to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Cal U took a 7-0 lead on its initial drive of the game when junior running back
Jalen Bell (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) capped a 13-play drive on a four-yard touchdown run with 6:42 left in the first quarter. The Vulcans recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the ESU 34-yard line and stretched the lead to 14-0 on a 1-yard touchdown pass by Keir to freshman tight end
Jack Vyborny (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) with 2:14 remaining in the quarter. Earlier on the drive, Keir converted a third-and-10 with a 10-yard completion to Smorey and later found sophomore wide receiver
Chad Livingston (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Laurel Highlands) for a 15-yard gain while facing a fourth-and-four.
Early in the second quarter, Cal U lost a fumble at the ESU 21-yard line before the Vulcans forced a three-and-out. However, the punt returner lost another fumble in Cal U territory and ESU capitalized on the turnover with an 18-yard touchdown pass with 6:38 left before halftime, 14-7. Late in the quarter, the Vulcans stretched the lead to 21-7 when Keir found Smorey for a three-yard touchdown after the senior tandem converted both a third-and-12 and a fourth-and-three earlier in the drive.
Junior defensive back
Chad Garnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) recorded an interception on the opening play from scrimmage by the Warriors in the second half. Cal U then added to the lead when senior kicker
Will Brazill (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) made a 29-yard field goal with 7:54 left in the third quarter, 24-7. The teams traded field position for the remainder of the quarter before the Vulcans stopped the Warriors on a third-and-goal early in the fourth when senior linebacker
Cameron Tarver (Columbus, Ohio/Central Crossing) recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Cal U worked nearly five minutes off the clock during the ensuing drive before junior
Jimmy Wheeler (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) posted a 14-yard touchdown run with 6:10 left to play. The Warriors answered with a 14-play scoring drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit 31-14 with 2:12 remaining. Cal U recovered the onside kick and was able to seal the victory with four-straight runs.
Senior linebacker
Luke Hrapchak (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior) led the team with nine tackles (eight solo) and added 1.0 TFL. He is the first player with consecutive seasons of at least 100 tackles in recent program history. Sophomore defensive back
Lamont McPhatter II (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) finished with seven stops (six solo), one forced fumble and two pass break-ups, while Tarver added six tackles (five solo) and 2.0 sacks.
The selections and pairing for the NCAA Playoffs will be revealed tomorrow live on NCAA.com at 5 p.m.
Notes:
Five of the 10 teams featured in the latest NCAA Super Region One rankings suffered losses on Saturday, including four of the top-six teams … Wheeler led the team with a season-high 87 rushing yards on 13 attempts and Bell finished with 43 yards on 11 carries … The Vulcans have featured at least one 1,000 yard wide receiver in eight of the last 10 years … Hrapchak is the first player to record at least 260 career tackles since
Jim Lukacs (1999-01) … Cal U finished with a 200-yard advantage in total offense and possessed the ball for over 33 minutes
