Full Game Notes (PDF)

OHIO DOMINICAN (0-0) @ #8/11 CAL U (0-0)
• When: Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 6 p.m.
• Live Video: CUTVSports1 YouTube - direct link posted when available
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WRFD 880 AM
• Live Stats: Fan Stats | Media Stats

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: First Meeting

NOTES
• Cal U opens the 2017 campaign at Adamson Stadium on Thursday night when it hosts preseason G-MAC favorite Ohio Dominican, who previously played in the GLIAC. The Vulcans have won 11 of their last 13 season-openers, including a 79-3 victory last year at Cheyney.

• In the first year under head coach Gary Dunn, Cal U posted an undefeated regular season, captured the PSAC Championship and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Playoffs. The Vulcans return 15 starters from last year, highlighted by 10 All-PSAC West selections. Senior quarterback Michael Keir accounted for nearly 45 touchdowns while directing the highest scoring offense in NCAA Division II.  The defense returns seven starters, including three senior linebackers, from a unit that ranked among the top 10 in the country in both scoring and total defense.

• The Vulcans and Panthers are meeting for the first time. Cal U has faced current members of the G-MAC, which is only in its second year sponsoring football, a combined three times (2008, 2012, 2013).

• A veteran college coach in Ohio, Kelly Cummings enters his second year as head coach of the Panthers following a 7-4 record last season. He served as the defensive coordinator at Ohio Dominican the previous three years before being appointed head coach last January. Prior to the Panthers, he worked two years on the coaching staff at Toledo following stints at Findlay, Wittenberg and Denison.

• Last year, Ohio Dominican won five of its last six games to cap a sixth-straight season with at least seven victories. The Panthers enter a new era as first-year members of the G-MAC after playing in the GLIAC since 2010. Senior quarterback Grant Russell returns after ranking second in the country with a 69.9 completion percentage and finishing third in the GLIAC with 278.3 yards of total offense per game. Russell, who was a Harlon Hill Trophy candidate last year, led the Panthers in rushing in his second year as a starter and also passed for over 300 yards three times. ODU returns two of its top three wide receivers from last year, as junior Cory Contini returns after posting seven touchdown receptions and nearly 1,000 receiving yards. The Panthers finished near the bottom in the GLIAC with just 127.1 rushing yards per game. Russell and sophomore running back EJ Colson were the top two rushers on the team yet combined for under 650 rushing yards. Defensively, ODU finished last year ranked third in the GLIAC in total defense at 352.4 yards per game and returns seven players that started three or more games. Junior linebacker Ross Thompson led the team last year with 94 tackles after tallying double-digit tackles three times. Sophomore defensive back Gus Dimmerling added 80 tackles, while senior linebacker Tre McIntyre tallied 77 tackles and led the team with four interceptions. The Panthers will feature both a new kicker and punter this year, as Justin Bonchek handled both roles last season.

• The G-MAC was formed in 2012 yet the league didn't sponsor football until last season. Starting this fall, the league will feature five first-year members that were formerly members of the GLIAC, while Tiffin will join the G-MAC starting in the 2018 season. With the expansion of the league, the G-MAC will now be included in Super Region One, while the CIAA has been shifted to Super Region Two.

• The Vulcans have faced current members of the G-MAC only three times with all three coming in the last decade. Cal U cruised to a 54-0 victory over Lake Erie in 2008, as The Storm was in their first season at the NCAA Division II level. The Vulcans then claimed season-opening wins over Hillsdale in 2012 and 2013 with the games being decided by a combined 11 points.

• Cal U was slotted No. 8 in the preseason AFCA Top 25 poll after finishing last season at No. 7 in the poll. The Vulcans are featured in the preseason national rankings for the first time since 2012, which capped a span of seven-straight years featured in the preseason poll. Cal U returned to the AFCA Top 25 poll last season for the first time since the 2014 campaign.

• The Vulcans were picked to finish second in the preseason PSAC West poll after capturing the program's first conference title since 2008 last year. Meanwhile, the Panthers were chosen as the preseason favorite in their first year as members of the G-MAC.

• Over the last decade, Cal U has posted a 13-5 record under the lights (kickoff at 6 p.m. or later) while Thursday marks only the third night game at Adamson Stadium since 2010. This also marks the fifth time in the last decade in which the Vulcans will open the year with a night game. Cal U has won 11 of its last 13 season-openers, however, both losses have been at home on Thursday night.

• Senior kicker Will Brazill was named to the preseason Fred Mitchell Award Watch List, which recognizes on-field performance and community service. Last year, he finished fifth among kickers in NCAA Division II with a career-high 111 points behind 11 field goals and a school-record 78 PAT conversions. Brazill, a CoSIDA Academic All-American last year, has been active in the local community and in Buffalo, New York, through an internship.

• In addition to being cousins with Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, junior running back Jalen Bell also has a family connection with Ohio Dominican. His brother, Justin, was an All-American safety for the Panthers as a senior in 2013. Justin totaled nearly 300 career tackles and nine interceptions at ODU before later playing professionally in Italy. Last year, Jalen totaled over 600 all-purpose yards in his first season with the Vulcans.

• Cal U returns 15 starters from last season, including 10 of which received All-PSAC West laurels. The offense features a trio of All-PSAC West First-Team selections from last year in running back Nick Grissom, quarterback Michael Keir and center Taylor Nikithser, but will have to replace the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year. Meanwhile, the defense returns five All-PSAC West honorees from the 2016 campaign.

• Senior linebackers Luke Hrapchak and DeVonte Suber, both team captains, will anchor the defense again this season. The pair enters the year with a combined 40 starts, including 23 consecutive by Suber. Hrapchak led the team with 101 tackles last year after being limited to six games in 2015 due to injury. Suber, who led the team in tackles as a sophomore, has earned All-PSAC West Second-Team honors in each of the last two seasons.

• The Vulcans will feature three first-year starters along the offensive line to open the season, while senior Taylor Nikithser returns at center and sophomore Craig McCorkle returns at right guard. Nikithser has earned All-PSAC West laurels in each of the last two years and McCorkle received All-PSAC West status as a redshirt freshman. Senior Austin Jacobs looks to start at right guard after making three starts there last season.

• In his first year as a starter, quarterback Michael Keir ranked second in NCAA Division II with a school-record 41 touchdown passes and registered over 3,300 yards of total offense. He became only the fifth different quarterback in school history to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season behind four games of at least 300 passing yards. Keir posted multiple touchdown passes in all but one game last year and threw for at least four scores six times.

• Since the reinception of the PSAC Championship in 2008, Cal U and Slippery Rock are the only schools to win multiple league titles. The Vulcans won the championship in both 2008 and 2016, while The Rock made three-straight appearances in the title game with back-to-back league championships in 2014-15.