Full Game Notes (PDF)

SETON HILL (0-3, 0-0) @ #5/5 CAL U (3-0, 0-0)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: CUTVSports1 YouTube I Westmoreland Sports Network
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM)
• Live Stats: Fan Stats | Media Stats

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 5-0
• First Meeting: Nov. 22, 2008 @ California - Cal U won 48-7 I Recap I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2016 @ Seton Hill - Cal U won 59-17 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +5

NOTES
• Cal U begins PSAC West play on Saturday when it returns to Adamson Stadium to face Seton Hill. Last week, the Vulcans scored 23-unanswered points in the first half in a 29-13 victory at Millersville. Meanwhile, the Griffins committed five first-half turnovers in a 62-17 loss to Kutztown.

• In its first road trip of the year, Cal U built a 23-0 halftime lead before posting a 29-13 win over Millersville. The Vulcans limited the Marauders to 214 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers. Millersville managed just 47 rushing yards on 31 carries in the loss and only recorded 10 first downs. Sophomore defensive back Lamont McPhatter II set a season high with 10 tackles and was one of three players with an interception. Senior linebacker Luke Hrapchak collected five stops, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, one interception and one blocked kick in the victory.

• The Vulcans have won each of the all-time meetings against the Griffins, who joined the PSAC in 2013. Cal U posted a 48-7 victory in the initial meeting of the series in the 2008 NCAA Playoffs when Seton Hill was a member of the WVIAC.

• After a successful tenure in NCAA Division III, Isaac Collins has posted a 12-35 overall record in five years as head coach with the Griffins. He earned his first victory at Seton Hill in the last game of the 2013 regular season, snapping the program's 23-game losing streak. Collins previously served three years as head coach at Widener, leading the program to a pair of wins in the 2012 NCAA Playoffs.

• Last year, Seton Hill led NCAA Division II with 373.2 passing yards per game and ranked sixth with 515.5 yards of total offense per game. However, the Griffins rank in the bottom half of the PSAC this season in both categories. Senior quarterback Christian Strong returns after ranking among the top 10 in the country last year in both passing yards and total offense per game. He has passed for over 300 yards in each of the last two weeks, but has also thrown seven interceptions during that span. Strong enters the weekend with over 7,000 passing yards and nearly 50 passing touchdowns in his career. Sophomore Michael Elardo leads the team with 213 receiving yards and 14 receptions, while classmate Matthew Williams has 103 receiving yards on 11 catches. Redshirt freshman Cinque Sweeting paces Seton Hill with 106 rushing yards, while freshman Khalil Owens and senior Evan Byrd have combined for over 180 yards on 34 carries. Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Jayden Emberton-Gaines leads the team with 23 tackles and 3.0 TFL. Sophomore Cole Shuker has added 22 stops and 3.0 TFL, while junior Fardan Allen has recorded 19 tackles and four pass break-ups. Sweeting leads the PSAC with a combined 348 return yards and sits sixth in the league with 160.3 all-purpose yards per game. Junior Matt Stewart is averaging 35.4 yards per punt and has placed four of his 16 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

• For the third-consecutive week, Cal U remained at No. 5 in the latest AFCA Top 25 poll. The Vulcans are featured in the top five of the rankings in three-straight polls for the first time since 2010. The top-10 teams in the poll were unchanged from last week; however, the bottom portion of the poll featured considerable movement with four new teams entering the rankings.

• Senior linebacker Luke Hrapchak was named PSAC Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week for the second time in his career on Monday. Last week at Millersville, he posted five tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, one interception and one blocked kick. Hrapchak recorded his second career interception and blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt within a 90-second span during the first quarter.

• The Vulcans enter the weekend with the top-ranked rushing defense in the PSAC and rank sixth in the country by allowing 66.0 yards per game. Cal U has held all three of its opponents this season to under 100 rushing yards despite opponents averaging 30 carries per game. The Vulcans are yielding a scant 2.2 yards per attempt, which is over a full yard less than last year's average of 3.3 yards per carry.

• Cal U recorded a safety last week against the Marauders on a muffed punt attempt early in the second quarter. The Vulcans have now posted a safety in three-straight games, which is the longest streak in recent program history (since 2003). To put in perspective, Cal U has posted three safeties in a season only once during that span and went without tallying one safety in a year five times.

• The Vulcans have recorded three interceptions in each of their last two games with five different players making an interception. Cal U posted three interceptions in a game only once last year. The six interceptions over the last two weeks are the highest two-week total by the Vulcans since the 2015 season when they made an incredible 10 interceptions in back-to-back weeks against Clarion (six) and Gannon (four).

• Cal U has won its last 12 PSAC West openers, including a 59-17 victory at Seton Hill last year. Over the last decade, the Vulcans have scored an average of 38.1 points in their opening game of divisional play while facing only four different opponents. Cal U hasn't lost its opening game in PSAC West play at home since 2000.

• Former Cal U standout Wesley Cates will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Plaza of Honour on Friday. He played five years with the Roughriders and helped the franchise win the Grey Cup in 2007. Cates, who ranks second in Saskatchewan history with over 4,700 rushing yards, was inducted into the Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 and still holds all-time school records with 5,647 rushing yards and 63 rushing touchdowns.

• Senior kicker Will Brazill eclipsed 200 career points last week after totaling nine points at Millersville. He became the sixth player in school history to reach the milestone and joined Cody Nuzzo (2011-14) as the only kickers to accomplish the feat. Brazill sits second in the PSAC this year among kickers with 29 points and converted a 42-yard field goal last week - the second-longest of his career.

• Last week, senior defensive lineman Justin Baker and junior defensive lineman Malik Akins both set career highs with seven tackles against Millersville. Akins is tied for second on the team with 18 stops this year and is also tied for the team lead with 3.5 TFL. An All-PSAC West Second-Team selection last year, Baker has recorded 14 stops, 1.5 TFL and one forced fumble in his third season as a starter.

• The Vulcans have averaged 41.8 points per game while scoring at least 30 points in the five all-time meetings against Seton Hill. Last year, quarterback Michael Keir tied the single-game school record with six touchdown passes and Cal U rushed for a combined 221 yards in a 59-17 victory. In the last series meeting at Adamson Stadium, the Vulcans scored 14-unanswered points in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-34 win.

• Sophomore defensive back Lamont McPhatter II has made an instant impact since joining the program. He led the team with 10 tackles at Millersville last week and made an interception for the second-straight game. McPhatter is tied for second on the team with 18 stops this year and is one of seven players in the PSAC with multiple interceptions. The New Castle product played in 12 games at Ball State in 2015.

• Last week, senior running back Nick Grissom posted a pair of rushing touchdowns at Millersville. He has now scored multiple touchdowns in a game five times in his career and has six touchdowns in three career games against the Marauders. Grissom, who has over 2,200 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in his career, leads the team with 167 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries this year.