CALIFORNIA (Sept. 23) – The No. 5 Vulcans rushed for nearly 200 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winning, 2-yard score by senior quarterback Michael Keir (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) with 18.8 seconds remaining, in a 44-41 victory against Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at Adamson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 4-0 overall with a 1-0 mark in divisional play. The Vulcans have opened a year with four-straight wins for the fifth time since 2007 and three of those victories have been at home this year. Meanwhile, Seton Hill falls to 0-4 this season and 0-1 in league action.

The Vulcans amassed a season-high 199 rushing yards and five scores on 39 attempts in the victory. Senior Nick Grissom (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) recorded the eighth 100-yard game of his career, as he finished with a game-high 129 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Junior Jalen Bell (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) added 62 yards and one touchdown on 10 attempts and classmate Jimmy Wheeler (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) posted a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Seton Hill took its only lead of the game, 41-37, with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter on a 57-yard touchdown pass. The Vulcans started the ensuing drive at their own 29-yard line and eventually moved into Griffin territory on a third-and-six completion from Keir to senior Tom Greene (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) and a 10-yard reception by junior Bouraguard Jones (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) on second down. Cal U then advanced to the Seton Hill 33-yard line following back-to-back completions to Greene and senior Luke Smorey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin). On second-and-two, Bell moved the Vulcans into the red zone with an 11-yard run before the Griffins called a timeout with 42 seconds left. Keir later found Bell for an eight-yard gain on second down before Cal U called a timeout with 28 seconds remaining. Facing a third-and-two, Bell ran to the 2-yard line before the Vulcans called their final timeout. Keir then scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback rollout to the right side, his fourth career rushing touchdowns.

The Griffins attempted to answer in the closing seconds, as they were across midfield after their first offensive play of the drive. However, a quarterback spike and penalty forced Seton Hill back into its territory for the final play of the game. The Vulcans sealed the victory when sophomore defensive back Lamont McPhatter II (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) recorded an interception near the end zone, marking his third-straight game with an interception.

Senior linebacker Luke Hrapchak (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior) led the team with a season-high 14 tackles (four solo), one pass break-up and two quarterback hurries.  Junior defensive back Vincent Alimenti (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South) made a career-high 12 stops (seven solo) and McPhatter finished with eight tackles (five solo), one interception, three pass break-ups and one quarterback hurry.

Cal U jumped out to a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter with Grissom scoring on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs. The second drive of the game for the Vulcans was setup by a blocked punt by Smorey that was recovered by sophomore Chad Livingston (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Laurel Highlands) at the Seton Hill 24-yard line.

In the second quarter, the teams combined for 24 points and nearly 230 yards of offense. Seton Hill trimmed the deficit to 14-7 on a 3-yard touchdown run before Cal U answered with a 6-yard scoring scamper by Bell on third down, 21-7. During the drive, Keir connected with Greene for a 20-yard gain while facing a third-and-seven at the Seton Hill 45-yard line. The Griffins were quick to counter, as they went 79 yards on three plays to make the score 21-14 with 2:50 left before halftime. Cal U was able to mount a scoring drive before the break with senior Will Brazill (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) setting a career long with a 47-yard field goal with 38 seconds left in the quarter, 24-14.

The Griffins scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half to work the deficit down to 24-21 before the Vulcans responded with a 26-yard field goal by Brazill with 5:56 left in the third quarter. Cal U forced a turnover on downs at its 20-yard line on the next Seton Hill possession before the Vulcans added to their lead with a 41-yard field goal by Brazill on the opening play of the fourth quarter, 30-21.

The teams closed the game in a flurry, scoring 37 points and amassing over 330 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter. The Vulcans held the Griffins to a three-and-out on their opening drive of the quarter; however, Seton Hill recovered the ball on the punt after it deflected off a Cal U player. Seton Hill regained possession at the Cal U 36-yard line and cut the deficit to 30-28 on a 25-yard touchdown pass while facing third-and-eight. The Vulcans then worked nearly five minutes off the clock before Wheeler capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run and 6:09 left to play, 37-28.

Seton Hill then went 75 yards on just six plays to make it a 37-35 contest with 3:50 remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, the Griffins recovered the on-side kick, but were whistled for an illegal formation penalty. Seton Hill moved back five yards and converted another on-side kick and started the drive at its own 41-yard line. Facing a third-and-eight, the Griffins scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 57-yard pass play to take a 41-37 lead with 2:58 left to play. Cal U would then counter with a 13-play scoring drive to reclaim the lead on the touchdown run by Keir.

Keir finished the game with 273 passing yards on 22-of-35 attempts with no interceptions. Greene posted 127 receiving yards on seven catches for the second 100-yard game of the season.

The Vulcans return to action with the first of back-to-back road games against nationally-ranked opponents, starting on Saturday, Sept. 30, at Slippery Rock with kickoff at 6 p.m.

Notes:
The five rushing touchdowns by Cal U are its most since scoring six touchdowns on the ground at Shippensburg in 2014 … The last two meetings between the Vulcans and Griffins at Adamson Stadium have been decided by a combined seven points … Cal U and Seton Hill combined for 1,085 yards of total offense, marking the first time the Vulcans and an opponent totaled over 1,000 yards of offense since the last week of the 2015 regular season … The Vulcans last made three field goals in a game during the 2014 season-opener, while no kicker in recent program history (since 2003) has made multiple 40-plus yard field goals in the same game