CALIFORNIA (Oct. 13) – Facing one of the premier offensive players in the country, the Vulcans suffered a 29-15 loss to Gannon on Homecoming at Adamson Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania football team falls to 4-3 overall and drops to second place in the divisional standings with a 3-1 league mark. The loss also snapped a 15-game home winning streak by the Vulcans in league play, as their last home conference loss was in November 2013. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights improve to 2-5 this season with a 2-2 record in divisional play.

Gannon senior running back Marcus Jones finished with 276 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 38 attempts. He posted his sixth career 200-yard game after breaking the school's all-time rushing record last week. Jones finished as the runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2017 and entered the weekend as the active leader in NCAA Division II in career rushing yards.

The Vulcans scored on the game's opening possession when freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) connected with junior wide receiver Chad Livingston (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Laurel Highlands) for a three-yard touchdown with 8:52 left in the first quarter. Gannon countered with an 11-yard touchdown run by Jones, who converted a fourth-and-one earlier in the drive, on the ensuing drive before the PAT was blocked.

The Golden Knights flipped field position early in the second quarter after a 74-yard punt forced the Vulcans to start a drive at their own 11-yard line. Cal U advanced to the Gannon 33-yard line after converting a pair of third downs before Mitchell was intercepted on a third-and-18. Following the interception return, Jones posted back-to-back carries that accounted for 46 yards and Gannon was facing a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. The Golden Knights later missed a 42-yard field goal following an unsportsmanlike conduct after a third-down incompletion. Cal U was forced to punt from inside its own 5-yard line which allowed Gannon to start its next drive from inside Cal U territory. The Golden Knights then converted a 25-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter to take a 9-7 lead into halftime.

Cal U forced Gannon into a three-and-out on the initial drive of the second half. The Vulcans started the ensuing drive at their own 25-yard line and needed just two plays to cross midfield behind lengthy completions from Mitchell to redshirt freshman wide receiver Derrick Caraway (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) and sophomore wide receiver Tyson Hill (New Kensington, Pa./Valley). Cal U later advanced inside the 10-yard line before losing a fumble with 11:35 left in the third quarter. The Golden Knights were facing a third-and-six from their own six-yard line before quarterback Jason Dambach scrambled from the rush and connected with Dontae Owens for a 94-yard touchdown at the 10:08-mark. Cal U answered back with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to redshirt freshman wide receiver Cam Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) with 7:18 left in the quarter. The Vulcans then converted the two-point conversion with a pass from Mitchell to Tarrant to tie the score at 15-15.

Mitchell finished the game with 239 passing yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-38 attempts with one interception. He eclipsed 2,000 passing yards this season on Saturday, as he ranks second in the PSAC with 2,059 passing yards and is tied for third with 15 passing touchdowns.

On the ensuing drive, the Vulcans forced a fourth-and-seven near midfield following an incomplete pass. However, a pair of penalties on the play allowed Gannon to retain possession at the Cal U 24-yard line. Jones later capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run, as the Golden Knights reclaimed the lead at 22-15 with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter.

The teams traded field position early in the fourth quarter before Gannon stretched the lead to 29-15 with a 19-yard touchdown pass on third down. The Vulcans crossed midfield on their next drive before a turnover on downs sealed the win for the Golden Knights.

Junior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) led the team with a season-high 12 tackles (five solo). Senior linebacker Brendan Blair (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) added 11 stops (six solo) and 1.0 TFL, while senior defensive back Brendan Edwards (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) finished with eight tackles (three solo).

The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 20, when they travel to face Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 12 p.m.

Notes:
Junior Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) finished with 90 rushing yards on 20 attempts … The teams were issued a combined 23 penalties for 226 yards … Caraway totaled 181 all-purpose yards, the most by a Cal U player this season … The Vulcans yielded over 300 rushing yards for the first time since Week 7 of the 2015 season … Gannon finished with nearly a nine-minute advantage in time of possession behind 52 rushing plays … Cal U suffered its first loss on Homecoming since 2004