Full Game Notes (PDF)

CAL U (0-0) @ #23/- OHIO DOMINICAN (0-0)
• When: Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018
• Where: Columbus, Ohio
• Stadium: Panther Stadium (1,750)
• Kickoff: 7 p.m.
• Live Video: CUTVSports1 (YouTube) I Stretch (ODU Feed)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I ODU Mixlr
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 1-0
• First Meeting: Aug. 31, 2017 @ California - Cal U won 36-34 I Recap I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2017 @ California - Cal U won 36-34 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +1

NOTES
• Cal U opens the 2018 season in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday night when it travels to face preseason G-MAC favorite and defending-league champion Ohio Dominican. The Vulcans have won 12 of their last 14 season-openers, including a 36-34 win last year over the Panthers.
 
• In the second year under head coach Gary Dunn, Cal U again earned a berth to the NCAA Playoffs and featured 10 All-PSAC West selections. The Vulcans return six starters on offense, including two-time All-PSAC West offensive lineman Craig McCorkle, but will be starting a freshman quarterback for the first time since 2004. The defense returns just four starters after the graduation of the entire linebacking corps. Senior Malik Akins will anchor the defensive front after being an All-PSAC West honoree in 2017, while the secondary features three returning starters.
 
• The Vulcans and Panthers are meeting in Week 1 for a consecutive year. Cal U earned a 36-34 victory in the initial meeting between the two programs last season behind a go-ahead field goal with 49 seconds left.
 
• A veteran college coach in Ohio, Kelly Cummings has posted a 14-7 overall record in two years as head coach of the Panthers. He was named the 2017 G-MAC Coach of the Year after leading the program to the G-MAC Championship in its first year as a member of the league. Prior to being appointed head coach, Cummings spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Ohio Dominican.
 
• Last year, Ohio Dominican lost its opening three games, all on the road, before rallying off seven-consecutive victories to earn the G-MAC Championship. The Panthers feature one of the premier wide receivers in the country in senior Cory Contini. A two-time Academic All-American, he ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II last season with 14 touchdown receptions and has totaled over 2,150 receiving yards in the last two years. Junior David Turner also returns at wide receiver for Ohio Dominican after posting over 900 yards and seven touchdowns last season. The Panthers will look to First-Team All-G-MAC junior EJ Colson to again anchor the rushing attack, as he finished with nearly 850 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 2017. Ohio Dominican will feature a new quarterback in junior transfer Shane Bucenell, who played the last two years at Charleston Southern. He posted over 2,300 passing yards and 25 total touchdowns (four rushing) while appearing in 17 games for the Buccaneers. Last year, the Panthers allowed only 13.6 points per game during their seven-game winning streak. Seniors Brian Hunter and Tristan Kehres both return to the defensive line after each earned First-Team All-G-MAC honors. Hunter tallied 52 tackles with 5.5 sacks and Kehres posted 64 stops. Junior defensive back Gus Dimmerling is the team's top returning tackler with 68 tackles and also received First-Team All-G-MAC laurels. Last year, the Panthers attempted just five field goals in 10 games and sophomore Logen Neidhardt averaged 40.8 yards per punt.
 
• Last year, the G-MAC featured five first-year members that sponsored football and the league was included in Super Region One. The league added an additional team this season in Tiffin, which previously played in the GLIAC. Additionally, the PSAC announced this summer that Shepherd, a longtime powerhouse in the MEC, will be joining the conference starting in the 2019 season after Cheyney left the league.
 
• The Vulcans were picked to finish second in the preseason PSAC West poll after making a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. Meanwhile, the Panthers repeated as the preseason favorite in the G-MAC after winning the league title during the last week of the regular season in 2017. 
 
• Cal U starts the 2018 campaign with three-consecutive road games after also closing last season with three-straight road games, including a trip to Massachusetts. The last time the Vulcans opened a year with three-straight road games was in 1980. Dating back to last year, Cal U will be without a home game for 329 days and travel over 3,250 miles for six-consecutive road contests.
 
• Over the last decade, Cal U has posted a 13-5 record under the lights (kickoff at 6 p.m. or later) and Thursday marks the fifth time in the last decade in which the Vulcans will open the year with a night game. Cal U has won 12 of its last 14 season-openers and will be facing a preseason top-25 team in the opening week for the first time since the 2012 campaign.

• The Vulcans will be starting a freshman quarterback in the season-opener for the first time since 2004 in Noah Mitchell. A native of Ohio, he played last year at the Milford Academy and helped lead the Falcons to a 10-2 overall record. Mitchell finished with over 2,400 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns last season while playing in New York. The last freshman to start at quarterback in Week 1 for Cal U was Joe Ruggiero.
 
• Senior defensive lineman Malik Akins will anchor the defense in 2018 after being an All-PSAC West Second-Team selection last year. He set career highs in every category as a junior, finishing with 57 tackles, 7.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. Akins, who leads the defense with 16 career starts, made at least five tackles in seven games last year. The Aliquippa product enters the year on pace to eclipse 100 career stops after playing offensive line as a freshman.
 
• A two-time All-SAC selection, junior transfer Nelson Brown joins the program after playing the last two seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne under then-head coach Mike Kellar, who spent 10 years as a coach at Cal U. Brown finished second in the league last year with 1,071 rushing yards and tied for third with 10 rushing touchdowns. In his time at L-R, he rushed for at least 200 yards in a game three times and also totaled at least 30 carries in six games.
 
• Cal U features an entirely new starting linebacker corps this season. Senior transfer Julian Cox played the last three years at the FCS level at Albany and was the 2015 CAA Co-Defensive Rookie of the Year. Redshirt junior Breon Coke played two years at Riverside City in California and junior transfer London Cloud played last season at Lackawanna. Senior Brendan Blair looks to start after being a key reserve and special teams player in his career.
 
• The Vulcans return five offensive linemen with starting experience in 2018. Junior Craig McCorkle, who leads the team with 20 career starts, and sophomore Eric Hudanick will switch tackle positions. Senior Ben Pevarnik looks to move to right guard after starting at tackle in 2017, while sophomore Brenden Badstibner remains at left guard. Junior Christian DiGalbo will open the year at center after playing in 20 games in his career.
 
• After starting nearly a dozen career games at cornerback, junior Aaron Brown will shift to free safety this season. He set a career high last year with 30 tackles before missing the final three weeks of the year due to injury. In 2016, Brown starred on special teams before making three starts at cornerback. His brother, Erik Harris, was a three-year starter at safety for the Vulcans before playing professionally in the CFL and NFL.
 
• After suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3 last year, wide receiver Jordan Dandridge received a medical hardship waiver and returns as a redshirt junior. He registered a touchdown catch in each of the three games played last year and had already totaled 15 receptions before the injury. A native of Georgia, Dandridge has made 20 receptions for 255 yards over his last five games dating back to the 2016 NCAA Playoffs. 
 
• Cal U features a pair of twins on the roster this season in seniors Chad Garnett and Nigel Garnett and seniors Sean Jennings and Steven Jennings. The Garnetts, both defensive backs, are in their fifth-year with the program, while the Jennings, both offensive linemen, played last season at American International (Mass.).