SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (Sept. 15) – The Vulcans recorded five interceptions, highlighted by a return for a touchdown, and rushed for five scores on Saturday afternoon while claiming a 57-14 victory at Shippensburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 1-2 this season after dropping its previous two games by a combined eight points. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders fall to 2-1 overall after posting 10 wins last year with an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.

The Vulcans forced five turnovers and allowed only 92 rushing yards in the victory. Freshman defensive back Jermal Martin, Jr. (South Philadelphia, Pa./Academy Park) led the team with 10 tackles (nine solo) and registered a pair of interceptions at Shippensburg. Senior linebacker Brendan Blair (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) tallied nine stops (seven solo) and two pass break-ups, while junior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) posted five tackles (all solo), 1.0 sack and one interception in the victory. Freshman defensive lineman Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) registered 3.0 TFL and 1.0 sack against the Red Raiders.

Junior Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) set season highs with 132 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 attempts. He has now rushed for at least 100 yards in a game eight times in his career (seven times at Lenoir-Rhyne), while the three rushing touchdowns are a career high. Brown has posted 280 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 68 carries this season.

Freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio, Euclid) eclipsed 300 passing yards for the third-consecutive week, finishing with 325 passing yards on 21-of-30 attempts and two touchdowns. He also added a seven-yard rushing touchdown in the victory. This season, Mitchell has amassed 1,072 passing yards and seven touchdowns while completing 65.3 percent (79-of-121) of his attempts.

The Vulcans raced out to a 34-0 lead at halftime, marking their most first-half points since Week 9 of the 2016 season when they scored 48 points against Mercyhurst. Cal U took a 6-0 lead on the initial drive of the game when Mitchell connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Dandridge (Duluth, Ga./Duluth) for a 16-yard touchdown with 12:39 left in the first quarter. The Vulcans later stretched the lead to 13-0 when redshirt sophomore defensive back Jimmy Pierce (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) posted a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown at the 4:04-mark of the quarter. Martin halted the ensuing Shippensburg drive inside the Cal U 10-yard line with his first career interception. On third-and-two, Mitchell found sophomore wide receiver Tyson Hill (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) for a 71-yard touchdown on the final play of the quarter with the Vulcans taking a 20-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Brown posted a three-yard touchdown run with 9:41 left before halftime to give Cal U a 27-0 lead. The Vulcans forced a turnover on downs on the next drive before Brown scampered 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Vulcans a 34-0 lead with 5:08 remaining in the second quarter. Martin helped keep the Red Raiders scoreless in the first half, as he recorded an interception inside the five-yard line with McPhatter tallying a quarterback hurry on the play.

The Red Raiders scored touchdowns on their initial two drives of the second half to cut the deficit to 40-14 with 8:35 left in the third quarter. Cal U also posted a touchdown on its opening drive of the half with Brown scoring on a season-long 43-yard run at the 9:03-mark.

Early in the fourth quarter, sophomore Brian Alsobrooks (Livonia, Mich./Churchill) converted a 32-yard field goal with 12:48 left to play. McPhatter halted Shippensburg near midfield on the ensuing drive with an interception, his sixth in the last two years. The Vulcans converted on the turnover when Mitchell posted a seven-yard touchdown run on third down at the 7:01-mark. Sophomore linebacker Asheed Page-Jones (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills) registered a 37-yard interception return on the next Shippensburg drive before Cal U took a 57-14 lead with 4:25 remaining on a nine-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jalen Bell (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South).

The Vulcans open PSAC West play on Saturday, Sept. 22, when they host Edinboro at 1 p.m. The game marks the home opener for Cal U, which opened the year with three-straight road games for the first time since 1980.

Notes:
Cal U finished the game with 518 yards of total offense, its highest total since Oct. 29, 2016 against Mercyhurst … Brown became the first player with three rushing touchdowns in a game since Week 4 of the 2015 season … The Vulcans scored 28 points off turnovers, all interceptions … The five interceptions are the most since Cal U tallied six interceptions against Clarion in 2015 … Martin is the first player with a multi-interception game since the 2013 campaign … Cal U converted 13-of-17 on third down at Shippensburg …  Both teams made the NCAA Playoffs last year and combined for 19 victories