KUTZTOWN, Pa. (Sept. 8) – In a game that featured seven scoring drives in the first half, the Vulcans dropped a 34-31 contest at Kutztown on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania football team drops to 0-2 this season with the games being decided by a combined eight points. Meanwhile, Kutztown opens the year with a 2-0 overall mark and both victories have been against teams that qualified for the 2017 NCAA Playoffs.

Freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) finished with 418 passing yards on 26-of-40 attempts with two touchdowns and one interception. He posted the sixth-most passing yards in single-game school history while setting the freshman school record for passing yards. In the first half, Mitchell directed four-straight scoring drives while totaling 250 passing yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-20 attempts.

Junior Chad Livingston (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Laurel Highlands) and sophomore Tyson Hill (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) both eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the first time in their careers on Saturday against the Golden Bears. Livingston set career highs with 163 receiving yards and two touchdowns while making seven catches. Hill led the team with eight receptions and finished with 113 receiving yards, both career highs.

Kutztown took a 7-0 lead on the initial drive of the game with a 29-yard rushing touchdown by senior Craig Reynolds. The Vulcans countered with an 11-play touchdown drive with junior transfer Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) scoring on a four-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal with 7:57 left in the first quarter. Cal U forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing Kutztown drive and took a 14-7 lead on the final play of the quarter. The Vulcans picked up three third downs on the drive before Mitchell found Livingston for a 34-yard touchdown with one second left in the first quarter.

The Golden Bears responded early in the second quarter on a nine-yard rushing touchdown by junior quarterback Collin DiGalbo with 12:51 left before halftime (PAT blocked). Less than 90 seconds later, Cal U reclaimed the lead at 21-13 when Mitchell found Livingston for an 84-yard touchdown pass on third-and-11 with 11:30 remaining in the second quarter. Kutztown then mounted a nearly six-minute scoring drive with Reynolds capping the drive with a two-yard touchdown run (two-point conversion failed) with 5:32 left before the break. The Vulcans eventually took a 24-19 lead into halftime following a 31-yard field goal by sophomore Brian Alsobrooks (Livonia, Mich./Chuchill) at the 1:31-mark.

On its initial possession of the second half, Kutztown took a 27-24 lead when DiGalbo scored on a 52-yard run with 12:24 left in the third quarter. The Vulcans advanced to midfield at the midway point of the quarter before being unable to pick up a fourth-and-one in Kutztown territory. The Golden Bears stretched the lead to 34-24 at the 3:59-mark on a one-yard touchdown run by Reynolds. Cal U lost a fumble deep in its own territory on the next drive before the defense prevented a Kutztown score after forcing a turnover on fourth-and-two.

The Vulcans then worked over five minutes off the clock while marching 97 yards to cut the deficit to 34-31 on a two-yard touchdown run by Brown with 10:56 left to play. The teams traded field position with punts before Cal U was unable to convert a fourth-and-three just past midfield with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter. The Golden Bears then picked up only one first down before being forced to punt, which was pinned at the Cal U 3-yard line. Following a first down, Mitchell was intercepted with less than 90 seconds remaining to seal the contest.

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Jimmy Pierce (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) led the team with nine tackles (five solo), while junior transfer London Cloud (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford) posted eight stops (five solo), 0.5 TFL and one pass break-up. Three additional players collected at least five stops in the contest.

Cal U concludes its three-week road trip to start the year on Saturday, Sept. 15, when it travels to face Shippensburg at 1 p.m.

Notes:
The Vulcans last featured multiple 100-yard wide receivers in Week 5 last season … DiGalbo, whose twin brother Christian DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) is the starting center for Cal U, and Reynolds combined for five rushing touchdowns and DiGalbo led all players with 133 rushing yards on 14 attempts … The 84-yard catch by Livingston marked the longest reception for Cal U since the 2015 campaign … Both teams finished with the same amount of total offense, 489 yards … The Vulcans hold a 0-2 record to start the year for the first time since 2009