Full Game Notes (PDF)

MERCYHURST (3-4, 1-3) @ CAL U (5-2, 3-1)
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: CUTVSports1 (YouTube) I Stretch (CUTV Feed)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 7-4 I History
• First Meeting: Nov. 1, 2008 @ Mercyhurst – Cal U won 17-6 I Recap I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2018 @ Mercyhurst – Cal U won 23-0 | Recap | Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +4

NOTES
• Cal U returns to Adamson Stadium on Saturday when it hosts Mercyhurst. Last week, the Vulcans passed for five touchdowns in a 54-14 victory at Gannon. Meanwhile, the Lakers suffered a 30-20 loss to Seton Hill after allowing 17-unanswered points in the second half.
 
• Sophomore Noah Mitchell accounted for five touchdowns (one rushing) and junior wide receiver Tyson Hill registered three touchdowns in a 54-14 win at Gannon. Mitchell matched his career high of four touchdown passes and finished with 295 passing yards, plus rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter. Hill set career highs with 10 receptions for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Cal U yielded 206 yards of total offense, including 20 rushing yards. Sophomore Jermal Martin, Jr. led the team with eight tackles and redshirt senior Julian Cox scored on a fumble return.

• The Vulcans have won the last four meetings in the series and hold a 4-1 mark against the Lakers at Adamson Stadium. The two programs never met until Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008.

• The longest tenured coach in the PSAC West, Marty Schaetzle is in his 18th season as head coach at Mercyhurst. He has posted a 90-104 overall record with the Lakers and was named PSAC West Coach of the Year twice in his first three years in the league, including in 2010 when the program set the school record for wins and captured the PSAC Championship.
 
• Mercyhurst enters play having lost three of its last four games, but has won both of its road contests this year. The Lakers boast an experienced and prolific running back in junior Garrett Owens, who is tied for the PSAC lead with 10 rushing touchdowns this year. He has posted nearly 2,200 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdown in his career. Owens has scored multiple rushing touchdowns in four games this year, including a pair of three-score games. Senior quarterback Doug Altavilla returns for his fourth year as the starter. He has totaled over 1,200 passing yards this season and thrown at least one touchdown in five-straight games. Owens leads the team with 21 receptions, including a pair of touchdowns, while sophomore fullback Jason Armstrong has four touchdown receptions on just 13 catches. Senior wide receiver Clay Waldron, who was the team's top receiver in 2018, paces the team with 272 receiving yards despite missing two games this year. Mercyhurst is anchored defensively by senior Jake Tarasovitch and senior Alex Zacharyasz, who both rank among the top 10 in the PSAC in tackles this season. Sophomore defensive lineman Ayron Thompson, Jr. has registered a team-leading 10.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks in his first year as a starter. Mercyhurst boasts a two-time, All-PSAC West First-Team punter in senior Brendan Cole. He is averaging 41.8 yards per punt and has placed 10 of his 31 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season.
 
• Sophomore quarterback Noah Mitchell set a career high by accounting for five touchdowns (one rushing) last week at Gannon. He finished with 295 passing yards on 20-of-35 attempts despite not playing in the fourth quarter. Mitchell became the first quarterback to throw for at least four touchdowns and rush for at least one score in a game since Joe Ruggiero in the 2014 season-opener against Mansfield.
 
• Last week, Cal U forced three turnovers and scored 14 points off turnovers in the victory at Gannon. The Vulcans continue to sit third in NCAA Division II this season with 21 takeaways on 13 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Cal U also scored its fifth defensive touchdown of the year last week when redshirt senior linebacker Julian Cox returned a 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
 
• The Vulcans posted a nearly 13-minute advantage in time of possession last week at Gannon. Cal U maintained possession for over nine minutes in three different quarters after converting 9-of-16 third downs and tallying 24 first downs. The Vulcans lead the PSAC and rank No. 12 in the country this year in time of possession with an average of 33 minutes, 20 seconds per game.
 
• Cal U started the same offensive line in the opening six games of the year before sophomore Marc Gibson made his first career start at left tackle last week. Junior Brenden Badstibner is the team's active leader with 30 career starts, while junior Eric Hudanick and senior Christian DiGalbo have a combined 48 career starts.
 
• Junior wide receiver Tyson Hill made three touchdown receptions last week and totaled 167 receiving yards on 10 catches, all career highs. He currently leads the PSAC with 677 receiving yards behind four 100-yard games. Cal U is the only NCAA Division II school this year to have multiple players make at least three touchdown catches in a game, as sophomore Derrick Caraway accomplished the feat two weeks ago.
 
• The Vulcans continue to lead NCAA Division II in rushing defense this year, allowing just 30.7 yards per game. Cal U yielded only 20 rushing yards on 28 attempts last week at Gannon and has now surrendered a total of 215 rushing yards over seven games. Cal U sits behind only Brockport (N.Y.), a NCAA Division III program, across all NCAA divisions in rushing defense this fall.
 
• Mercyhurst senior quarterback Doug Altavilla is the cousin of former Laker All-American pitcher Dan Altavilla. Dan made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and has made nearly 100 relief appearances with the Mariners in his career. Dan was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft after being named the Most Outstanding Pitcher in NCAA Division II as a junior.
 
• Cal U leads the league and ranks third in the country this season with 13 interceptions by eight different players. The Vulcans extended their streak of games with at least one interception to seven last week when redshirt freshman linebacker Noah Dillow made his second interception of the year midway through the first quarter. Cal U previously registered a streak of eight-consecutive games with an interception in 2017.
 
• The Vulcans posted seven 'explosive plays' on offense last week at Gannon. Junior wide receiver Tyson Hill leads the team this year with 14 receptions of at least 20 yards, including four 'explosive plays' against the Golden Knights. Cal U has scored 10 touchdowns on offensive plays of at least 20 yards and totaled 25 of its 36 'explosive plays' in the second and third quarters this season.
 
• Sophomore defensive line Gerald Brown ranks among the PSAC leaders this year in both TFL and sacks. He recorded 1.5 sacks at Gannon last week and sits third in the league with 6.0 sacks. Brown also leads the team and ranks fifth in the PSAC with 10.0 TFL after posting at least 1.0 TFL in five games. The West Mifflin product sits second on the team with 40 tackles, which is just six shy of his total from 2018.
 
• Cal U scored on all eight of its trips inside the red zone last week at Gannon. It marked the most trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line since Week 4 of the 2016 season when the Vulcans were eight-for-eight on scoring chances. Cal U has scored points on 83.3 percent (30-of-36) of its trips inside the red zone this year.
 
• Last week, Cal U and Gannon were both held under 100 rushing yards and combined for 106 yards on 64 attempts. It marked only the second time since Week 7 of the 2004 season in which both the Vulcans and their opponent finished under the century mark on the ground. The most recent occurrence was a 30-13 win at Edinboro in Week 10 during the 2017 campaign.