CALIFORNIA (Nov. 9) – The Vulcans allowed under 250 yards of total offense, including negative rushing yards, on Saturday afternoon in 28-14 win over Seton Hill on Senior Day at Adamson Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.

With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania football team improves to 7-3 overall and finishes the year with a 5-2 mark in divisional play to rank third in the PSAC West standings. The Vulcans have now posted at least seven wins every season since 2005, which is the longest active streak among all PSAC members. Meanwhile, the Griffins fall to 2-7 this season with a 2-5 record in league action.

The Vulcans yielded just 231 yards of total offense in the win and forced the Griffins into minus-13 rushing yards. Sophomore defensive lineman Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) led the team with six tackles (five solo) and tied his career high of 3.0 TFL, plus recorded 1.0 sack, on Saturday. Senior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) and freshman defensive back Khalil Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) both tallied five stops in the victory.

Sophomore quarterback Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) finished with 237 passing yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-41 attempts with no interceptions. He ranks fifth in the PSAC this season with 23 touchdown passes, which are the ninth-most in single-season school history. Mitchell has now thrown at least three touchdown passes in a game five times this year.

Sophomore wide receiver Derrick Caraway (Pittsburgh, Pa/Woodland Hills) paced the team and set a career high with seven receptions while finishing with 75 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Tyson Hill (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) posted 70 receiving yards and one touchdown on four catches.

The Vulcans forced a pair of turnovers late in the first quarter, as sophomore Derek Lockhart (Liberty, Pa./South Allegheny) recovered a fumble on a backwards pass just outside the red zone and senior Nigel Garnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) later made his first interception of the season. Just two plays after the interception, Mitchell connected with Hill for a 45-yard touchdown pass to give Cal U a 7-0 lead with eight seconds left in the first quarter.

Cal U added to the lead on its initial drive of the second quarter, as senior running back Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) capped a 12-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 87 rushing yards on 26 attempts, plus made a pair of receptions for 25 yards. The Griffins threatened to cut the deficit late in the quarter before the Vulcans forced a turnover on downs at the Cal U 33-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Vulcans stretched the lead to 21-0 on the opening drive of the second half with Mitchell finding Caraway for a 21-yard touchdown pass on third down with 12:18 left in the third quarter. The teams traded field position for the remainder of the quarter, as Seton Hill managed to cut the deficit to 21-7 with a one-yard touchdown run with 13:06 left in the game. During the drive, the Griffins completed a 21-yard pass on third-and-10 and a 31-yard pass on fourth-and-10.

Cal U responded with a touchdown on the ensuing drive, which was setup by a 51-yard kick return by McPhatter. Mitchell found Caraway for a nine-yard touchdown on third down at the 9:00-mark of the fourth quarter. The Griffins followed with a 37-yard touchdown pass on third down to trim the deficit to 28-14 with 7:19 left to play. Cal U then utilized the remaining time on the next drive after converting a third and fourth down on a 14-play drive.

The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Nov. 16, when they travel to face defending-PSAC Champion West Chester in the final week of the season with kickoff set for 1 p.m.

Notes:
Cal U has forced three opponents into negative rushing yards this season and are now allowing just 50.9 rushing yards per game … Gerald Brown ranks third in the PSAC with 14.0 TFL, which is tied for ninth-most in single-season school history … The Vulcans finished with over a 12-minute advantage in time of possession … Lockhart blocked a punt late in the third quarter, marking the fourth blocked kick of the season for the Vulcans … Seton Hill managed only 77 yards of total offense outside of its two scoring drives … The Vulcans recognized a group of 12 seniors on Saturday that have started a combined 180 games