GREENSBURG, Pa. (Oct. 15) – The Vulcans held a 21-point lead before holding off a fourth-quarter rally to earn a 21-14 win at Seton Hill on Saturday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.

With the victory, the California (PA) football team improves to 4-3 overall and sits in a three-way tie for second place in the divisional standings with a 3-1 mark. The Vulcans have won all 10 meetings against the Griffins with three games being decided by seven points or less. Meanwhile, Seton Hill remains winless this season with a 0-7 record behind a 0-4 mark in league play.

Junior linebacker Noah Dillow (Alum Bank, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) set a career high with 14 tackles and added 1.0 TFL and one pass break-up in the victory. Sophomore linebacker John Hutchinson (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) tallied 11 tackles (four solo), 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack while making his second career start. Senior defensive lineman Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) added seven stops (five solo) and 2.0 TFL on Saturday night, while sophomore defensive back Dominic Solomon, Jr. (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) registered six tackles (four solo), 1.0 TFL and two pass break-ups.

Senior quarterback Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) finished with 239 passing yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-30 attempts with no interceptions. He now ranks No. 11 all-time in PSAC history with 9,781 passing yards and is tied for No. 14 in league history with 84 career passing touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver JaQuae Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic) eclipsed the century mark for the fifth time this year, posing 138 yards and one touchdown on just five receptions.

The Vulcans took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore Eric McKan III (Washington, D.C./Bullis (Md.)). Cal converted a trio of third downs on the drive, all completions by Mitchell. Seton Hill controlled the ball for seven minutes on the ensuing drive and advanced into Cal territory before back-to-back negative plays, including a sack by Hutchinson on third down, forced a punt from near midfield.

On the final play of the first quarter, Mitchell connected with Jackson for a 73-yard completion before Mitchell found senior Cam Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) for a 12-yard touchdown with 14:50 left in the first half. Seton Hill was threatening near the red zone midway through the second quarter before the Griffins were whistled for holding on first down. Sophomore linebacker Josh Miller (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) then recorded a sack to prompt a 2nd-and-33 before another negative play moved Seton Hill back even further. The Vulcans eventually entered the break with a 14-0 lead after holding the Griffins to 105 yards of total offense.

The teams traded field position for most of the third quarter before Cal took a 21-0 lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Jackson with 2:03 remaining. The Vulcans forced a punt by the Griffins on the final play of the third quarter, however a penalty resulted in an untimed down and Seton Hill converted a fourth-and-two. The Griffins later capped the 13-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Following a short drive by Cal, Seton Hill cut the deficit to 21-14 on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 4:21 left in regulation. The Griffins then forced a three-and-out before a roughing the kicker allowed the Vulcans to retain possession and later seal the victory after converting a first down with just over two minutes left to play.

Cal returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22, when it hosts nationally-ranked Slippery Rock for Homecoming at Adamson Stadium with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.

Notes:
The Vulcans (297) and Griffins (268) were both held under 300 yards of total offense … Seton Hill finished with an eight-plus minute advantage in time of possession and was whistled for 11 penalties … Freshman Clayton Rosensteel (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) averaged 43.8 yards on five punts with a season long of 51 yards – the longest punt for the Vulcans since 2019 … Cal has held the lead after the third quarter in all seven games this year