LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Nov. 14) – The California (PA) football team received a pair of weekly honors from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) on Monday afternoon, as junior linebacker
Matt Tobey (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) was named the West Defensive Athlete of the Week and senior
Gabe Miller (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) was chosen the West Special Teams Athlete of the Week.
Tobey and Miller helped the Vulcans earn a 31-7 win over East Stroudsburg on Saturday in the final week of the season. With the victory, Cal secured the program's 18th-consecutive winning season – the longest active streak in the league. The Vulcans claimed multiple Athlete of the Week recipients for the first time this fall.
A two-year starter, Tobey set a season high with 11 tackles (four solo), registered a career-high 2.5 sacks and tallied a pair of forced fumbles against East Stroudsburg. He helped anchor a defense that allowed only 187 yards of total offense, including just a combined 79 yards over the final eight drives. In the final minute of the first quarter on Saturday, the Central Bucks South product recorded a strip sack and senior
Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) returned the turnover 72 yards for a touchdown. Tobey later posted another strip sack late in the third quarter that the Vulcans recovered at the ESU 27-yard line.
Tobey finished the season second on the team with 66 tackles (34 solo) after collecting at least six stops in seven games. He ranked among the top 15 in the PSAC with both 12.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks. Tobey registered at least 1.5 TFL five times this year, plus recorded a 57-yard interception for a touchdown in Week 5.
Miller registered his third blocked kick of the season versus the Warriors. He blocked a punt by ESU early in the fourth quarter and Cal recovered the ball at the ESU 5-yard line. Miller also totaled two tackles with 0.5 TFL and made his first career interception late in the second quarter on Saturday.
A Seneca Valley product, Miller set career highs with 40 tackles (18 solo) and 7.0 TFL this season. He is the second Cal player to receive Special Teams Athlete of the Week laurels this fall, as his brother
Josh Miller (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) received the award after scoring a touchdown on a blocked punt by
Gabe Miller in Week 5.