Full Game Notes I Game Program

GANNON (7-2, 5-1) @ CALIFORNIA (PA) (5-4, 4-2)
• When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 12 p.m.
• Live Video: PSAC Network (CUTV Feed) I CUTVSports1 (YouTube)
• Live Radio: WERG (90.5 FM) (GAN)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

GAME INFORMATION
• General Admission: $10 adults I $5 students I 12U FREE  ** NO TICKET PRESALE **
• Parking: $5
• Directions to Adamson Stadium I GPS Address: 170 California Road, Brownsville, PA 15417
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: California leads 11-1 I History
• First Meeting: Oct. 18, 2008 @ Gannon – California won 42-24 I Recap I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2021 @ Gannon – California won 38-17 | Recap | Box Score I Video Highlights
• Streak: California +2

NOTES
• Cal closes out PSAC West play on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Gannon. The Vulcans cruised to a 44-20 victory at Mercyhurst last weekend, while the Golden Knights upset then-No. 11 and previously undefeated IUP with a 43-36 win in Erie.
 
• The Vulcans scored on all five of their drives in the first half and finished with over 500 yards of total offense while cruising to a 44-20 win at Mercyhurst. Junior Davonte Williams and senior Mylique McGriff both eclipsed 100 rushing yards in the victory. Williams finished with 116 yards and one touchdown on 22 attempts, while McGriff posted 112 yards and one score on 10 carries. Cal forced Mercyhurst to negative-seven rushing yards on 17 attempts after tallying five sacks. Junior Noah Dillow led the defense with nine tackles, 2.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.
 
• The Vulcans have won back-to-back meetings, both in Erie, after the Golden Knights earned their lone win in the all-time series in 2018 on Homecoming at Adamson Stadium.
 
• After joining the program in 2019 as the offensive coordinator, Erik Raeburn has posted a 13-11 record in three years as head coach of the Golden Knights. He joined Gannon after serving three seasons as head coach at then-FCS Savannah State (Ga.) after enjoying success at the NCAA Division III level with a combined 135 wins at Coe (Iowa) and Wabash (Ind.).
 
• Gannon enters the final weekend of divisional play tied for first place in the league standings after being picked fourth in the preseason PSAC West poll. In his second year as the starter, junior Kory Curtis is among the most efficient quarterbacks in the country with only three interceptions on 250-plus attempts. He ranks third in the PSAC with 2,227 passing yards and sits fourth with 21 passing touchdowns, plus has rushed for four scores. Junior Ke'John Batiste has developed into a premier wide receiver after totaling only four catches last fall. He ranks fourth in the league with 782 receiving yards and is fifth with 52 catches, including six touchdowns. The Golden Knights boast a dynamic tandem of running backs in senior Melvin Blanks and sophomore Antonio Wright that have combined for 1,450 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Blanks was an All-PSAC West First-Team selection last year after finishing second in the league with 1,187 rushing yards. Gannon sits third in the conference in passing defense this fall, allowing 176.3 yards per game. An All-PSAC West honoree in 2021, junior defensive back Chris Farnsworth leads the team with 74 tackles and three interceptions. Senior Keith Thompson sits second on the team with 56 stops, while junior Nick White - an All-PSAC West First-Team selection last season - paces the team with 11.5 TFL and 5.0 sacks this year. On special teams, Curtis has been handling the punting duties this fall and is averaging 39.6 yards per punt with three of 50-plus yards.
 
• The initial Super Region One rankings were released on Monday after the teams under consideration were listed in alphabetical order last week. Shepherd, the lone undefeated team in the region, led the rankings and a group of four one-loss teams completed the top five. Gannon was slotted seventh in the rankings after previously not being in the group under consideration last week.
 
• Last week, Cal forced Mercyhurst to negative-seven rushing yards on 17 attempts after tallying five sacks. It marked the first time this season the Vulcans forced an opponent into negative rushing yards. Cal enters the weekend ranked third in NCAA Division II in rushing defense, allowing 57.3 yards per game. The Vulcans have surrendered over 100 rushing yards only seven times over the last three seasons.
 
• The Vulcans enter the weekend with the ability to secure the program's 18th-consecutive winning season. Additionally, Cal has won at least seven games in each of the previous 16 years - the longest active streak in the PSAC. Since 2005, the Vulcans have posted a staggering .766 winning percentage (151-46).
 
• Senior wide receiver Cam Tarrant tied for the team lead with eight receptions last week at Mercyhurst and accounted for a pair of touchdowns. He posted a 19-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game before catching a score in the fourth quarter. Tarrant, who was a quarterback at the scholastic level, became the first non-quarterback with a touchdown pass since the 2009 season.
 
• Junior wide receiver JaQuae Jackson enters the weekend only 11 yards shy of recording the 12th 1,000-yard season in program history. He is tied for fourth in NCAA Division II with 12 receiving touchdowns and ranks eighth with 65 receptions. Jackson, who also has a pair of rushing touchdowns, has eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards six times this year and scored multiple touchdowns in five games.
 
• Last weekend, Gannon earned one of the biggest victories in program history when it posted a 43-36 victory over then-No. 11 IUP. The result also created a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC West standings with Gannon, IUP and Slippery Rock holding a 5-1 mark in league action entering the final weekend of divisional play.
 
• Junior linebacker Noah Dillow was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for the second time this year on Monday. He led the team with nine tackles, set a career high with 2.5 TFL and tied his career high of 1.5 sacks in the win at Mercyhurst last weekend. Dillow, who paces the team with 67 tackles this year, is the first defensive player in recent program history to receive the honor five times in a career.
 
• The Vulcans were able to feature the same starters on the offensive line through the opening eight weeks of the season. However, junior Matt Charlton shifted from right guard to center last week due to an injury and sophomore Nashawn Jackson made his initial start of the year at right guard. Charlton has started all nine games this fall after previously playing at Clarion and Jackson made four starts at right guard last year.
 
• Cal scored over 40 points for the third time this season and registered over 500 yards of total offense for the second time in the victory at Mercyhurst. The Vulcans scored points on all five of their possessions in the first half, including four-consecutive touchdown drives, and held a 30-13 lead at the break. Cal was successful with points on all seven of its trips inside the red zone at Mercyhurst
 
• Last week, junior running back Davonte Williams registered his second 100-yard game of the season and set a career high with 22 attempts. He finished with 116 rushing yards and one touchdown at Mercyhurst. Williams, a former defensive back and wide receiver, has posted a combined 426 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the four games when he totals at least 12 carries.
 
• Freshman Clayton Rosensteel averaged 41.0 yards on a pair of punts last weekend at Mercyhurst and placed both punts inside the 10-yard line. He pinned the Lakers at their own 5-yard line late the third quarter and later placed a punt at the 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Rosensteel is averaging 37.5 yards per punt this year with nine of his 36 punts being inside the 20-yard line.
 
• Last weekend, senior Mylique McGriff finished with 112 rushing yards and one touchdown on just 10 carries. He eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season and the 12th time in his career, as he was previously a standout at Clarion from 2017-21. McGriff became the first player to average at least 10 yards per attempt and finish with 100-plus rushing yards since Nick Grissom in Week 2 of the 2016 campaign.