CALIFORNIA (Nov. 5) – The Vulcans were near the red zone and trailing by five points in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter before suffering a 25-13 loss against Gannon at Adamson Stadium in the final week of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the California (PA) football team falls to 5-5 this season. The Vulcans also finish fourth in the PSAC West standings with a 4-3 mark in league play. Meanwhile, Gannon improves to 8-2 overall behind a 5-1 record in divisional play to finish in a three-way tie (IUP, Slippery Rock) for first place in the standings.
The Vulcans limited the Golden Knights to only 40 rushing yards after Gannon entered play ranked fourth in the PSAC in rushing offense at nearly 165 yards per game. Junior linebacker
Noah Dillow (Alum Bank, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) led the team with 11 tackles (seven solo) and added 2.5 TFL and one forced fumble. Senior defensive lineman
Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) and junior linebacker
Matt Tobey (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) both finished with six stops and Brown tallied 1.5 TFL and one forced fumble.
Senior quarterback
Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) posted 215 passing yards on 27-of-41 attempts with one interception. He completed passes to seven different players in the contest while being held without a passing touchdown for only the fourth time in 42 career starts. Mitchell also moved into ninth place all-time in PSAC history with 10,518 passing yards on Saturday.
Senior wide receiver
Cam Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) led the team with 76 yards on a season-high 10 receptions. Sophomore wide receiver
Malik Langley (Chester, Pa./Chester) also set a season high with six catches on Saturday and finished with 51 yards. Junior
JaQuae Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic) was limited to a season-low 29 receiving yards on three catches while eclipsing the 1,000-yard milestone this season.
The Golden Knights took a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter despite having first-and-goal from the Cal 5-yard line. Gannon attempted to stretch the lead in the opening minute of the second quarter before a 43-yard field goal missed wide right. The Vulcans then mounted an 11-play drive to tie the score at 3-3 on a season-long 44-yard field goal by sophomore
Anthony Beitko (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport) with 9:17 left in the second quarter.
The Golden Knights returned the ensuing kickoff to Cal 27-yard line and later faced a third-and-11. Gannon then completed a pass to the 15-yard line before Dillow forced a fumble. The loose ball kicked right to another wide receiver who returned the loose ball for a touchdown with 8:10 remaining before halftime, 10-3. The Vulcans were unable to convert a first down on the next drive and the Golden Knights recorded a punt block that was recovered by California in the end zone for a safety to stretch the lead to 12-3. Gannon continued to extend its lead with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:55 left in the second quarter, 18-3 (PAT blocked). The Vulcans managed to trim the deficit to 18-6 as time expired in the first half with a 27-yard field goal by Beitko. On the drive, Mitchell completed 9-of-12 attempts for 62 yards and helped Cal convert a pair of third downs.
The teams traded field position for the majority of the third quarter before the Vulcans cut the deficit to 18-13 on a six-yard touchdown run by sophomore
Eric McKan III (Washington, D.C./Bullis (Md.)) at the 3:00-mark. On the previous play, Gannon was flagged for a pass interference on an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six.
Midway in the fourth quarter, Gannon advanced to near the red zone before a turnover on downs following an incompletion on fourth-and-eight. The Vulcans were flagged for holding on the opening play of the drive before an 18-yard reception by Tarrant. McKan later converted a third-and-one and posted a 17-yard carry to cross midfield. Cal advanced to the Gannon 21-yard line before the Golden Knights made an interception with 2:54 left to play and returned the turnover into Cal territory. The Vulcans then forced a third-and-18 at the 2:43-mark before an interception by Cal was negated due to a roughing the passer penalty. Gannon sealed the victory on the next play with a 35-yard rushing touchdown with 2:10 remaining, 25-13.
Cal closes the season on Saturday, Nov. 12, when it hosts East Stroudsburg at Adamson Stadium on Senior Day at 12 p.m.
Notes:
The teams combined to convert just eight of 30 third downs … The Vulcans allowed six sacks for the first time in recent program history (since 2002) … Gannon benefited from an average starting position of its own 42-yard line … Cal was limited to only 60 rushing yards after totaling 268 rushing yards last week … The Vulcans finished with three losses in PSAC West play – all at home – for the first time since the 2013 season … IUP will represent the PSAC West next week in the PSAC Championship due to tiebreaker scenarios
