Full Game Notes (PDF) I Game Program (PDF)

FAIRMONT STATE (0-0) @ #21/23 CALIFORNIA (PA) (0-0)
• When: Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
• Live Video: PSAC Network (CUTV Feed) I CUTVSports1 (YouTube)
• 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 27-10-4
• First Meeting: 1916 - Tie 16-16
• Last Meeting: Sept. 2, 2021 @ Fairmont State – California won 23-14 I Recap I Box Score I Video Highlights
• Streak: California +8 I History

NOTES
• Cal opens the 2022 campaign on Thursday night when it hosts former longtime rival Fairmont State at Adamson Stadium. The Vulcans have won 14 of their last 17 season-openers, including a 23-14 victory on the road against the Fighting Falcons last year.
 
• Cal missed the NCAA Playoffs last year despite a stellar 9-1 overall record. The Vulcans return 17 starters from last year, highlighted by seven All-PSAC West honorees. Quarterback Noah Mitchell will direct the offense for a fourth-straight season after being voted the 2021 PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year. The defense will be anchored by four returning All-PSAC West selections, including first-team linebacker Noah Dillow who led the team in tackles and TFL. The Vulcans return one of the top specialists in the country in All-American kicker Anthony Beitko.
 
• The Vulcans and Fighting Falcons are meeting for a consecutive year after previously not playing each other since 2006. The teams met for 14-straight years, starting in 1993. Cal has won the last eight meetings following a triple-overtime victory by Fairmont State in 1999.
 
• One of the longest tenured coaches in the MEC, Jason Woodman enters his 10th season as head coach at Fairmont State. He ranks third in school history with 49 victories after leading the program to five-straight winning seasons. Woodman guided the Fighting Falcons to a combined 25 conference wins from 2016-18, highlighted by an appearance in the 2016 NCAA Playoffs.
 
• Fairmont State swept both the MEC Offensive Freshman of the Year and MEC Defensive Freshman of the Year awards in 2021 while tying for sixth in the league standings. Quarterback Michael Floria received the offensive rookie honor by totaling with 1,456 passing yards and 19 total touchdowns (three rushing) in only six games. He set a season high with 326 passing yards in the last game of the year, plus threw four touchdowns twice as a freshman. Linebacker Brocton Blair earned the defensive rookie accolade, plus was named to the All-MEC Second-Team. He led the team and ranked fifth in the league with 83 tackles, plus registered 7.0 TFL, as a freshman. Junior defensive lineman Randy Robinson and sophomore defensive back Devin Jackson both return after receiving All-MEC Honorable Mention in 2021. Robinson tallied 37 stops and 5.0 TFL, while Jackson collected 26 tackles and two interceptions. Offensively, sophomore Joshawn Lewis led the team with six receiving touchdowns and averaged over 20 yards per reception while finishing third on the team with 614 receiving yards. Sophomore running back Myles Miree ranked second on the team with 471 rushing yards, including 259 yards over a three-game stretch in the middle of the season, on 93 attempts. Fairmont State will be featuring a new kicker this season following the departure of Colin Harvath, who made 27 career field goals.
 
• The Vulcans were picked to finish third in the preseason PSAC West poll after posting a 9-1 overall record in the 2021 campaign. Cal started last year with eight-consecutive wins before suffering its only loss of the season on the road to a nationally-ranked team. Meanwhile, Fairmont State was slotted sixth in the preseason MEC poll after recording a 5-6 overall mark last fall.
 
• In 2008, Jason Woodman served as the running backs coach at Cal when the program won the PSAC Championship and made a consecutive trip to the NCAA Semifinals. In addition to Woodman, the 2008 coaching staff for the Vulcans also featured current head coaches in Mike Jacobs (Lenoir-Rhyne) and Mike Kellar (Glenville State), plus Dave Cole, who is the associate head coach at FBS Mercer.
 
• The Vulcans will feature four captains this season with senior quarterback Noah Mitchell repeating as the Michael Perry Team Captain. Perry '62 was a longstanding supporter of the Cal football program before passing away in 2021. Mitchell, who has started all 32 games in his collegiate career, enters the year with over 8,100 passing yards and 72 total touchdowns.
 
• Former Cal defensive back Erik Harris will open the NFL season on the active roster for the Atlanta Falcons. Harris, who started 12 games for the Falcons last year, enters his seventh season in the NFL, as he had previous stints with the New Orleans Saints (2016) and Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2017-20).
 
• Senior quarterback Noah Mitchell enters the season tied with Josh Portis for the all-time school record with 69 touchdown passes. He also is just 521 passing yards shy of breaking the career record for passing yards which has been held by Sam Mannery for over three decades. Mitchell, who already holds the all-time mark for completions, was named the 2021 PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year.
 
• Cal and Fairmont State are meeting for a consecutive year after previously playing every season from 1993-06. The programs always played in the opening three weeks of the campaign during that span, including five times in Week 1. Four of the five meetings from 1995-99 were decided by two points and the series featured a pair of overtime games.
 
• Sophomore kicker Anthony Beitko was chosen a preseason First-Team All-American by Lindy's Sports over the summer. He recorded a stellar freshman campaign in 2021, as he led NCAA Division II with a .941 field-goal percentage (16-of-17) and ranked second among kickers with 8.6 points per game. Beitko received All-America status from four different organizations last year and was a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award.
 
• The Vulcans feature almost an entirely new staff of assistant coaches this season with only Chad Salisbury and Jawan Turner, who was promoted to defensive coordinator, returning from last year. Jacob Craig and Scott Venick join the program following stints at the NCAA Division III level at opposing PAC schools, while Bob McClain most recently spent three years on staff at Illinois in the Big Ten.
 
• Cal has enjoyed tremendous success in season-openers dating back to the 2004 campaign, as the program boasts a 14-3 record in Week 1. The Vulcans will also be starting the season with a Thursday game for the fourth time in the last five years. Head coach Gary Dunn holds a 4-1 mark in season-openers.
 
• The Vulcans return a pair of top wide receivers from last year in junior JaQuae Jackson and senior Cam Tarrant. Jackson posted a breakout campaign in his first year as a starter, leading the team with 744 receiving yards and 58 receptions with eight touchdowns. Tarrant ranked second on the team with 49 receptions after totaling a combined 33 catches the previous two seasons.
 
• The Cal defense will be anchored by the return of All-PSAC West linebackers Noah Dillow and Matt Tobey, who combined for nearly 150 tackles last fall. A two-year team captain, Dillow paced the team with 76 stops and 10.0 TFL plus recorded 3.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. Tobey collected 67 tackles and 5.5 TFL and earned All-PSAC West Second-Team status in his first year as a starter.
 
• The Vulcans added a veteran running back in Clarion transfer Mylique McGriff this year. He rushed for over 2,500 yards during his career with the Golden Eagles and was an All-PSAC West First-Team selection in 2019. Sophomore Eric McKan III is the team's top returning rusher from last fall, finishing with 159 yards on 51 carries. The Vulcans averaged only 64.6 rushing yards per game in 2021.