Full Game Notes

CALIFORNIA (PA) (1-1) @ #4/5 SHEPHERD (2-0)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022
• Where: Shepherdstown, W.Va.
• Stadium: Ram Stadium (5,000)
• Kickoff: 12 p.m.
• Live Video: PSAC Network (Shepherd Feed)
• Live Stats: Click HERE
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: California leads 4-1
• First Meeting: 1982 @ California - Cal U won 15-14
• Last Meeting: Dec. 3, 2016 @ California – Shepherd won 41-30 I Recap I Box Score I Video Highlights
• Streak: Shepherd +1 I History

NOTES
• Cal plays a consecutive road game in PSAC Crossover play on Saturday when it travels to face Shepherd. Last week, the Vulcans suffered a 24-19 loss at Kutztown after allowing a trio of scores in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Rams rolled to a 41-7 victory against Edinboro.
 
• Cal was unable to overcome a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a loss at defending-PSAC Champion Kutztown. Senior Noah Mitchell finished with 235 passing yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-38 attempts with one interception. Junior JaQuae Jackson posted 110 receiving yards and one touchdown on seven catches, while senior Cam Tarrant finished with five receptions and one touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Noah Dillow tied his career high with 13 tackles and classmate Matt Tobey added 10 stops and 1.5 TFL.
 
• The Vulcans and Rams are meeting in the regular season for the first time since 1986. The programs have since met twice in the NCAA Playoffs (2007, 2016), both times in the regional championship.
 
• A former longtime assistant coach with the program, Ernie McCook is in his fifth season as head coach at Shepherd. He has posted an impressive 32-8 mark with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Playoffs. Last year, the Rams finished with a 13-2 record and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Playoffs. McCook previously served as assistant coach at Shepherd for 18 years.
 
• Shepherd was picked as co-favorites in the PSAC East after capturing its fourth regional championship title since 2010. The Rams boast a prolific offense that leads NCAA Division II with 566.0 yards of total offense per game behind senior quarterback Tyson Bagent, the recipient of the 2021 Harlon Hill Award. He is the active leader among all NCAA divisions with nearly 13,000 career passing yards and 125 passing touchdowns. Junior running back Ronnie Brown sits second in the country this year with 195.5 yards per game after totaling over 950 rushing yards in 2021. Last week, he finished with 278 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 15 attempts. Junior Marlon Cook leads the team with 263 receiving yards on 13 catches with a pair of touchdowns, while sophomore Ryan Beach also has 13 receptions with three touchdowns. Beach was selected the PSAC East Freshman of the Year in 2021 after leading the team with 98 receptions for 1,199 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Shepherd paces the conference in scoring defense and rushing defense through the opening two weeks of the season. Sophomore linebacker Devon Lynch leads the team with 13 tackles and junior defensive back Keyshawn Hailey has tallied nine stops. Last week, sophomore defensive lineman Malik Holloway recorded seven tackles, 3.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. On special teams, sophomore Ryan Barrick returns after averaging 37.4 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards in 2021.
 
• Cal is facing a team positioned in the top five of the AFCA Top 25 poll for the first time since earning an upset win over then-No. 2 IUP in Week 5 of the 2018 season. This also marks the seventh game for the Vulcans against a top-five opponent since the 2000 campaign with three of those meeting occurring in the NCAA Playoffs, including 2016 when Shepherd was ranked No. 3 in the country.
 
• Senior quarterback Noah Mitchell enters the weekend only 74 passing yards shy of breaking the all-time school record held for three decades by Sam Mannery. He also sits behind only Mannery for the most pass attempts in school history. Mitchell, who has started all 34 games in his career, eclipsed the school's career mark for passing touchdowns in Week 1 against Fairmont State.
 
• Last week, junior linebacker Noah Dillow tied his career high with 13 tackles at Kutztown. He ranks second in the PSAC with 10.5 tackles per game through the opening two weeks of the season. Dillow has tallied double-digit tackles four times in his career. The two-year team captain was an All-PSAC West First-Team selection last fall after being voted the 2019 PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
 
• Sophomore kicker Anthony Beitko converted both of his field-goal attempts last week at Kutztown. He made a 36-yard attempt as time expired in the first half and was successful on a 25-yard attempt midway through the third quarter. An All-American last year, Beitko has converted 18-of-19 field-goal attempts in his career.
 
• The Vulcans will be facing the reigning Harlon Hill Award winner this weekend for the first time since 2006 when they played East Stroudsburg and Jimmy Terwilliger, the current head coach of the Warriors. Last year, Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent led NCAA Division II with 5,000 passing yards and 53 passing touchdowns. Bagent became the sixth player from the PSAC to receive the Harlon Hill Award.
 
• Sophomore Jack Colecchi made his first career start at linebacker last week at Kutztown after previously making a start last season at wide receiver. He is the first player to start at least one game on both offense and defense in a career since Jeff Knox, Jr. (2011-14). Colecchi has posted three tackles and 1.5 TFL in his first year on defense after finishing with three receptions for 85 yards as a redshirt freshman.
 
• Last week, sophomore running back Eric McKan III posted 20 carries for 71 rushing yards at Kutztown. He is the first player to total at least 20 rushing attempts in back-to-back games since Nelson Brown accomplished the feat in four-straight weeks at the end of the 2019 season. McKan ranks third in the PSAC this fall with 223 rushing yards, which already eclipses his total from last fall.
 
• Junior wide receiver JaQuae Jackson eclipsed 100 receiving yards in back-to-back weeks for the first time in his career. He finished with 110 receiving yards on seven catches and one touchdown last week at Kutztown. Jackson ranks second in the PSAC with 223 receiving yards and is tied for the league lead with three receiving touchdowns through the opening two weeks of the season.
 
• The Vulcans will be making only their third trip to the state of West Virginia since 2005 this weekend. Cal earned a season-opening win at Fairmont State last year in its first trip to the Mountain State since a victory at West Liberty in the 2009 NCAA Playoffs. The Vulcans last played at Shepherd in 1986 when they opened the year with a 34-21 victory, which was the first game covered by CUTV.
 
• Last week, junior linebacker Matt Tobey collected 10 stops and 1.5 TFL at Kutztown. He already has recorded 5.0 TFL in two games this fall and ranks second in the PSAC with 2.5 TFL per game, plus sits fifth with 1.0 sack per game. Tobey sits second on the team with 17 tackles this season after earning All-PSAC West Second-Team honors in his first year as a starter in 2021.
 
• Shepherd wide receivers coach Jarrod Kellar is the oldest son of former Cal head coach Mike Kellar (2012-15). Jarrod was a quarterback at Lenoir-Rhyne for two seasons before finishing his career at Edinboro. In his second-year as the starter at L-R, current Cal defensive coordinator Jawan Turner served as a graduate assistant.
 
• Through two weeks, Cal is tied for the national lead with a .656 third-down conversion percentage (21-of-32). The Vulcans converted 9-of-17 opportunities last week at Kutztown after being successful on 12-of-15 third-downs in the season-opener against Fairmont State. Last year, Cal finished second in the league and among the top 15 in the country with a .482 third-down conversion percentage.