CALIFORNIA (Sept. 24) – The Vulcans utilized a dominating running game and a stifling defense at Adamson Stadium to roll to a 49-7 victory over Edinboro on Saturday afternoon while opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the win, the California (PA) football team improves to 2-2 this season and start divisional play with a victory for the 17th-consecutive year. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots drop to 2-2 overall while beginning league play against the Vulcans for the eighth time since 2012.
The Vulcans amassed a staggering 357 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 44 attempts on Saturday. Cal recorded its most rushing yards in a game since Week 5 of the 2007 season when it totaled 393 yards against Clarion. Junior
Davonte Williams (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) posted a game-high 162 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 carries after entering the game with 10 attempts for 24 yards this season. Sophomore
Eric McKan III (Washington, D.C./Bullis (Md.)) finished with 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts on Saturday.
Cal limited Edinboro to only 177 yards of total offense, including just 21 rushing yards on 26 attempts. The Vulcans also registered five sacks and tallied a pair of interceptions in the victory. Junior
Matt Tobey (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) led the team with nine tackles (two solo) and added 1.0 sack. Classmate
Noah Dillow (Alum Bank, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) posted six stops (three solo) and a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown, his second career score, while senior defensive lineman
Gerald Brown (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) also added six tackles and 1.5 sacks. Sophomore linebacker
Jack Colecchi (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski) tallied five stops and 1.5 sacks on Saturday.
The Vulcans raced to a 7-0 lead on a 49-yard touchdown run by McKan on the game's opening drive. Cal added to the lead on its next drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback
Noah Mitchell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) to sophomore wide receiver
Malik Langley (Chester, Pa./Chester) with 9:33 left in the first quarter. Edinboro responded with a jumping touchdown pass by the running back on fourth-and-goal, 14-7, before successfully converting an onside kick with 5:25 left in the quarter. On the third play of the drive, the Vulcans seized momentum with a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown by Dillow, 21-7.
On its initial possession of the second quarter, Mitchell found senior wide receiver
Cam Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills for a 12-yard touchdown at the 8:23-mark. The Vulcans converted a trio of third downs on its next drive, including a 19-yard run by Mitchell, before taking a 35-7 lead on a four-yard score by McKan with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Late the in the third quarter, Williams started a drive with a 42-yard run before McKan closed the drive with a four-yard touchdown run at the 1:59-mark. The Vulcans forced a turnover on downs inside the red zone early in the fourth quarter before Williams extended the lead to 49-7 on a 14-yard touchdown run with 8:39 left to play.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 1, when they travel to face Clarion at 2 p.m.
Notes:
Cal has won the last 17 meetings in the series with Edinboro, plus has won nine-consecutive meetings in the series at Adamson Stadium … The Vulcans featured multiple 100-yard rushers for the first time since Week 7 of the 2012 season … Mitchell, who finished with 137 passing yards and two touchdowns, became the 17th quarterback in PSAC history to eclipse 9,000 career passing yards … Cal allowed Edinboro to convert only 2-of-13 third-down attempts … The Vulcans scored a touchdown on all five trips inside the red zone … McKan is the first player with three rushing scores in a game since Nelson Brown accomplished the feat in Week 9 of the 2019 campaign
