Full Games Notes

CALIFORNIA (PA) (2-2, 1-0) @ CLARION (1-3, 0-1)
• When: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022
• Where: Clarion, Pa.
• Stadium: Memorial Stadium (5,000)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Live Video: PSAC Network (CUTV / Clarion Feeds) I CUTVSports1 (YouTube)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 49-38-3 I History
• First Meeting: 1923 - Cal U won 65-0
• Last Meeting: Oct. 12, 2019 @ California – California won 35-20 I Recap I Box Score I Video Highlights
• Streak: California +15

NOTES
• Cal continues PSAC West play on Saturday when it travels to face Clarion on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium. The Vulcans cruised to a 49-7 victory over Edinboro in the opening week of divisional action. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles suffered a 47-24 loss against Gannon.
 
• Cal utilized a dominating running game and a stifling defense in a 49-7 win against Edinboro. The Vulcans amassed 357 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 44 attempts in the victory. Junior Davonte Williams posted a game-high 162 rushing yards and one score on 16 attempts, while sophomore Eric McKan III finished with 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts. Cal limited Edinboro to 177 yards of total offense, including just 21 rushing yards on 26 attempts, and registered five sacks. Junior linebacker Matt Tobey led the team with nine tackles.
 
• A familiar name within the PSAC, Raymond Monica is in his first year as head coach at Clarion. He previously served seven seasons as head coach at Kutztown before spending five years as head coach at Arkansas Tech. While with the Golden Bears, Monica guided the program to the 2011 PSAC Championship and consecutive appearances in the NCAA Playoffs.
 
• Clarion ranked eighth in the preseason PSAC West poll following a winless 2021 campaign. The Golden Eagles boast the second-ranked rushing offense in the league this year, averaging 199.2 yards per game. Junior Khalil Owens and sophomore Corahn Alleyne have combined for over 530 rushing yards and six touchdowns this season. An All-PSAC West selection in 2021, Owens leads the team with 303 rushing yards behind a pair of 100-yard games this year. Alleyne is a dynamic player for Clarion, as he ranks third in the league with 185.0 all-purpose yards per game. He averages 9.0 yards per attempt and leads the team with 225 receiving yards on 14 catches. Owens also has posted 11 receptions this season. Sophomore quarterback Zach Benedek, a transfer from Saint Francis, has totaled over 500 passing yards and thrown just one interception on 78 attempts. Defensively, Clarion has allowed nearly 500 yards of offense in three-consecutive games. Junior linebacker Kareem Hamdan, an All-PSAC West honoree in 2021, helps anchor the unit after ranking fifth in the league with 100 tackles last year. Freshman linebacker Griffin Buzzell leads the team with 23 tackles, while graduate student defensive back Drew Blon has posted 21 stops. Senior defensive lineman Robert Lachmann has registered 6.0 TFL this year, highlighted by 3.0 sacks at Lock Haven in Week 3. On special teams, sophomore Ty Corbin leads the PSAC and ranks fifth in the country with 19.8 yards per punt return.
 
• The Vulcans recorded their top rushing performance in 15 years last week, as they posted 357 rushing yards on 44 attempts with four touchdowns against Edinboro. Cal also featured multiple 100-yard rushers since Week 7 of the 2012 season, as junior Davonte Williams led the team with 162 rushing yards on 16 carries with one touchdown and sophomore Eric McKan III posted 117 yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts.
 
• Last week, junior linebacker Noah Dillow registered a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown against Edinboro late in the first quarter. He also tallied six tackles and 1.0 TFL in the victory. Dillow, who has four career interceptions with two returned for touchdowns, was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for the fourth time in his career on Monday.
 
• Junior wide receiver JaQuae Jackson enters the weekend ranked third in NCAA Division II with 35 receptions this year. He also sits second in the PSAC with 442 receiving yards and leads the league with five receiving touchdowns. Jackson finished with 50 receiving yards on five catches last week against Edinboro.
 
• Last week, Cal limited Edinboro to only 21 rushing yards on 26 attempts after totaling five sacks in the contest. The Vulcans lead the PSAC and rank seventh in the nation in rushing defense this year, allowing just 55.2 yards per game. Excluding Week 2, Cal has limited three opponents to a combined 49 rushing yards and one touchdown on 67 carries.

• Senior offensive lineman Noel Brouse was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy Award® on Wednesday. He was one of only 13 players from NCAA Division II and a total of 156 collegiate players across all levels to be chosen a semifinalist for the award, which is the premiere scholar-athlete honor in college football. Brouse has started all 14 games of his career while with the Vulcans at left tackle.
 
• Cal registered a combined 5.0 sacks last week against Edinboro with senior defensive lineman Gerald Brown and sophomore linebacker Jack Colecchi both tallying a team-high 1.5 sacks. Under first-year defensive coordinator Jawan Turner, the Vulcans lead the PSAC and rank 10th in the nation with 3.75 sacks per game. Cal has totaled 15.0 sacks over four games with eight players being credited at least 1.0 sack.
 
• Last week, senior quarterback Noah Mitchell became the 17th quarterback in PSAC history to eclipse 9,000 passing yards in a career. He also now ranks 17th in league history with 78 touchdown passes after throwing for a pair of scores against Edinboro. Mitchell enters the weekend only 18 pass attempts shy of eclipsing the all-time school record of 1,283 attempts set by Sam Mannery (1987-90).
 
• The Vulcans feature a trio of transfers that previously played at Clarion who will be making their return to Memorial Stadium. Senior Mylique McGriff ranks fourth all-time in school history with 2,529 rushing yards and was an All-PSAC West selection in 2019. Junior Matt Charlton has started all four games at right guard this year after playing in 16 games at Clarion, while freshman punter Clayton Rosensteel redshirted last fall.
 
• Clarion features a familiar face on the coaching staff in Dave Durish, who spent the last six seasons as the offensive line coach for the Vulcans. While at Cal, he worked with 11 All-PSAC West honorees and multiple AFCA All-Americans. Meanwhile, Jacob Craig is in his first year as the defensive line/special teams coordinator for the Vulcans after being a Academic All-American linebacker for the Golden Eagles.
 
• Last week, sophomore Eric McKan III eclipsed the century mark for the second time this season and scored three rushing touchdowns. He became the first player with three rushing scorers in a game since Nelson Brown in Week 9 of the 2019 campaign. McKan ranks fourth in the PSAC with 382 rushing yards in his first year as a starter.
 
• Junior linebacker Matt Tobey leads the team with 32 tackles. 6.0 TFL and 3.0 sacks this season. Last week, he paced the team with nine stops and added 1.0 sack against Edinboro. Tobey is averaging 8.0 tackles per game in his second year as a starter after being an All-PSAC West Second-Team selection in 2021. The Central Bucks South product ranks among the top 10 in the league with 1.5 TFL and 0.75 sacks per game.
 
• The Vulcans lead the PSAC and rank fourth in the country by converting 54.8 percent on third down. Cal also sits third in the league and among the top 20 in NCAA Division II by allowing opponents to convert only 25.9 percent on third down. Last week, the Vulcans held nearly a five-minute advantage in time of possession after allowing Edinboro to convert just 2-of-13 attempts on third downs.