CALIFORNIA (Sept. 16) – Led by one of the top receiving performances in school history, the Vulcans held a fourth-quarter lead over No. 14 Shepherd on Saturday afternoon before suffering a 44-34 loss to the two-time, defending-regional champion Rams at Adamson Stadium.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The California (PA) football team moves to 1-1 this season with both games at Adamson Stadium.
• Shepherd improves to 3-0 overall with the three victories being by a combined 18 points.
• The Rams boast a 39-7 mark since 2019 with three-straight seasons of double-digit victories.
• Shepherd has won the last three meetings in the series since 2007 when Cal captured the first of three-consecutive NCAA regional championships.
GAME ACTION
• Shepherd held a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter until Cal scored touchdowns on three-straight possessions.
• Sophomore wide receiver
Eric Willis III posted a 91-yard score on a pass from junior quarterback
Davis Black at the 11:31-mark before the Vulcans took the lead with 3:17 left in the second quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by freshman
Bobbie Boyd, Jr..
• Cal stretched the lead to 21-10 on a 22-yard touchdown reception by junior
Omari Hopkins from Black before Shepherd answered with a touchdown just over 30 seconds later to enter the break trailing by a 21-17 margin.
• Willis registered a 95-yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter to give the Vulcans a double-digit lead before the Rams answered by scoring a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.
• Shepherd reclaimed the lead at 30-28 in the final minutes of the third quarter.
• Black connected with Hopkins for a two-yard touchdown with 9:33 left to play to give Cal a 34-30 lead.
• The Rams countered with a touchdown three minutes later before making a pivotal interception with five-plus minutes remaining.
• Shepherd sealed the victory with a rushing touchdown with little more than 90 seconds left to play.
STATS/NOTES
• Willis finished the game with a staggering 274 receiving yards on just five catches with two touchdowns.
• He posted the second-most single-game receiving yards in school history, just eight yards of the mark set by Garry Brown in 2014.
• Willis also ranks seventh on the single-game receiving list in PSAC history, totaling the most yards in a game since 2017.
• He registered the highest single-game receiving total in NCAA Division II this season and the second-most across all NCAA divisions.
• Willis finished the game with 360 all-purpose yards (274 receiving, 65 kick return, 21 punt return) – the most in recent program history and the most in the PSAC since the 2018 season.
• Black finished with 411 passing yards on 19-of-31 attempts with four touchdowns and two interceptions, plus added 43 rushing yards on six carries.
• He ranks eighth in single-game school history in passing yards, totaling the most yards since Week 2 of the 2018 campaign.
• Hopkins posted 73 receiving yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.
• Boyd totaled 97 rushing yards on 21 attempts with one touchdown on Saturday.
• Junior linebacker
John Hutchinson and sophomore defensive back
Rashan Murray tied for team lead with eight tackles.
• Shepherd sophomore Cameron Dorner made a pair of receiving touchdowns, plus posted a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
• The teams combined for 968 yards of total offense with the Vulcans averaging 8.8 yards per play.
• Additionally, Cal and Shepherd were flagged a combined 25 times for 270 yards.
NEXT
• Cal opens PSAC West play on Saturday, Sept. 23, when it travels to face Edinboro at 12 p.m.
