Full Game Notes | Digital Program

ASHLAND (9-3) @ #20/18 CALIFORNIA (PA) (9-2)
• When: Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: ESPN+
• Live Stats: Click HERE
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Ashland leads 1-0-1
• First Meeting: Sept. 15, 1990 @ California – Tie 23-23
• Last Meeting: Sept. 21, 1991 @ Ashland – Ashland won 51-10
• Streak: Ashland +1

NOTES
• California hosts Ashland in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at Adamson Stadium. The Vulcans and Eagles both advanced last week with game-winning field goals as time expired in regulation. The winning team will play in the Super Region One Championship on Dec. 7.

• Senior Anthony Beitko converted the game-winning, 29-yard field goal as time expired, as the Vulcans claimed a 30-27 win over East Stroudsburg in the first round. Cal scored on all three of its possession in the second half and tallied points on six of its seven drives. Senior Davis Black posted 239 passing yards on 23-of-27 attempts and added 33 rushing yards with two touchdowns. Sophomore Samuel Hobbs led the team with eight tackles and redshirt freshman Naquan Crowder made seven stops with 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack.

• The Vulcans and Eagles are meeting for the first time in over three decades. The teams played to a 23-23 tie in 1990 before Ashland earned a 51-10 victory the following year.

• A longtime assistant coach with the program, Doug Geiser has posted an 18-6 record in two years as head coach with the Eagles. He previously spent 19 seasons as assistant at Ashland while working the offensive line. Geiser was a member of the coaching staff when the Eagles made six previous NCAA Playoff appearances and won conference titles in both the GLIAC and G-MAC.

• Ashland is making its second appearance in the NCAA Playoffs in the last three years and ninth overall in program history. The Eagles won their second league title in four seasons as a member of the G-MAC. Ashland placed three offensive linemen on the All-G-MAC Teams, plus running back Ty'aris Stevenson garnered second-team honors. He ranks third in the league with 863 rushing yards after totaling nearly 500 yards over the final three weeks of the regular season. Stevenson also scored 10 of his 11 rushing touchdowns during that span. Senior wide receiver Tony Pannunzio was an All-G-MAC Second-Team selection and leads the team with 870 yards behind a pair of 200-yard performances. Senior quarterback Trevor Bycznski has posted 38 touchdown passes and nearly 4,800 passing yards over two seasons as a starter. Defensively, Ashland paces the G-MAC with 20 forced turnovers and rank second with 2.67 sacks per game. Senior Jeffrey Barnett and junior Michael Shimek were both chosen to the All-G-MAC First-Team and have combined for 31.5 TFL and 14.0 sacks this season. Sophomore Ben Holzopfel leads the team with 67 tackles (41 solo), plus has tallied two interceptions and three forced fumbles. The Eagles lead the league with seven blocked kicks this season, including two by Shimek. Junior AJ Rhodes has converted 15-of-19 field goals, highlighted by a 37-yard game-winner as time expired last week in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.

• Head coaches Gary Dunn and Doug Geiser were both selected the Coach of the Year this fall. Dunn was chosen the PSAC West Coach of the Year after leading the Vulcans to an 8-2 overall record during the regular season behind a 6-0 mark in divisional play. Geiser guided the Eagles to an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs in his second season as head coach following an 8-1 record in G-MAC play.

• The Vulcans feature a veteran group of five senior captains this season, including second-year captain and defensive back Dominic Solomon, Jr.. The quintet has combined to start 138 games in their careers with each starting at least 20 games. Solomon leads the team with 38 starts and center Jaheim Bassham paces the offense with 35 career starts.

• Senior quarterback Davis Black was one of nine players announced as a regional candidate for the 2024 Harlon Hill Trophy this week. He currently ranks second in the PSAC with 15.6 points responsible for per game behind 28 total touchdowns (11 rushing). Black also sits among the top five in the league with 235.3 passing yards per game and a 147.5 passing efficiency.

• Last week, sophomore linebacker Samuel Hobbs led the team and set a career high with eight tackles (six solo) while making his fourth start of the year. He has tallied 23 stops (13 solo) with a pair of 2.0 TFL this fall after making six tackles as a true freshman in 2023.

• Senior Anthony Beitko converted a trio of field goals last week to become only the fourth kicker in PSAC history with 50 career field goals - the most among active kickers in NCAA Division II. He has made three field goals in a game six times in his career, highlighted by the game-winning, 29-yard kick as time expired last week. Beitko now ranks second all-time, and first among kickers, in school history with 301 career points.

• Cal enters the weekend with a 5-2 record against current G-MAC members. The Vulcans last faced a G-MAC school in the 2018 season-opener when they traveled to face Ohio Dominican. In comparison, Ashland holds a 1-4 mark against PSAC members over the last decade with all four losses being to IUP. In 2022, the Eagles suffered a 19-13 loss to the Crimson Hawks in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.

• The Vulcans have faced one of the toughest schedules in Super Region One this fall, as their opponents boast a combined .598 winning percentage (79-53). Cal will also be facing a conference champion for the third time this year after previously playing Charleston (WV) of the MEC and Kutztown of the PSAC.

• Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Naquan Crowder has collected a combined 16 tackles (12 solo) over the last two weeks. He established a career high with nine stops (eight solo) against Kutztown in the PSAC Championship before collecting seven tackles (four solo) with 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs. Crowder has made 39 stops this year after being all-state selection at the scholastic level.

• The Vulcans and Eagles last meet in Week 3 of the 1991 season. Ashland, which was a member of the GLIAC from 1999-2020 prior to joining the G-MAC, were competing as members of the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference at the time. Cal was led by head coach Jeff Petrucci in 1991 and featured a freshman starting offensive lineman named Gary Dunn, now the current head coach of the Vulcans.

• The PSAC features three of the remaining four teams in Super Region One in the 2024 NCAA Playoffs. Top-seeded Kutztown will host Slippery Rock in a rematch of last year's PSAC Championship and NCAA Regional Championship. Cal and Ashland both advanced last week with game-winning field goals as time expired.

• The Vulcans enter the weekend with the fortune of starting the same five offensive linemen at the same position in all 11 games this season. Seniors Jaheim Bassham and Nashawn Jackson both were tabbed to the All-PSAC West First-Team for the first time in their careers last week. A semifinalist for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy, Bassham will also be announced as a regional nominee for the Gene Upshaw Award.

• Cal is playing its sixth-straight game at Adamson Stadium after starting the year with five of six games on the road. The Vulcans have posted a 93-20 mark (.823) at home since the 2005 season. Additionally, Cal holds a 7-4 record at Adamson Stadium in the NCAA Playoffs and claim a 4-1 all-time mark in second-round games.