CALIFORNIA (Oct. 18) – Sophomore wide receiver Deontae Williams raced 56 yards for the game-winning touchdown with two seconds left to play on Saturday afternoon, as the Vulcans captured a 31-28 victory over Clarion on Homecoming at Adamson Stadium in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.

NOTES
• California (5-2, 2-2) has won 18 of its last 20 games on Homecoming, with its only losses being in 2018 and 2022.
• Sophomore quarterback Phaeton Hill finished with 364 passing yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-43 attempts with one interception in his first collegiate start.
• He also added 48 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
• Williams totaled 152 receiving yards and one touchdown on nine catches.
• Junior running back Kendrick Agenor posted 82 rushing yards on 20 carries and finished with 94 receiving yards on seven receptions.
• Redshirt freshman defensive back Nevan Hopkins recorded seven tackles (five solo), 0.5 TFL and one interception.
• Sophomore linebacker Malachi Thomas also collected seven stops (three solo) with 1.5 TFL and 1.0 sack.
• Junior punter Andrew Gonzalez averaged 44.0 yards on three punts – all inside the 20-yard line – with a long of 56 yards.
• The Vulcans held a staggering 19-minute advantage in time of possession while setting a season high with 524 yards of total offense.
• Cal extended its winning streak in the series against Clarion to 19 games, including three victories by four points or less since 2017.

RECAP
• The Vulcans took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive of the game with a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore Jake Layhue with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
• Cal added to the lead with a career-long 46-yard field goal by sophomore Harry Radcliffe at the 12:16-mark of the second quarter.
• Clarion responded with a 17-yard touchdown pass on third down on the next drive to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 9:07 left before halftime.
• Following a turnover on downs, the Golden Eagles claimed a 14-10 lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:21 remaining in the quarter.
• Cal was in position to answer with points prior to halftime before Clarion made an interception at the 1-yard line with four seconds left.
• The Vulcans claimed a 17-14 lead on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Hill to junior wide receiver D'Avay Johnson with 4:14 left in the third quarter.
• The Golden Eagles countered in the final seconds of the quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass on third down, 21-17.
• Early in the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman Da'sjon Craggette posted a one-yard touchdown run to give Cal a 24-21 with 11:18 remaining.
• Hopkins then intercepted Clarion at the Cal 1-yard line nearly three minutes later.
• On the next drive, the Golden Eagles converted a third-and-19 with a 32-yard completion that was followed by a 36-yard reception on the next play.
• Clarion capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:17 remaining to take a 28-24 lead.
• The Vulcans lost a fumble on their next possession in their own territory and used all three of their timeouts during the ensuing drive by the Golden Eagles.
• Clarion was unable to advance a single yard and the 42-yard field goal was blocked by sophomore Sedrick Vessah.
• Cal regained possession at its own 25-yard line with zero timeouts and 24 seconds left in regulation.
• Hill scrambled out of bounds twice to advance the ball to the Cal 44-yard line.
• On the next play, Hill found Williams down the middle of the field at the Clarion 33-yard line and Williams split a pair of defenders at the 28-yard line to complete the game-winning 56-yard touchdown.

NEXT
• The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they travel to face IUP in the 16th edition of the Coal Bowl at 2 p.m.
• The Crimson Hawks (4-2, 2-1) suffered a 30-27 loss at rival Slippery Rock on Saturday.
• All seven teams in the PSAC West have already suffered at least one loss and no team has more than two divisional losses through four weeks of league play.