RICHMOND, Va. (Nov. 22) – The Vulcans scored two touchdowns off turnovers early in the first quarter on Saturday afternoon while claiming a 27-24 victory at third-seeded Virginia Union in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs at Hovey Field.

With the win, the California (PA) football team improves to 9-3 this season and advances to face Frostburg State of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Vulcans advance to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs for the seventh time in nine post-season trips. Meanwhile, No. 17 VUU finishes the year with a 9-3 overall record after reaching the NCAA Playoffs for the fourth-consecutive season.

The Vulcans held senior Curtis Allen, the nation's leading rusher, to 128 rushing yards and one touchdown on 21 attempts. He entered the game averaging 205.3 rushing yards per game and 8.3 rushing yards per attempt. His 128 yards mark his second-lowest total of the season and Cal prevented him from scoring multiple touchdowns for just the second time this year.

Junior defensive back Khalil Taylor led the team with eight tackles and added 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack and one pass break-up. Fellow junior defensive back Keith Charney and sophomore linebacker Malachi Thomas added six stops, while junior defensive back Alexie Sangster, Jr. finished with five tackles in the victory. Junior defensive back Amory Thompson registered a pair of interceptions against the Panthers.

Overall, VUU was limited to 275 yards of total offense with only 85 passing yards. The Panthers entered the post-season ranked among the top 10 nationally with 467.5 yards of total offense and 40.5 points per game. Cal forced three turnovers (two interceptions, fumble) while not committing a turnover for only the second time this fall.

Junior running back Kendrick Agenor finished with 122 rushing yards and one touchdown on a career-high 26 carries. He has eclipsed the century mark three times this year and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in four-consecutive games.

Senior quarterback Roman Purcell posted 184 passing yards on 14-of-26 attempts with no interceptions. He also rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter and finished with 36 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

After Cal was forced to punt on the game's opening drive, sophomore Jack Reilly forced a fumble that redshirt freshman Tyler Long recovered at the VUU 14-yard line. The Vulcans capitalized on the turnover with a 1-yard touchdown run by Purcell with 10:06 left in the first quarter. On the first offensive snap by VUU, Thompson intercepted a pass near midfield and Cal added to the lead at the 3:52-mark with a 5-yard touchdown run by Purcell, 14-0.

VUU trimmed the deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Allen, his NCAA Division II-leading 30th of the season, with 13:42 remaining before halftime. The Vulcans countered with a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Harry Radcliffe at the 10:51-mark before the Panthers responded just two plays later with a 20-yard touchdown pass set up by a 57-yard run by Allen. The teams traded field goals for the remainder of the quarter with Cal holding a 20-17 lead at the break.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Thompson registered his second interception at the Cal 3-yard line at the 11:28-mark. The Vulcans then worked over eight minutes off the clock before missing a 20-yard field goal. Cal later added to the lead with 1-yard touchdown by Agenor with 9:53 left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers countered immediately with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Zyaire Tart, who leads NCAA Division II in yards per punt return, to trim the deficit to 27-24.

Late in the fourth quarter, VUU converted a third-and-eight with a 44-yard completion to Tart to advance inside the red zone. The Vulcans then pushed the Panthers backwards on three-straight plays (negative rush, sack and intentional grounding) to force fourth down. VUU missed a critical 46-yard field goal with 1:11 remaining while having only one timeout left.

Cal will face Frostburg State in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Bobcats stunned second-seeded and No. 11 Johnson C. Smith with a 21-7 victory in the opening round on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Frostburg State (MEC) and Johnson C. Smith (CIAA) received  automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Playoffs due to the new policy of automatic bids – this year marks the first season of the AQ in NCAA Division II football.

NOTES: The Vulcans improve to 4-0 this year against nationally-ranked opponents … Head coach Gary Dunn earned his 75th career victory and holds a 75-27 record (.735) at his alma mater … Cal improves to 4-2 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs and stand at 3-1 against CIAA opponents in the post-season … The Vulcans and Bobcats met during Week 9 of the regular season with Cal posting a 31-26 win at Adamson Stadium