CALIFORNIA (Sept. 3) – The Vulcans scored 42 points in the first half while battling a pair of severe weather delays that lasted over three hours to open the season with a 49-24 victory against Charleston (WV) at Adamson Stadium in non-conference play on Thursday night.
NOTES
• California (1-0) has won 18 of its last 22 season-opening contests, including two of three against Charleston.
• Senior transfer quarterback
Eric Gibson, Jr. finished with five total touchdowns (four passing) and 213 passing yards on 17-of-25 attempts with one interception.
• Junior running back
Bobbie Boyd, Jr. posted 94 rushing yards and one touchdown on nine carries in his first action since suffering a season-ending injury in Week 4 last year.
• Sophomore
Lloyd Penn led the team with five receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown, while classmate
Kenny Lewis IV tallied 65 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches.
• Senior
Amire Spencer collected four receptions for a team-high 73 yards and one touchdown.
• Senior transfer linebacker
Wilfredo Diaz recorded a game-high 11 tackles (five solo) with 2.0 sacks.
• Sophomore transfer defensive back
Darian Nelson tallied 10 stops (seven solo), 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble.
• Sophomore defensive back
Nevan Hopkins added four tackles (two solo), a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 25-yard fumble recovery.
• Cal scored 21 points off turnovers and maintained possession for over 19 minutes in the second half.
• The Vulcans scored their most points in a game since Week 4 of the 2024 season, while the 49 points marked their highest total in a season-opener since 2019 at Saint Anselm.
• Cal recorded four offensive touchdown drives that lasted four plays or less.
• The game lasted over six hours and two minutes due to the severe weather delays and concluded early Friday morning after kickoff was at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
RECAP
• UC scored a field goal on the game's opening possession before play was halted for 75 minutes due to weather.
• On the initial play from scrimmage after the delay, Boyd scampered 70 yards to set up an eight-yard touchdown pass from Gibson to Spencer with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
• The Vulcans recovered the ball at the UC 24-yard line on the ensuing kickoff following an awkward bounce in front of the returner.
• Gibson then found Lewis for a 24-yard touchdown at the 7:45-mark to extend the lead to a 14-3 margin.
• Less than 90 seconds later, Hopkins returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown as Cal scored 21 points in just over two minutes of game time.
• UC later cut the deficit to 21-17 with 14:20 left in the second quarter before the game was delayed two plays into the next drive.
• Following a delay of over two hours, the Vulcans capped a six-play drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Gibson to Lewis with 11:25 remaining before halftime.
• Cal extended the lead to 35-17 at the 5:01-mark on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Gibson to Penn.
• The Vulcans then halted a drive near midfield with an interception by senior defensive back
Amory Thompson and Gibson scored on a 10-yard run with 1:56 left in the second quarter.
• UC countered with a touchdown before the break to cut the deficit to 41-24.
• Following a scoreless third quarter, Hopkins recovered a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter that led to a six-yard touchdown run by Boyd with 12:43 remaining.
NEXT
• The Vulcans return to action when they travel to face Millersville on Sept. 12 at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium with kickoff at 12 p.m.
• Cal is playing at Millersville for the first time since the 2017 campaign and only the third time in the last two decades.
• The Marauders suffered a 24-21 loss at Glenville State on Thursday under first-year head coach Drew Folmar, who was a record-setting quarterback at the program from 1997-00.
