Vulcans shut out Eagles
CALIFORNIA – California University of Pa. gained 489 total yards en route to dominating Lock Haven University, 58-0, Saturday at Adamson Stadium. Both teams had streaks going into the game, as the Vulcans (5-0, 2-0) won their 22nd straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division game since 2006, while the Bald Eagles (0-5, 0-2) dropped their 16-consecutive divisional game and 26th overall.
“We really had a good week of practice, and last week, we were not as crisp offensively,” Luckhardt said. “It feels good to come in here, put some points on and just face other adversities we had off the field. We played at the level that we are capable of and we concentrated on the game plan and executed it. We have some talented rushers for our team and we were more potent in the passing game because of our strong running attack.”
California was led by running back Lamont Smith, who had a career game and rushed for over 100 yards for the fourth game in a row, tying a Vulcans’ record that was held by Daine Williams in the second half of the 2007 season.
Smith had 112 yards on 14 carries for four first half touchdowns to give California a 31-0 lead at halftime.
“You got to go 100 percent every time you’re out on the field, no matter who you are against,” Smith said. “I didn’t think we be doing this good running the ball early on, but we have really jelled with our offensive line and our other backs. I was able to cut back on some runs and I give a lot of credit to the line today.”
In the second half, signal collar Josh Portis threw two touchdown passes, a 12-yard pass to Terrance Moore and a 61-yard strike to Mike Williams. Portis had 189 yards on 13-of-22 pass attempts.
Back-up quarterback Ryan Morris tossed a 46-yard touchdown pass to tight end Justin Shaffer and reserve tailback Bryan Stefanik plowed 39 yards with 3:16 left.
The stout Vulcans’ defense was just as furious today as it was the first four games of the season in allowing 84 net yards to Lock Haven with -52 yards rushing, eight sacks and three forced turnovers in Cal’s first shutout of the year.
“We have gotten stronger defensively as the season progress,” Luckhardt said. “We have some great depth at a lot of positions on our defense. We played six or seven defensive ends, four defensive tackles, five linebackers and had a lot of rotation in the secondary. They dominated today and we maintained the shutout. We wanted a complete effort.”