Big second half lifts CalU to win in home opener, 45-20
CALIFORNIA – California University of Pennsylvania scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to defeat East Stroudsburg University, 45-20, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover action Saturday. “We ran the ball pretty well and took control of the line of scrimmage in that second half,” Vulcans coach John Luckhardt said. “We made some mistakes early and were pretty flat with our passing game, but our run game bailed us out. On defense, we were a little quicker up front and applied some pressure to their quarterback. They struggled to run the ball, and that put all the pressure on their quarterback.”
The game featured a meeting of 200-win coaches in Luckhardt (208 wins) and the Warriors’ Denny Douds (227 wins) for the 29th time in NCAA football history and only the second time in Division II.
After starting the season with two road games, California won its home opener for the 10th time in the last 11 and has won 31 of its last 36 home games at Adamson Stadium. Luckhardt improves to 19-4 against PSAC East foes.
The Vulcans jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with less than six minutes gone in the opening quarter as Josh Portis threw a 15-yard slant to Chedrick Cherry for a touchdown, and linebacker Brett Diamond returned an interception for a 32-yard trip to the end zone.
“Josh threw some great deep balls, and I just made the plays on them,” said Cherry, who had four receptions for 139 yards. “We have a lot of good receivers, and you always have to step up because you never know when it’s going to be your shot. Coach stressed our splits and route depth, and today was a combination of everything.”
The Warriors bounced back with a late field goal in the first, and then two touchdown passes by quarterback Matt Marshall to give East Stroudsburg a 17-14 lead in the second quarter.
Portis and California’s offense sputtered in the second quarter as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble before they started a seven-play, 52-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard plunge by Lamont Smith, as the Vulcans took a 21-20 halftime lead.
On its second play of the second half, Portis got back into rhythm, throwing a 28-yard touchdown strike to Cherry. March Domonkos’ 19-yard field goal put California up 31-20 after three quarters.
In the fourth Portis threw his third touchdown to Derrick Jones from 39 yards out. Portis threw for 263 yards.
“Josh showed that he got some resiliency in him and never stopped playing,” Luckhardt said. “He threw a couple ducks in the first half, but he came back and threw it into some good spots. He battled and made the plays for us.”
The Vulcans wrapped up the game on their next drive with a 15-play, 67-yard march that only had them throwing the ball one time and took 9:02 off the clock.
Smith capped of the long drive, scoring a two-yard touchdown. He carried the ball 31 times for 163 yards.
“It feels good to get a W at home,” Smith said. “I was sick of being on the road and taking seven hour bus rides. In the second half, we calmed down and executed every play. I give a lot of credit to my offensive line; they did a great job of blocking up front. They made the plays and opened up some holes for me.”