Oct 30, 2006 By The 3 min read

California University of Pa. and Indiana University of Pa. remained on course for a PSAC West showdown in two weeks, thanks in large part to Laurel Highlands graduate Nate Forse. Forse had four receptions for 140 yards, including touchdown catches of 65 and 53 yards, in the Vulcans’ 35-20 comeback victory at Shippensburg on Saturday.

Cal (7-2, 4-0) and IUP (7-1, 4-0) each have one last hurdle to clear before their showdown scheduled for noon on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Adamson Stadium.

The Indians have a more difficult task facing them than the Vulcans, however.

Indiana, which defeated PSAC East foe Mansfield, 42-6, on Saturday, hosts Slippery Rock (6-3, 3-2) on Thursday. The Rock defeated Edinboro, 24-21 in overtime, on Saturday.

California is on the road next Saturday against Clarion (1-8, 0-4), which is coming off a 14-7 loss at Lock Haven.

Coach John Luckhardt’s Vulcans are ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region and 25th in the D2Football.com national rankings, one spot below IUP.

California almost tripped up against the Raiders at Seth Grove Stadium on Saturday as it fell behind twice in the first half, 7-0 and 13-7. Forse and Vulcan quarterback Joe Ruggiero teamed up to bring Cal back both times, though.

Shippensburg (4-5, 2-2) recovered a fumbled snap on California’s second offensive play, and the Raiders quickly cashed in the turnover on Gabe Maiocco’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Pat Ferguson.

The Vulcans answered almost immediately as two plays later Ruggiero connected with Forse on a post pattern for a 65-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. It was Forse’s longest reception of the season.

The Raiders took the lead again in the second quarter when James Rockymore picked off a Ruggiero pass and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. Jamie Reder’s extra-point kick was blocked by Gary Butler, leaving Shippensburg with a 13-7 lead.

Once again, it didn’t take long for Cal to strike back.

On the next play from scrimmage Ruggiero completed a sideline pass to Forse, who broke a tackle and scampered 53 yards for his second score of the day. Tyler Lorenz kicked the extra point to put the Vulcans in front to stay, 14-13.

California broke the game open in the third quarter. Butler returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown, and Brandon Lombardy capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run to make it 28-13.

Lombardy, who pounded the Raiders for a career-high 178 yards on 40 carries, scored again in the fourth quarter, finishing up a 10-play, 74-yard march with a 2-yard run to give Cal a commanding 35-13 lead with 8:35 remaining.

The victory was the Vulcans’ fifth in a row and eighth straight in conference play dating back to last year.

Ruggiero completed 11 of 20 passes for 221 yards and one interception.

Forse now has 41 receptions for 621 yards this season. He also topped the 1,000 mark in career receiving yards on Saturday, pushing his two-year total up to 1,117.

Lombardy improved his 2006 rushing totals to 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Vulcans’ defense, ranked fifth in the nation in rushing entering the game, limited Shippensburg to 80 yards on the ground. Josh Zunic led Cal with 10 tackles.