Nov 6, 2016 By Adam Brewer for The 4 min read

CALIFORNIA — The California Univ. of Pa.’s football team claimed the PSAC West Division crown after a 52-7 victory over Edinboro University Saturday afternoon at Adamson Stadium.

The Vulcans (9-0, 6-0) hosts Kutztown Saturday in the PSAC Championship game at noon. This is Cal’s first title game appearance since 2009 and the Vulcans will be looking for their ninth PSAC crown.

“Since the beginning of the season we have talked about having a one-game schedule,” Cal coach Gary Dunn said. “We don’t look ahead and we don’t get caught up with wins. It doesn’t matter who we play, our focus every week is on us. We have to take care of our business.”

Coming into the contest, Cal was ranked sixth in the AFCA Top 25 poll and eighth in the D2Football.com poll. The Vulcans were also second in this week’s Super Region One ranking.

After the Fighting Scots (8-2, 5-2) opened the contest with a three-and-out, the Vulcans took a 7-0 lead after a 7-yard touchdown pass from Michael Keir to Tom Greene.

In the early stages of the second quarter, the Edinboro defense recorded an interception and four plays later quarterback John Sisson scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown that knotted things up at 7-7 with 11:59 left in the period.

The Vulcans’ defense countered with a big play of its own minutes later, as Jordan Bowman had a 53-yard interception return to the 2-yard line. On the next play, John Franklin III tumbled in for a 2-yard score at the 9:10 mark of the second quarter.

“Every week we come in with new goals and we have a new game plan every week for every offense,” Bowman said. “We knew Edinboro was a high-powered offense and we had to stop their passing game. The line put constant pressure on the passer and our secondary made plays.”

Just before halftime, Cal increased its lead to 21-7 after Franklin III ended an 11-play, 63-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left before halftime intermission.

The Vulcans’ offense caught fire in the third quarter when Keir threw a pair of scoring passes, a 33-yard touchdown pass to Garry Brown and a 5-yard scoring completion to Paul Butler.

“We have a lot of confidence on offense,” Brown said. “We score in bunches and we just have to be patient. We can’t overlook anybody and we have to be attacking on offense. On the touchdown, it was a jump ball and I just tried to get the ball away from the defenders.”

After Cal tacked on a 22-yard field goal by Will Brazill in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Vulcans ended the scoring with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Brown from Keir and a 53-yard punt return for a score by Brown.

Heading into Saturday’s game, Cal led Division II in scoring with 52.5 points per game. The Vulcans, who have won 12 straight versus Edinboro, have only trailed a combined 32 seconds this season out of a possible 540 minutes.

“The defense has played unbelievable this season,” Dunn said. “Both units have been consistent and plays with energy every week. We have a lot of leadership on this team. They feed off of each other and we are excited to get to the title game. When I came in here in the spring, I knew we had the talent and we set the bar pretty high. We want this title.”

Keir finished his day with 254 yards passing and four touchdowns, while Brown caught eight passes for 149 yards. Nick Grissom rushed for 69 yards, while Arnel Farmer Jr. (eight), Nigel Garnett (six) and Luke Hrapchak (six) led the Vulcans in tackles on defense.

“We were ready for this week because we knew the division title was on the line,” Bowman said. “We brought the right attitude to the game. We are really excited for next week. In the preseason we were ranked third in our division and we have relish that underdog role.”