EDINBORO Fighting Scots (1-1) at CALIFORNIA(PA) Vulacns (2-0)
Saturday, September 21, 2013 l 3:30 p.m.
Adamson Stadium (6,500) l California, Pa.

Game Notes

Date: Saturday, September 21, 201 3
Site: California, PA
Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Next: Saturday, September 28 vs. Seton Hill, 12 noon

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: California(Pa.) leads 42-35-2
Last Meeting: 2012 – California(Pa.) 24, Edinboro 14

The Game Story
Edinboro opens PSAC West action on Saturday at California(Pa.), a perennially strong outfit which is off to a 2-0 start. The Fighting Scots are 1-1 on the young season, picking up a 35-34 win at Walsh before suffering a 47-35 loss to then 15th-ranked Bloomsburg last week in the home opener.

California(Pa.) comes in with a 2-0 record. The Vulcans opened the season with a narrow 22-19 win at Hillsdale, scoring the winning touchdown with 50 seconds remaining in the game. Last week the Vulcans played their home opener, pounding Kutztown, 45-10.

California(Pa.) holds a 42-35-2 lead in the all-time series with Edinboro thanks to winning the last eight meetings. A year ago the Vulcans came away with a 24-14 win at Sox Harrison Stadium. Edinboro head coach Scott Browning is still looking for his first win against the Vulcans. The last time Edinboro defeated Cal was 2004, a 42-28 win at Sox Harrison Stadium. The last win at Adamson Stadium occurred in 2002, a 38-22 victory. Edinboro has lost four straight games at Adamson Stadium and six of the last seven.

Edinboro head coach Scott Browning became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 career wins with the Walsh victory. Now in his eighth season at the helm, the Fighting Scots are 50-30 under Browning. They are looking to rebound from a 4-6 record in 2012, the first losing season under Browning along with the first since 2002. California(Pa.) head coach Mike Kellar is in his second season in charge of the Vulcans' program and has a 10-3 ledger.

Cody Harris is off to a fast start for the Fighting Scots, throwing four touchdowns passes in each of the first two games. The senior quarterback has accounted for nine of Edinboro's ten touchdowns while throwing for 671 yards and averaging 394.5 ypg. in total offense.

Offense is up throughout the PSAC, which has been bad news for defenses. That includes the Fighting Scots. Edinboro has allowed back-to-back games of 30-or-more points for the first time since 2007, and Bloomsburg burned the Scots for 526 yards in total offense. That included 383 yards rushing, the third-highest single-game total against Edinboro.

Edinboro was picked to finish sixth in the PSAC?West in the coaches' preseason poll, while California(Pa.) was chosen fourth. The Western Division has a new look in 2013 with Seton Hill joining the PSAC. The addition of the Greensburg, PA-based Griffins shifted Lock Haven over to the Eastern Division.

Edinboro returned eight starters on offense, including first team All-PSAC?West selection Marcus Johnson at wide receiver and Cody Harris, a second team selection the last two years at quarterback. Defensively, the Fighting Scots have seven starters back, led by James Jackson, a preseason All-American pick who was a first team All-PSAC?West choice in 2011.

Three of Edinboro's six losses in 2012 came to nationally-ranked teams, and now the Scots' first defeat in 2013 was also to a ranked outfit. The Scots lost to then-19th ranked Bloomsburg, 30-14, the opening week of the season, followed by a 24-14 loss to sixth-ranked California(Pa.) the following week. Later in the season 22nd-ranked IUP handed the Boro a 26-10 defeat. The combined record of the six teams Edinboro lost to was 52-18.

The All-Time Series
California(Pa.) holds a 42-35-2 lead in the all-time series with Edinboro thanks to winning the last eight meetings. A year ago the Vulcans came away with a 24-14 win at Sox Harrison Stadium. The last time Edinboro defeated Cal was 2004, a 42-28 win at Sox Harrison Stadium. Edinboro's last win at Adamson Stadium occurred in 2002, a 38-22 victory. The Fighting Scots have lost four straight games at Adamson Stadium and six of the last seven.

The Last Meeting
2012 -- California(Pa.) 24, Edinboro 14
The Fighting Scots put a scare into the sixth-ranked Vulcans before falling at Sox Harrison Stadium. The tightly contested game saw Cal leading just 10-7 entering the fourth quarter. The Vulcans would boost that margin to 17-7 on a 27-yard pass from Peter Lalich to Nadir Brown. However, the Fighting Scots answered with a touchdown less than three minutes later as Cody Harris threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Duane McKelvin. The Scots were unable to hold the Vulcans on their next series, with Lamont Smith scoring a six-yard run just 71 seconds later. Cal won the total offense battle, 487 to 319 yards. Harris completed 26 of 37 passes for 270 yards, with Marcus Johnson catching eight passes for 116 yards. Lalich completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards with 2 TDs and 3 INTs. Mike Williams caught 6 passes for 123 yards, while Smith ran for 103 yards on 17 carries.

Last Week's Results
#15 Bloomsburg 47, Edinboro 35
Edinboro finished with 514 yards in total offense, but the Fighting Scots couldn't overcome five turnovers that led directly to 27 Bloomsburg points. Three of the turnovers came in a span of six plays, as the Fighting Scots lost three fumbles and threw a pair of interceptions. Four of the turnovers came in the first half as the Fighting Scots fell behind 31-14 at intermission. Edinboro would climb to within 34-28 when Cody Harris threw a 35-yard TD pass to Jordan Williams with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. The defense would come up with a stop and Edinboro actually had a chance to take the lead, but turnover number five ensued, and Bloomsburg would score following the miscue. Harris threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for a career-high 95 yards and another score. He finished with 455 yards in total offense, the third-highest single-game total. Marcus Johnson had a big game receiving, totaling nine catches for 185 yards. Unfortunately, Bloomsburg finished the game with 526 yards, including 383 yards on the ground. That is the third-highest total against an Edinboro team. Franklyn Quiteh rans for 231 yards, in the process breaking the PSAC?career rushing record.

California(Pa.) 45, Kutztown 10
The Vulcans improved to 2-0 with a dominating performance against Kutztown. The Vulcans jumped out to a 31-0 lead and took advantage of four turnovers. Cal finished with 430 total yards compared to 304 for the Golden Bears. Cody Schroeder led Cal, completing 20 of 28 passes for 267 yards and 4 TDs. Mike Williams caught eight passes for 132 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception. The Vulcan defense limited Kutztown to just nine yards rushing and posted six sacks.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-California(Pa.) game can be heard live on WFSE FM?88.9, with Michael Fenner providing the commentary.

The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period. Browning is now in his eighth season with a 50-30 record. With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald. Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator. Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester. He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach. That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007. His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins. in 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA?Top 25. The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA?playoffs for the first time in his tenure. Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA?poll. The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011. Last year's 4-6 finish represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.

Mike Kellar (Fairmont St. '96) is in his second season as the head coach at California(Pa.), taking over for legendary John Luckhardt. His first Cal edition finished at 8-3, giving him a 10-3 record overall at Cal. This is Kellar's second stint at California(Pa.) after originally serving as the offensive coordinator from 2004-08. He spent two years as the head coach at Concord, finishing with a 6-5 record in 2009 and an 8-3 record in 2010, before returning to Cal as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator in 2011.


Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"At times we played extremely well. I think Bloomsburg is legit. They show no weaknesses anywhere. When you scores 35 points with five turnovers, there's a lot of positives to build from. Defensively, we played better in the second half. Our guys never quit. We went 60 minutes."

Browning Comments ... on the Vulcans
"This will be a great challenge for us. They're good athletically. A very disciplined football team, and very physical. They have a lot of speed on both sides of the football. They play hard. That's the thing that jumps out on film."