Nov 6, 2015 4 min read

Don’t expect a repeat of last year’s shootout when California University and Mercyhurst meet at Adamson Stadium today.

The two teams combined for 108 points, 1,174 yards and 1,017 passing yards in a 59-49 win by Mercyhurst last November.

The game was played one week after California forfeited its game against Gannon because of Cal players being involved in a midweek altercation in town. Cal’s secondary was missing three starters but quarterback James Harris had one of his best days at quarterback, passing for 473 yards and four touchdowns. Mercyhurst’s Brendan Boylan threw for 544 yards and six scores.

Boylan injured his shoulder three weeks ago so Zach Emerick will be the starter for the 1 p.m. kickoff.

“The last few weeks, our defense has been coming together,” said Cal linebacker Errol Brewster. “We’re playing more as a unit.”

After a 56-21 thrashing by Slippery Rock in Week 6, Cal’s defense has allowed an average of 23 points per game, seven fewer than the average of 30 in the previous four games. Mercyhurst has allowed 26 per game this season.

Brewster is coming off one of his best games at Cal, registering 5 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a 42-21 rout of Gannon. Cal forced six turnovers – four interceptions and two fumbles – and tied a season high with seven sacks.

“The IUP game (a 20-15 loss) showed us a lot,” said Brewster. “We just went back to our basics.”

And it seems to work.

Cal leads the PSAC with 17 interceptions and have 12 takeaways over the past two weeks, including six interceptions against Clarion. Before that, Cal had 11 takeaways in the first seven games. Junior defensive back Jordan Bowman and Aaron Terry each have four interceptions. Brewster is tied for the conference lead with three forced fumbles.

The offense missed numerous red zone opportunities that cost victories at Slippery Rock and Indiana but has produced 42 points in each of the last two games. Senior wide receiver Kowan Scott is third in school history with 2,464 yard. He needs 69 yards to pass Perry Kemp (1980-83) for the school record. Scott had a career-high 151 yards and tied his personal best with seven receptions against Gannon.

Kickoff: 1:30 p.m., Saturday

This is an unusual time for Washington & Jefferson’s football team: coming to the end of a regular season without the chance at a playoff berth.

The Presidents (4-2, 6-2) will look for their second consecutive win after losing to Case Western Reserve when they host Thiel (0-6, 1-7). They are in fifth place in the PAC standings and have only the rivalry game against Waynesburg in two weeks to look forward to.

“We’re not looking ahead,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “We’re dealing with something we’re not used to dealing with. We put ourselves in this predicament and there is nothing we can do about it now. The kids are down (because of not making the playoffs). You have to expect that from a group of seniors that had higher expectations. It’s just a normal human reaction.”

Quarterback Pete Coughlin needs 210 yards passing to reach 2,500 and tailback Ryan Ruffing 52 yards to reach 1,000 rushing this season for W&J.

Thiel is coming off a 73-19 loss to Carnegie Mellon. The Tomcats are led by quarterback Ryan Radke, who threw for a season-high 238 yards last week and is fourth in the PAC in total yardage.

Following a 42-13 loss at Thomas More, Waynesburg has a bye week. The Yellow Jackets (2-2, 3-6) will use that time to prepare for their annual rival game against Washington & Jefferson (4-2, 6-2) Nov. 14.