Oct 20, 2016 4 min read

For a short period of time this week, no one was quite sure this game would be played.

The faculty members at 14 of the 18 member institutions in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference voted to strike at midnight Tuesday.

The next morning, the PSAC announced that all athletic events would be held, including Saturday’s football games.

This week’s opponent for California is Gannon, a private institution whose faculty is not part of that union.

“The coaches are in a different bargaining unit than the professors and the coaches are not on strike right now,” said Cal head coach Gary Dunn Wednesday morning. “We talked (to the players) about it and it’s something out of our control. We worry about what we can control and we have no control over this. So we move on.”

The Vulcans (4-0, 6-0) are three victories away from winning the PSAC West Division title and earning a spot in the State Game. It also would mean Cal would have a great chance for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Adamson Stadium.

Cal is sure to unleash senior tailback Nick Grissom on the Gannon defense. Grissom set a school record with 258 yards rushing on 33 carries, both career highs, in a 48-20 win over Clarion last week.

“I never had 33 carries even in high school,” said Grissom, who needs 325 yards to reach 1,000 this season. “I think the most I ever rushed for was 190 yards. I’m feeling more comfortable and I trust my line to open the holes.”

Special teams are sure to be important and cornerback Aaron Terry and wide receiver Garry Brown will play big roles in the return game.

Brown has 32 receptions, 10 of which went for touchdowns, and Terry has been a strong man-to-man cover guy for Cal.

Michael Keir has been strong at quarterback, completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,619 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has only four interceptions in 175 attempts.

Gannon (1-3, 4-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 34-12 win over Seton Hill last week. Ringgold graduate Quad Law, a redshirt senior, leads the Golden Knights with 37 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns. His brother, Nico, a redshirt freshman, has 16 receptions and a TD.

“They started the season 3-0 … went through a rough patch but had an impressive win against Seton Hill last week. “They do a great job running the football. Defensively, they run (to the ball). They have one of the best secondaries in the league. So it’s going to be a tough test.”

W&J at Westminster

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Saturday

Normally, allowing 88 points over two games would mean two losses. In this case, Washington & Jefferson produced two wins by scoring a combined 92 points. Winning games over Carnegie Mellon (55-52 in 2 OTs) and Bethany (37-36) kept the Presidents playoff hopes alive.

It doesn’t get any easier this week with a trip to Westminster, which has an identical record as W&J, 3-1 in the conference and 5-1 overall.

“We’re not talented enough to not be focused,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “We’re not an experienced enough team to just go through the motions. Bethany always plays us tough. We won and I’m proud of the fact we won.”

The discussion at practice this week centered around turnovers, not committing them, but causing them. The Presidents have one takeaway in the past two games, though it was a game-changer. Defensive lineman Torre Carr intercepted a Bethany pass in the fourth quarter and W&J scored the game-winner on the next play.

Westminster is in the top five of just about every team category in the PAC. Defensive end Bobby Noble has five quarterback sacks. The Titans are plus-3 in turnover ratio and the defense is allowing 17.7 points per game, second-best behind Carnegie Mellon in the conference.

“Westminster is by far the most talented team in our league,” Sirianni said. “They were 9-2 last year. They have one loss and played a lot closer against Thomas More than we did. … They are very, very talented and well coached.”

W&J’s offense was streaky in the one-point win over Bethany but Jesse Zubik caught seven passes for a career-high 235 yards and two TDs. It could have been more than 300 yards but Zubik dropped three passes, rare for the sure-handed senior wide receiver.

Quarterback Pete Coughlin has 1,818 passing yards, 27 TD passes and, most important, just three interceptions in 185 attempts.