Oct 9, 2022 4 min read

The California Vulcans were in the red zone in the closing seconds before an offensive penalty resulted in time expiring on Saturday afternoon in a 22-21 loss to No. 18 IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West play at Adamson Stadium in the 13th edition of the Coal Bowl.

With the loss, the Vulcans fell to 3-3 overall with a 2-1 mark in divisional action. The Vulcans have lost three games this season by a combined nine points to teams that were the preseason favorites in the PSAC polls. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks improve to 5-0 this season and remain tied with Gannon for first in the PSAC West standings with 3-0 record.

Senior quarterback Noah Mitchell finished with 249 passing yards on 23-of-34 attempts with one touchdown and one interception. He now ranks No. 13 all-time in PSAC history with 9,542 passing yards and is tied for No. 15 in league history with 82 passing touchdowns. Mitchell completed passes to eight different receivers on Saturday and went 6-for-10 for 66 yards on the game’s final drive.

The Vulcans limited the Crimson Hawks to a season-low 98 rushing yards on 29 attempts after IUP entered play as the top rushing offense in the PSAC with nearly 215 rushing yards per game. Junior defensive back Micah Tillman led the team with six tackles (four solo) and registered one interception with two pass break-ups. Junior linebacker Gabe Miller added five stops (two solo) with 2.0 TFL and one fumble recovery, while junior defensive back Noah Hamlin finished with five tackles (four solo) and two pass break-ups.

The Vulcans started the final drive of the game at their 21-yard line and one timeout. Cal advanced to midfield on back-to-back completions and moved to the IUP 39-yard line on an 11-yard completion to Mylique McGriff before calling its final timeout with 39 seconds remaining. The Crimson Hawks later forced a third-and-17 before a defensive pass interference resulting in a first down at the IUP 41-yard line.

Mitchell connected with sophomore wide receiver Malik Langley for a pair of first downs on back-to-back plays before a short completion to McGriff. Cal then rushed to the line and executed a spike to stop the clock for a potential field goal. However, the officials flagged the Vulcans for an offensive penalty and resulted in a 10-second runoff thus ending the contest.

CMU edges Waynesburg

The Waynesburg University football team faced a tall task for homecoming when undefeated Carnegie Mellon came to John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday. Cheered on by a raucous crowd of alumni, current students, friends and family, the Yellow Jackets gave the No. 18 team in the country all it could handle. A late touchdown from CMU allowed it to escape Waynesburg with a 27-20 win.

After a scoreless first quarter, Carnegie Mellon (6-0, 4-0) appeared to take control of the contest with touchdowns on back-to-back drives that made the score 13-0 with just over 3:10 left to play until halftime. However, Waynesburg’s big play offense was finally able to break through against the stifling Tartan defense and answer the visitors’ challenge. Senior quarterback Tyler Raines got things going with a 21-yard catch-and-run to senior running back Justin Flack. Raines capped a brief two-play touchdown drive by hitting sophomore wide receiver Dakota Romantino for a 52-yard scoring pass that got the host squad on the board.

The Tartans orchestrated a marathon 16-play, 83-yard drive in the fourth quarter that lasted 7:35 and ended in the Waynesburg end zone. Not only did the visitors go up 27-20, but they left the Jackets with just over a minute left to mount another comeback. Waynesburg got as far as the CMU 40, but an interception effectively ended the homecoming thriller.

Romantino had his best game of the season and also set the mark for most receiving yards in a game by any player in the PAC this year. He hauled in a game-high six catches for 213 yards and the two scores. Raines completed 16 of 31 passes for 274 yards.