Shippensburg Raids the Vulcans
Posted by CalTimes on November 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By Alix Kunkle - Sports Editor
Photo by: Laura Bayle. Windell Brown eludes Shippensburg cornerback Marcellus Sammons en route to a large gain in the game on Saturday. Brown scored two rushing touchdowns in the game in which the Vulcans lost, 42-35, in the PSAC game.
Trailing the Shippensburg Red Raiders 42-14 with 9:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, it would have taken a comeback for the ages in order for California to defeat the Red Raiders.
They almost pulled it off.
California scored 21 points in the final nine minutes of the game, but the Vulcans would fail to recover an onside kick and fell to Shippensburg, 42-35, in the PSAC Championship game.
With the loss, the Vulcans fell to the third seed in Super Region One, but received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division II playoffs and will take on the Fayetteville State Broncos in the first round on Saturday.
Shippensburg’s Wing-T offense was widely talked about coming into Saturday’s game, but it was the passing attack by the Red Raiders that gave the Vulcans fits. Quarterback Chad DiFebbo threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns, with 168 of those yards to his brother, Chase DiFebbo (who also had two touchdown receptions). Chase DiFebbo found his way into open spaces on all six of his receptions, with four going for over 20 yards, and the other two being the touchdown receptions.
The Vulcans did not allow a 100-yard rusher for the tenth time in eleven games, but did allow 195 rushing yards in the game, including xxx in the first half.
The Vulcans’ offense was surprisingly stagnant until the fourth quarter; on multiple drives, California’s offense drove to within the Shippensburg 30-yard line, but would suddenly disappear without emerging with points. For the game, Josh Portis completed 24 of 48 passes for a career high 305 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 12 yards. A.J. Jackson continued to be Portis’ favorite target, catching 10 passes for 133 yards and a score, and Terrance Moore added 88 yards and a score. Chedrick Cherry, Blake Williamson, and Windell Brown also had receptions for the Vulcans.
Brown led a California running attack which could not seem to find its wheels throughout the game; the Vulcans managed just 141 yards on the ground, led by Brown’s 72 yards and two scores. Freddie Bacco had 55 yards on six carries, with 46 of those yards coming on a touchdown scamper with 9:18 remaining in the game. Bacco continues to lead the team in rushing with 570 yards on the ground, but Brown’s performances have moved him within 40 yards of the lead with 536 yards on the season.
Defensively, the Vulcans recorded seven tackles for a loss of yards, including Thomas Mulabah’s six-yard sack, but were otherwise unable to sustain any sort of defensive pressure. Terrance Johnson led the Vulcans with nine total tackles, followed by Erik Harris’ eight and Dontey Brown’s seven. Brown currently leads the team with 79 total tackles, followed by Harris’ 57 and Josh Menendez’s 49. Menendez had four tackles in Saturday’s loss.
The Vulcans were able to hold Shippensburg’s leading rusher, Kevin Marshall, to 90 yards on the ground, but gave up 195 overall rushing yards in the game, the highest total by a Vulcan opponent this season. The highest previous total this season had been against West Chester, when the Golden Rams ran for 156 yards on the Vulcans’ defense. For the Red Raiders, Mike Frenette had 59 rushing yards and a touchdown, including a 32-yard run, and Kevin Herod added 49 yards in the game.
California’s tilt with Fayetteville State is on Saturday at Adamson Stadium, with game time set for 12:00 p.m.