Football star in critical condition after crash
By Alix Kunkle- Sports Editor
A California University football player was seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident last week, leaving his status for the 2010 season in doubt.
Windell Brown, a senior running back who was expected to be the Vulcans’ primary running back, suffered head and neck injuries in a crash on June 26 in West Mifflin.
Brown was last listed in critical condition.
According to authorities, Brown was one of three passengers in a vehicle driving along Pennsylvania Avenue when the driver struck a parked car near Duchess Avenue during the morning of June 26. The driver and two other passengers also suffered neck injuries; there is no word on their condition.
Identities of the other three victims have not been released, and police have not disclosed whether charges will be filed against the driver. There is also no word on whether drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.
Brown, who has played in 37 games for the Vulcans over the last three seasons, set career highs last season by rushing for 815 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games during the 2009 season, despite missing two games due to an ankle injury. For his career, he has rushed for 1,850 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging 48.2 yards per game.
Walker, Miles among 17 Vulcans on All-PSAC West Team
By Sports Information - for the Cal Times
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced the All-PSAC West football teams on Wednesday and California University of Pennsylvania led the league with 17 players selected, including eight first-team honorees, and two players received individual awards.
Senior defensive lineman Willie Walker (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year and true freshman defensive back Rontez Miles (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills) was tabbed the PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
Walker joins former teammate Gary Butler (2007) as the only Cal U players to earn PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year honors. Walker and defensive back Terrence Johnson (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills) were also named to the All-PSAC West First Team for the third-straight year, making them only the seventh and eighth players in Vulcan history since 1968 to accomplish the feat.
Miles becomes the second player in school history to earn PSAC West Freshman of the Year laurels, joining former quarterback Sam Mannery (1987) as the only players to earn the award.
The 2009 All-PSAC West First Team also includes graduate student linebacker Dontey Brown (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport/Penn State), sophomore linebacker Brett Diamond (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca), senior wide receiver AJ Jackson (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Lehigh/Sequoias), graduate student offensive lineman Cha’Mar Jones (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) junior offensive lineman Dan Jordan (Tionesta, Pa./Redbank Valley) and junior wide receiver Terrance Moore (Key West, Fla./Key West/Mesa).
In addition to his freshman honors, Miles was named to the All-PSAC West Second Team and was joined on the team by senior running back Freddie Bacco (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), junior running back Windell Brown (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne), sophomore wide receiver Chedrick Cherry (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller/South Florida), sophomore defensive lineman Marcus Cook (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods), graduate student punter Derek Fiorenza (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan/Villanova) senior defensive lineman Brandon Gordon (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), junior center Nick Piccirillo (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) and graduate student quarterback Josh Portis (Woodland Hills, Calif./Maryland).
Vulcan football clinches berth in PSAC Championship
Quarterback Josh Portis threw for 219 yards and a touchdown on route to a Vulcan victory over Slippery Rock, 44-7. - Photo by Laura Rayle
By Alix Kunkle – For the Cal Times
After season-opening losses to Saginaw Valley and Bloomsburg, a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship game did not look imminent for the California Vulcans football team.
But after seven straight wins, it quickly became a reality.
With a 44-7 win over the Rock of Slippery Rock, the Vulcans not only clinched a berth in the PSAC championship game, but they also clinched at least a tie of the PSAC West title.
Even if the Vulcans would lose to Mercyhurst on Saturday, Oct. 31, California would still own the tiebreaker over both Edinboro and Clarion, as the Vulcans defeated each team earlier in the regular season.
It was not until midway through the second quarter when California started clicking on all cylinders, though. After Mark Domonkos converted a 36-yard field goal, the Rock went three and out on their ensuing possession. But Kyle Whitman, the PSAC’s leading punter, had his punt blocked by Brandon Livsey and Chedrick Cherry returned the block 19 yards to put California up 17-7. After that punt, the Rock managed just 118 total yards in the final 40:19 of action. Slippery Rock managed 217 yards in the game.
California’s defense was a major part of holding the Rock to 217 total yards and just seven points. After intercepting just three passes through the first eight games of the season, the Vulcans recorded three on Saturday alone, with Brett Diamond, Anthony Roberts, and Kyle Crane all intercepting Slippery Rock for a total of 73 yards. Dontey Brown led the Vulcans in tackles with nine, and eight different Vulcans recorded tackles for a loss of yards. Five different Vulcans also recorded sacks in the win.
The Vulcans also held the Rock to just 69 rushing yards; it was the third straight game in which California has allowed less than 100 rushing yards in a single game. California has not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. Currently California’s opponents average just 88.1 rushing yards per game and an average of 2.7 yards per carry. Both numbers are second in the PSAC, as West Chester leads both categories, averaging 84.2 yards a game and 2.5 yards a carry.
Offensively, the Vulcans continued to pick apart their opponents’ secondaries. A.J. Jackson had 10 receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown; his 10 receptions are a career high. Terrance Moore had 48 yards on four receptions as the Vulcans put up 228 passing yards, their seventh straight game of putting up at least 175 yards through the air.
But despite throwing for 219 yards and a score, Portis threw an interception in the third quarter that snapped his 157-straight pass attempts without an interception. Portis’s last interception thrown was on Sept. 12 against the West Chester Golden Rams. It was, however, the fifth time this season that Portis threw for over 200 yards.
Windell Brown led all California rushers for the fourth consecutive week, gaining 69 yards on the ground and recording one touchdown; Brandon Anderson, Terrance Moore, and Shawn Johnson also had rushing touchdowns for the Vulcans. Also included in the Vulcans’ 188 rushing yards were Josh Portis’s 44, Anderson’s 31, and Bacco’s 30.
With the win, Cal moved up four spots to 20th in the latest AFCA poll, overtaking Edinboro, who had moved to 21st. Bloomsburg, who had lost to Shippensburg on Saturday, fell to 10th overall, but the Red Raiders just missed making the poll, coming in as the leading “others receiving votes” team. However, despite California’s seventh straight win, the Vulcans fell one spot in the regional rankings to fourth after Shippensburg’s upset over Bloomsburg. West Liberty moved to first, Shippensburg to second, and Bloomsburg fell to third, followed by the Vulcans. Edinboro and East Stroudsburg moved to sixth and eighth, respectively.
California closes their season with a home matchup against the Mercyhurst Lakers; a win at Adamson Stadium on Saturday would give the Vulcans outright ownership of the PSAC West title for the fifth consecutive year. The Vulcans and Lakers square off at 3:30 p.m.