West Chester Football Looks to Bounce Back Against California (Pa.) Saturday at Home

WEST CHESTER vs. CALIFORNIA (PA)
Game Details: 12:00 p.m. | Saturday, Sep. 14
Location: West Chester, Pa. | John A. Farrell Stadium
Tickets: WCUPATIX.com
Game Links: Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Web Stream: Sports Fan Base Network (SFBN)
Radio: 95.3 WCHE
Game Program: Here
West Chester Links: News | Roster | Schedule
Cal Links: News | Roster | Schedule 

GOLDEN RAMS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST CAL
• West Chester welcomes California (Pa.) to John A. Farrell Stadium in Week 2 of the 2024 campaign. The Golden Rams are looking to hand first-year head coach Duke Greco his first win in Purple & Gold with a victory Saturday. West Chester dropped a 20-17 verdict last week at home when Bentley kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired.
• Cal was picked to finish second in the PSAC West in the preseason coaches' poll. The Vulcans finished second a year ago with a 6-1 conference slate. Their lone loss was to division champ Slippery Rock. Cal finished 7-4 overall in 2023.
• Cal is coming off a 23-19 loss at No. 23 Charleston (W.Va.) on Saturday. Much like West Chester did last week, Charleston jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Cal, just to see the Vulcans rattle off 19 straight points to take a 19-14 lead. Charleston then rallied in the fourth quarter to score nine unanswered points and earn the come-from-behind win.
• West Chester is looking to avoid dropping its first two games of a season since 2015. That year, the Golden Rams fell to Lenoir-Rhyne in the opener and then lost at Mercyhurst the next week.
• A first-year head coach of the Golden Rams has not lost his first two games since Otto Kneidinger in 1979. The only other former gridiron mentor to lose their first two games at the helm was Howard Wescott in 1932.

WCU GAME DAY INFORMATION
• Tickets are still available for West Chester's crossover tilt against Cal. Visit WCUPATIX.com to get yours today. Tickets are $10 general admission and $7 for senior citizens. Gates open 90 minutes before kickoff. Fans are highly encouraged to purchase your tickets in advance online and print them out on your home computer to avoid long lines at the ticket windows.
• Spectators can visit West Chester University's Football Game Day Information page for tailgating policy and bag-check policy at John A. Farrell Stadium as well as much more useful tips for attending football games on South Campus.

GOLDEN RAMS vs. CAL ALL-TIME
• West Chester holds a 7-4 advantage all-time against Cal, including a current three-game winning streak against the Vulcans heading into Saturday's crossover. The Golden Rams are 4-2 all-time at home against the Vulcans.
• The all-time series, dating back to 1956, has been a series of streaks for the two sides. West Chester won the first four contests between the two state schools (1956, 1957, 1994 and 1995). The Vulcans then captured the next four tilts (2007, 2008 [twice] and 2009). The Golden Rams have taken the decision in 2012, 2013 and 2019.
• The last four decisions in the series have been by less than 10 points for the victor. In fact, West Chester's last three wins were all one-score games.

GOLDEN RAMS IN CROSSOVERS vs. THE WESTERN DIVISION
• West Chester shows a 12-6 record in crossover competition with the PSAC West since the format of two contests in Weeks 2 and 3 was adopted in 2014. However, Saturday's showdown will be the first time that the Golden Rams and Vulcans meet in those crossovers.
• West Chester has only faced Cal, IUP and Clarion in the final week of the season as part of the crossover with the PSAC West, but never at the beginning of the year.

LAST TIME vs. CAL (NOV. 16, 2019 – WEST CHESTER, PA.)
• Cal QB Noah Mitchell's two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, after the Vulcans had scored a touchdown with no time remaining on the clock, as No. 24 West Chester hung on to defeat Cal, 20-19, in the regular-season finale at John A. Farrell Stadium. The win clinched a post-season berth in the NCAA II Playoffs as a result. That is the last year that the Golden Rams qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
• West Chester QB Paul Dooley finished the day 18-for-33 for 202 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Dan Neuhaus. Dooley was also the Golden Rams' leading rusher with 61 yards on 14 carries. His second half was a big reason that West Chester erased what was a 10-point deficit at one time in the first half.
• Jackson Taylor and Ch'aim Smith finished the game with 10 tackles each. They battled Cal running back Nelson Brown all afternoon. Brown finished with 114 yards on 25 carries and a score.
 
WEST CHESTER - LAST TIME OUT
• Bentley kicker Mason Campbell nailed a 38-yard field goal as time expired lifting the visiting Falcons to a 20-17 victory over host West Chester in the season opener for both schools Saturday inside John A. Farrell Stadium.
• Bentley drove 46 yards on nine plays down to the West Chester 21-yard line in the final 58 seconds of the game to line up Campbell for his game-winner. Following a Golden Rams' timeout with three ticks left, Campbell split the uprights sending the visiting bench into a frenzy.
• The win avenged a last-minute victory by West Chester up in Waltham, Mass., a year ago and marked the first win for the Falcons in West Chester in four tries.
• What started out as an explosive day offensively for the hosts, turned sour just as the weather turned bad in the second half. The Golden Rams jumped out to a 14-0 lead with touchdown drives on its first two possessions, but could not muster much offense after the first quarter of play. West Chester recorded 10 first downs and 111 yards of total offense in the first 15 minutes. It finished with 13 first downs and 271 yards of offense in the game.
• Bentley ran 74 offensive plays over the final 45 minutes and wore down West Chester's defense, which seemed to be on the field all the time. After gaining just 19 yards in the first quarter, the Falcons finished with 354 yards of total offense.