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8/29/2008 10:24 AM

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Bruce Wald sat back in his chair and flashed a smile that might have been left over from the previous football season.

Wald, who works in the Office of Public Affairs at California University, once served as the school's sports information director and is a huge fan of the team.

"I still can't believe it," Wald said on a particularly warm summer afternoon. "Sometimes, I go back and read the newspapers just to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

What Wald and many other fans of the football team marveled at was the dream season that produced a 13-1 record, a PSAC title, a regional championship and a spot in the NCAA Division II semifinals against eventual champion Valdosta State.

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On a campus where winning football games wasn't an expectation for so long, there is the giddy emotion that given the right circumstances, this season might be a rerun of the last.

The hope of another great run will follow the Vulcans into Saturday's nonconference season-opener against West Chester. Kickoff is at noon and the game will be televised by FSN.

Wald, just like the other 5,000 fans or so who will fill Adamson Stadium for this game, can expect a great season. Maybe not 13-1 - that's a pretty tall order for any team to repeat - but the Vulcans are now strong enough to be considered the favorite to repeat as conference champions.

In strong-armed Kevin McCabe, a transfer from the University of Virginia, Cal might have its replacement for the graduated Joe Ruggiero. If McCabe lives up to expectations, then the offense will be just as potent as last season. The running backs - with tailbacks Brandon Lombardy and Daine Williams - will get a lot of work and the split ends - and in particular freshman Chedrick Cherry, who beat out Perry Ivery for a starting spot - has a lot of promise.

It's the defense that is a concern, especially since the lone returning linebacker, Darren Burns, will miss this game with an injury. That means four new starting linebackers - sophomore Guy Hurt, junior Matt McClellan, freshman Terrance Hemsley and senior Jake Howell - will play against West Chester.

The other big loss was Jermaine Moye, one of the best return men in PSAC history and a talented enough athlete to make a seamless transition from defensive back to wide receiver last year, his senior season.

As openers go, west Chester is no pushover, no Coastal Carolina or Villanova, first-game patsies, er, opponents of Penn State and West Virginia.

West Chester is a Top 25 team after going 9-3 last year. California is ranked in the top five in just about every Division II ranking.

Getting past West Chester could mean the start of another special season, one that might look strikingly familiar to 2007.

And one that might require the saving of more press clippings. You know, just in case it's unbelievable.

Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

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