W&J, Cal headed to NCAA football playoffs
Observer-Reporter
The Washington & Jefferson and Penn West California football teams both have qualified for postseason play.
And both the Presidents and Vulcans will be playing road games in the first round.
Washington & Jefferson (8-2) had secured a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs by winning its 28th Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship. The Presidents will begin postseason play Saturday at Susquehanna (8-2) in the first round.
The winner will play in the second round at Christopher Newport (10-0) on Nov. 29. Christopher Newport received a first-round bye.
The PAC has two teams in the playoff field. Grove City (8-2) was selected as an at-large team and will play at Hanover (8-2) in the first round.
California (8-3) received an at-large berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Vulcans will play Saturday at Virginia Union (9-2).
Cal is the No. 6 seed in Super Region One while Virginia Union is the No. 3 seed.
The Cal-Virginia Union winner will face either second-seeded Johnson C. Smith (10-1) or Frostburg State (9-2) in the second round.
Both W&J and California ended the regular season Saturday with blowout victories.
Wash & Jeff 67, Thiel 0
Washington & Jefferson prepared for the postseason in about as impressive a fashion as possible. The Presidents routed PAC rival Thiel 67-0 at Cameron Stadium.
Seven different players scored touchdowns for W&J, including Dante DeRubbo, who returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown in the Presidents’ 36-point first quarter. Ten seconds after DeRubbo’s TD, W&J recorded a safety.
John Peduzzi caught a pair of touchdown passes, covering 13 and 51 yards, the former from Kellan Stahl and the latter from Colin Payne. Andrew Sharp had a pair of one-yard TD runs.
W&J’s defense held Thiel to only one first down. The Presidents outgained the Tomcats 575-4. Thiel had minus-29 yards net rushing.
California 35, Shippensburg 10
Roman Purcell threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as California ended the regular season with a 35-10 win at Shippensburg.
Cal led Shippensburg 7-3 at halftime on a 31-yard TD pass from Purcell to Rowen Hershey in the first quarter.
Purcell hit D’Avay Johnson with a 29-yard TD pass in the third quarter to make it 14-3.
Purcell’s three-yard scoring run made it 21-3 in the fourth quarter, and the Vulcans added two TD runs by Kendrick Agenor, covering nine and 24 yards, to pull away.
Shippensburg (3-8) was held to 227 yards of offense with the Raiders’ lone touchdown coming in the final minute of play.