Nov 21, 2025 5 min read

By John Sacco

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

Both overcame adversity during the regular season.

Now, PennWest California (8-3) and Washington & Jefferson (8-2) have an opportunity to see how far they’ve come as the NCAA Division II and III football national championship playoffs begin Saturday afternoon.

The Vulcans will travel to Virginia Union at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va., to meet the 9-2 Panthers, who are in the Division II playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Kickoff for the Division II game is 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, W&J – Presidents’ Athletic Conference champions a second straight season and 28 times overall – hit the road to Selinsgrove to battle Susquehanna, the Landmark Conference champion, at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field at Doug Arthur Stadium. Kickoff for the Division III first-round game is noon.

The Vulcans are the sixth seed. A win would set up a matchup with the winner of the Frostburg State-Johnson C. Smith game.

The Presidents-River Hawks winner would meet Christopher-Newport, which has a bye, in next week’s round of 32.

W&J vs. Susquehanna

The Presidents have won eight consecutive games after losing two straight non-conference contests to start the season.

W&J’s balanced offense and improving defense has set the tone for the big surge.

Quarterback Kellan Stahl fuels the offense and has flourished with record-setting receivers John Peduzzi and Jacob Macosko and running backs Kobe DeRosa and Andrew Sharp.

In two of the Presidents’ last three games, their total rushes doubled their passes.

W&J has been proficient in holding time of possession advantages. In seven games, the Presidents had a TOP of 31:19 or better and in five games 32:37 or more. W&J has been particularly stingy with the ball in the fourth quarter. In half of its games, the Presidents held the ball for 9:15 or longer in the final quarter.

Peduzzi and Sharp credited the quality and improvement of a young offensive line.

“It’s everything,” Sharp said. “They’ve created all. They’re the reason I have the yards and touchdowns I have. They do a lot. Honestly, I think they are the soul of our team. It’s great to have a lot of talk about how it’s so great to see how effective (our) run game is this year. It’s a credit to those guys up front.”

Susquehanna is led by quarterback Josh Ehrlich, who has completed 185 of 258 passes for 2,150 yards and 25 touchdowns with only one interception. He also ran for 609 yards with four rushing TDs. Ehrlich is the brother of W&J’s Drew Ehrlich, an assistant defensive backs coach.

Another standout is sophomore running back Rahshan La Mons. Despite sitting out the first two games because of injury, the 2024 All-American rushed for 640 yards on 118 carries with nine touchdowns.

Susquehanna’s kicker is a weapon. Dominic Bourgeois. He set a school record with 16 field goals on 16 attempts – which leads NCAA Division III.

“I think they’re going to try to run the ball,” said W&J linebacker Brock Sherman. “I also think we have to stop their quarterback. We must keep them from getting outside.

“The quarterback likes to roll out, so we have to keep him in the pocket. I think our line can capitalize and make a lot of plays. But, first, we must stop the run.”

W&J coach Mike Sirianni added that an opportunity is at hand.

“We know they are a good football team but everyone’s good right now,” Sirianni said. “There’s no one you face in the playoffs that is not going to be good. We have an opportunity to do something special.

“Last season, I think the intensity of a playoff game caught us off guard a little bit. We couldn’t counter punch. We opened and punched (Randolph-Macon) early. They threw a counter punch and we didn’t punch back.”

Cal vs. Virginia Union

The Vulcans are making a second-straight appearance in the NCAA playoffs and the ninth overall in program history, all since 2007.

Cal is playing on the road in the postseason for the first time since 2017.

The Vulcans won four straight, including a conference win at Slippery Rock. They then lost three of four games but were able to pull out a last-second win over Clarion, a pivotal victory as it turns out.

Cal won its last three games.

The Vulcans are led by junior defensive back Keith Charney and sophomore return specialist Deontae Williams, who were selected to the All-PSAC West first-team by the league coaches.

Charney ranks second on the team with a career-high 60 tackles and three interceptions while also adding four tackles for loss and five pass breakups.

Williams ranks second in NCAA Division II with a PSAC-best 844 combined returns yards, while also pacing the league with 35.9 yards per kick return and 11.7 yards per punt return. He has two touchdowns on 17 kickoff returns, plus one score on 19 punt returns. The Woodland Hills product also has 454 receiving yards on 32 catches and one TD.

The Panthers hold the No. 3 seed in Super Region One, the program’s highest seeding under coach Dr. Alvin Parker.

It’s Virginia Union’s fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA playoffs. The Panthers previously made five straight postseason trips from 1979-83.

Vulcans coach Gary Dunn said his team understands about playoff football.

“(Virginia Union) is a really good football team,” Dunn said. “They are an experienced team. It’s going to be a big test.

“It’s a 60-minute game. We’re a young team and sometimes we didn’t play good football. We did win games we needed to win. We are peaking at the right time and we’ve played our best football the last three games. The key is limiting mistakes, playing 60 minutes. Our culture comes into play this time of the year. It builds us for moments like this.”