Overall analysis
Close, but not quite.
In a game between Top 25 teams, No. 23 Edinboro found away to come back from a 21-3 deficit, but was unable to close out the deal in its 35-31 loss to PSAC West rival, No. 14 California (Pa.).
The Scots are an improved team. No question about it. But is Edinboro defense overall and secondary in particular good enough to handle a team that passes the ball as well as Cal did. Offensively, Edinboro is as good as anyone, but how junior quarterback Trevor Harris recovers from his back injury will determine if Edinboro continues to light it up.

Key plays

I. With a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter, Edinboro decided to go for it on fourth down from Cal’s 3-yard line. Instead of tacking on a field goal to go up six points, Edinboro decided to go for it and failed to score. Two plays before that, senior tight end Denayne Dixon dropped a touchdown on second down and goal from the Cal 11.

II. Cal took the lead for good when Windell Brown scored from 4 yards out with a little less than five minutes left in the game. Before Brown crossed the goal line, senior tailback Daine Williams broke a 32-yard run to give Cal a first down at the Edinboro 6 to set up Brown’s short touchdown run.

III. With Cal leading 21-10, in the second quarter, Cal quarterback Kevin McCabe threw the ball to receiver Marcel Pestano for a potential long touchdown pass. Instead Edinboro sophomore safety, Dan Skelton, intercepted the pass in the end zone. The Scots scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to pull within 21-17 at the half.

Key stats
I. In building a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter, Cal gained 216 yards of total offense. The Vulcans put the Scots in a deep hole early.
II. The Scots finished with 438 yards of total offense, but gained only 52 of those in the fourth quarter.
III. Edinboro had two turnovers with the second one – a Houston Brown fumble – setting up Cal to regain the lead, 28-24, in the third quarter.

Top players
I. Trevor Harris (Edinboro). The junior quarterback threw three touchdowns, ran for another, rushed for a career-high 91 yards and played through an injured back.
II. Daine Williams (Cal). The senior tailback rushed for 140 yards on 17 carries, scored a touchdown and set the Vulcans up for the game-winning touchdown.
III. Jake Howell (Cal). The senior linebacker finished with nine total tackles, with six solo stops. Was big on Cal’s goal line stand in the second half.

Flop players
I. The Edinboro front seven – With an inexperienced secondary, Edinboro needed its defensive lineman and linebackers to get it done. Instead, Cal didn’t get a sack and allowed Williams to run for 140 yards. They needed to make a statement early.
II. Marcel Pestano – The Pittsburgh transfer did catch a touchdown for Cal, but he got called for offensive pass interference that cost the Vulcans a touchdown. He also got received a personal foul for his end zone celebration that forced Cal to kickoff from its 15-yard line. Then he was unable to catch up to the ball when Dan Skelton picked off a pass in the end zone. The latter two shifted momentum in Edinboro’s favor.
III. Denayne Dixon and Ryan Rybicki. They each dropped key passes for Edinboro. Dixon dropped a touchdown while Rybicki failed to catch a pass that would have kept Edinboro’s final drive alive.

They said it

“It’s always frustrating, especially when you know we could have won. We were the better team on the field. Some people like to say the better team wins, but I don’t feel that about this game. We made some mistakes. We should have had that win.” – Edinboro senior tight end Denayne Dixon said.

“I don’t think we could have played any harder, you know. You can pick the whole game apart, but the bottom line is I think they may have made more plays than we did. You win as a team, you lose as a team and it never comes down to one play. – Edinboro coach Scott Browning said.

“We feed off it. Our team, I don’t know what the right words are, but feed off it. Offensive feeds off the defense. Defense feeds off the offense. Team feeds off the fans. It’s like keep feeding us. We’ll never get full. – Edinboro sophomore nose guard Adam Smith-Friendman about the crowd at Sox Harrison Stadium In its first night game ever, Edinboro drew 7,213 fans. The stadium seats 6,000.

“Anger. I take responsibility for it. The key turnover in the game was my fumble. We dropped a pass here or there, but a dropped pass doesn’t turn the ball over to the other team. It wasn’t fourth down. I lost the ball. I take responsibility for the loss – Edinboro junior tailback Houston Brown on his fumble that led to Cal scoring to take a 28-24 lead.

“Hell no. My teammates and I are too close. We go to war together. I’d go to battle with them no matter what it takes. I want to go out there and be on the field with them. With how hard we worked in the summer, how hard we worked last spring and throughout the winter last year. You live for those possessions and I didn’t want to take one play off. I guess that’s who I am. I just want to be out there with my team and go to work with them,” said Edinboro junior quarterback Trevor Harris when asked about not wanting to come off the field when he took a helmet hit to his lower back in the fourth quarter with his team trailing, 35-31, late in the game.

“A lot,” said Harris when asked how much pain he’s in.

“They want me to go to the bathroom to see if I got a kidney or anything. See if I’m passing anything. They want me to go to ER, but I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. I think it’s just a muscle. I think it’s going to be just a couple of days till I get back on my feet. I’ll be OK,” said Harris about the injury.

“Oh yeah. I’m playing I’m not missing anything,” said Harris about whether he’ll play next week against Lock Haven in a PSAC West road game.

“We were supposed to squib it into a hole. I was about ready to strangle my special teams guy who recommended it. Freaking (kicker Derek Fiorenza) ran to the band section for protection.” – Cal coach John Luckhardt said about when Fiorenza accidentally kicked the ball into an Edinboro player. The Scots retained possession and scored on a short touchdown drive to get back in the game after being down 21-3.

“Edinboro is good team. They’re an all-around good team. They’re going to be real competitive in the (NCAA Division II) playoffs. They’re not a ball club you mess with. – Cal senior tailback Daine Williams said about Edinboro, which lost its fourth consecutive game to the Vulcans.

“It’s been a challenge these past four years. It’s definitely a challenge to get where we are and now it’s a challenge every game. I think teams practice a lot harder when they know they’re going against Cal. We not only have a tougher job than we did last year, this year we have to go even harder – Cal senior linebacker Jake Howell said.

Next
Edinboro plays at PSAC West foe Lock Haven (0-4, 0-1) on Sept. 27. The Scots follow that game with their homecoming game against Gannon (2-2, 0-1).

- Duane Rankin