Sophomore wide receiver/return specialist Cameron Dorner of the Shepherd University football team was named PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week on Monday. Courtesy photo

CALIFORNIA, Pa. — It seemed as if all manner of things were in the air.

Completed passes, penalty flags and an escalating number of points dominated the entertaining, 44-34, Shepherd University win over hostPennWest California from en.wikipedia.org Pennsylvania Western University, California on Saturday in a PSAC crossover game where the lead continually changed hands.

The ever-resilient Rams took a 10-0 lead, saw the offensive-minded Vulcans move ahead, 21-10, then found themselves trailing 28-17, before another in a season-long series of special teams TDs showed Cameron Dorner returning a kickoff 96 yards for points and then managed the yardage-filled afternoon’s last two scores to earn still another pulsating victory.

California rang up 570 yards of total offense and had resounding scoring drives of 91, 92, 86, 90 and 75 yards. Shepherd prevailed with quarterback Seth Morgan throwing for four TDs and 326 yards as well as getting the game’s final score on a short sneak. Cal’s productive 6-foot-5 passer was Davis Black, who completed 19-of-31 throws for 411 yards, but did suffer two interceptions as the Vulcans had three turnovers and Shepherd had none.

The points flew around about as much as the penalties both sides committed. Shepherd had 13 penalties for 143 yards while the Vulcans were flagged 12 times for 127 yards. Personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct, holding, false start, pass interference and offside calls were strewn around the same as long-strike TDs and lead changes.

Shepherd mounted scoring marches of 81, 52, 67, 31 and 69 yards in finally outscoring Cal’s offensive fireworks.

The dueling quarterbacks seemed like kindred spirits as they continually moved their teams, often connecting with Cameron Dorner (Shepherd) and Eric Willis (California). Dorner had nine catches for a pair of scores and 124 yards in addition to his badly needed kickoff-return score when the Rams trailed by 11 points. Willis had six receptions worth a staggering 274 yards and two scores.

Shepherd’s Morgan was never sacked, as he completed 26 of his 33 passes for 326 yards and scores to Jeremiah Taylor and Kordell Batten when not connecting with Dorner. Taylor had seven catches, Brown had four and Batten had three. In addition, Brown rushed for 99 yards.

This season, the Rams have so far managed wins by one point, seven points and 10 points and will carry a 3-0 record into Saturday’s home game against Kutztown. Cal had a 1-1 record after its loss.

Field position had meant little or nothing because Cal scored on plays of 91, 95 and 22 yards. The Rams countered with scores on plays of 96, 49, 25 and 27 yards.

It had been a game-long show for two productive quarterbacks. Both had come out throwing. And both had connected until the end came with Shepherd holding a 10-point lead . . . and another win.