This One’s For You Grandma!! Juniata College Quarterback Cal German Has Career Day Against Hartwick, In Game Dedicated To His Late Grandmother

on 24 September, 2024 at 23:44

Photo submitted: Cal and his proud Grandma Nancy Steiner on Cal’s Clarion Area High School Graduation in 2019

During a very heart wrenching time, former Clarion Area Bobcat standout and current Juniata College quarterback Cal German made a very special decision that was an absolute tribute to someone that he and the entire Clarion community love dearly.

On Wednesday, September 23rd, Cal’s grandma (his dad Joel’s mother) Nancy Steiner passed away. Cal and his Eagles’ teammates were scheduled to the Hartwick College Hawks in Oneonta, New York just three days later.

It had to be hard to make the road trip and play under the circumstances. Could anyone have blamed Cal if he said “Coach, I just can’t do it.”

But Cal made the decision to play and more than that, to dedicate the game to “Grandma Nancy,” one of his most ardent supporters.

And with the help of his teammates, coaches and others, Cal, a senior, had the best game of his career, Calvin German completing 14 of 23 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles 37-30 win, at Wright Stadium.

Cal has had touchdowns in all three of Juniata’s games, so far this season, with one scoring strike and 216 yards passing against Gettysburg at home on Saturday, September 7th and three touchdown passes at Alfred University on Saturday, September 14th. Cal was 15-for-21 for 151 yards in the game, with no interceptions. He has put up some vary solid stats after the first three games: 48-for-80, 60 percent completion percentage, 649 yards and 7 touchdowns with 216 yards per game and a total efficiency rating of 152.

**Photo courtesy of JD** **Cavrich – Cal in action against Gettysburg**

The Juniata College Sports website had this recap of the Hartwick game: Juniata’s Football team traveled to Hartwick College on Saturday and picked up their first win of the year in the dying moments of the game, winning by a final score of 37-30.

Late in the first quarter, Calvin German capped off a nice drive for the Eagles with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Quintin Stephens to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead.

Juniata made it 13-0 early in the second quarter as Division III rushing leader Hunter Wolfley took one to the house from nine yards out on another efficient Eagles drive. Hartwick responded quickly and threw a 74-yard touchdown pass on their following drive to make it 13-7 in the second quarter. After three punts on the next three drives, the Hawks had the ball again. They completed a deep 40-yard pass, which set them up to tie the game 13-13 on an eventual eight-yard rushing touchdown. Juniata managed the clock well on their last drive of the half, and Alex Mullin converted a 35-yard field goal attempt to secure a 16-13 lead heading into the halftime break.

Hartwick would tie the game up on their first drive of the second half with a 47-yard field goal and then take the lead on a 14-yard passing touchdown on their next offensive drive after an Eagles punt. Wolfley got going again on the Eagles’ following drive and took one to the house from 39 yards. The game was tied 23-23.

In the fourth quarter Stephens caught a 58-yard bomb from German for his second touchdown of the day to give the Eagles a 30-23 lead early.

Hartwick then went on a nearly six-minute long drive which resulted in a 15-yard passing touchdown and tied the game 30-30. Each team punted their next drive away, and Hartwick looked like they would take the last drive of the game right up until Walker Bredickas picked off the Hartwick quarterback.

Two plays later, Bredickas’ interception turned into seven points and a late lead for the Eagles on a 20-yard touchdown pass from German to Sean Hakanson.

Trailing 37-30 with 58 seconds remaining, the Hawks were unable to mount a comeback.

German threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Stephens. He also totaled 164 yards receiving. Wolfley led with 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Lucas Branigan led with 12 tackles on defense. Bredickas added the interception for the Eagles while Gunner Lesher and Conner McCracken each added a sack.

The win was the Eagles’ first since a 31-21 win against Hartwick, on September 17th, 2023, breaking a ten game losing streak and the first win as a visitor since a 28-14 win at McDaniel on Saturday, October 5th, 2019. (There was no football season in the Northeast Conference in 2019, due to Covid concerns.)

As alluded to above, Cal refuses to take personal credit for this or any other win or other team accomplishment. He knows it is all about “TEAM.”

Photo submitted: Cal on left with friends, (Cal’s unedited description shows the love and camaraderie this tight knit unit has) Laycee Drake (Univeristy of Albany Women’s Basketball Player, Luke Branigan’s girlfriend), Luke Branigan (Senior Safety and one of my better friends on the team, Quintin Stephens wide receiver who was named Landmark Player of the Week after 6 catches for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns, Sean Hakanson my roommate who caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 58 seconds to play.

Cal shared his insights on the whole scope of the Eagles hard work mentality and how it computed to this big win. “Entering into Week 3 sitting at a 0-2 start, my teammates and I focused heavily on stepping up our practice intensity and focus. Winning our first road game since 2019 is a testament to the hard work that my teammates have put together since January in the Weight Room, throughout Spring Ball, and our Summer Workouts.”

The win took a great effort on both sides of the ball. “The Defense stepped up big when they needed to, getting an interception late in the 4th quarter from Walker Bredikas. As a young defense with several freshmen and sophomores in the rotation, captains Ethan Shank and Aaron Rothermel did a great job of rallying the Defensive guys all week and portraying confidence in that side of the ball, and It was great to see their mental toughness and GRIT, battling the whole game and getting key stops at critical points in the game.

“Offensively, we didn’t allow miscues or mistakes early on in the game to affect our performance and focus down the stretch when it mattered most. The six O-Linemen; David Sanchez, Carter Sauer, Vaughn Phelps, Dylan Shepherd, Tyler Davis, and Caleb Frazier showed resiliency and toughness up front all game to give Hunter Wolfley (the current NCAA DIII leader in rushing in the nation). the time in the run game, myself in the pocket and the holes needed to open up our run offense.

And something extra special for Cal to remember to end the game. “My roommate Sean Hakanson came up big on the final play of the game getting great separation and finding the space in the defense to seal the game.”

Cal and the other seniors think as one in leading the Eagles. “As a Captain, I have been preaching to my Team since training camp the emphasis of the “We Over Me” identity, and what it will take for us as a unit to be successful throughout this season. As an extremely young Football Team, I am fortunate to have 10 other Seniors alongside myself who have the confidence to lead our school to more wins this season.”

Photo submitted: Cal with his biggest fans (L-R) My Grandma Nancy, My Grandma Jan McElravy, My sister Kierstin Krepps, Myself, My Mom, Karrie and my Dad, Joel . (Cal said, “This was my Senior Night of High School Basketball during COVID. The occasion is a good memory that I have with my Grandma at one of my games.”)

Cal closed with these touching, heartfelt words, “It has been a tough week emotionally and mentally, prepping for a game and hearing of the loss of my Grandma Nancy. She was at nearly all of my games growing up and was always there for me when I needed her as a kid and into my transition to becoming an adult.

“I dedicated that game to her as well as the remainder of my season, and I know that she was with me throughout the game this past weekend in spirit and will continue to be by my side.

“I am grateful for the time that I have spent with her through the years and I will deeply miss her a lot moving forward in my life.”

(Great Legacy, Cal German [family and football family]!!!! Thank you to JD Cavrich and the German’s for the photos!! An a special shoutout to my friend Chris Rossetti of D9and10Sports.com. whose earlier article was the impetus for this article!!)