Michael Keir was ready to take the reins of the California University of Pennsylvania football team when he was named the starting quarterback this offseason by brand new head coach Gary Dunn. However, Keir had no idea what type of success the Vulcans would have this season.

“I never expected this, but I’m not looking too far ahead,” Keir, a junior, said. “Coach Dunn tells us to take it one play at a time, one game at a time. We’re enjoying it, but we’re focused as a group.”

Keir, and all of his teammates, have a reason to enjoy the season they’re having. They are currently undefeated, having won all of their eight games in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Their closest game was 31-28 win over Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which was the Coal Bowl.

Keir, who also serves as the punter for the Vulcans, played a significant role in that game too. He threw one touchdown to wide receiver Luke Smorey and rushed for two touchdowns. Keir was named the MVP in the Vulcans’ Coal Bowl win. On Monday, Oct. 17, Keir was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week. It was his second nod to the title this season.

““It’s nice, but honestly I wish there was an MVP for everyone because the entire team deserved it,” Keir said. “Everybody played so great that night. I don’t think I should’ve been named the MVP.”

“Both were unexpected,” Keir continued. “You have to give it to our guys. We have such a great group of guys around our team. It was just unexpected to be presented that.”

However, junior wide receiver Tom Greene believes that Keir deserved the nod.

“Mike and I have a really good relationship, and he played really well against IUP, so yeah, it was deserved,” Greene said. “We have a really trusting relationship. We have to. He’s my quarterback and I’m the guy he targets.”

Greene is not just confident in his quarterback, but he’s also confident in the Vulcans’ ability to head into their next three games and finish with their undefeated record still intact. Their final two games will be played at home against Edinboro and East Stroudsburg. Greene’s teammate, John Franklin III, touched on the next two games.

“Yeah I think we can keep undefeated, as long as we keep focused and keep doing what we’ve doing for the past seven weeks,” Franklin III, a junior running back, said. “We can’t underestimate anyone. We have to have respect for everyone because you never know what can happen during the game.”

The Vulcans, who sit as the number one team in the PSAC West, will host Edinboro University, who own the record of 8-1, at Adamson Stadium on Saturday for a big PSAC West game. The game will even be broadcast on ESPN3, with the start time being 1 p.m.