ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon football team was seconds from arguably the biggest victory in school history. Unfortunately, Harlon Hill candidate Trevor Harris was on the other side of the ball.

Harris marched the 24th-ranked Fighting Scots 81 yards in 14 plays and Alex Romanias kicked a 17-yard field goal as time expired, enabling Edinboro to escape a lightning-delayed Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division contest with a 22-20 victory.

The game was delayed twice for a total of 90 minutes due to lightning strikes. When the teams were on the field, they battled the weather elements that included strong winds and heavy rains.

Edinboro led 13-10 at halftime, but it was Gannon which had the momentum after Jon Richardson's (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) two-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left on the first-half clock.

The home squad held onto the momentum despite a 40-minute lightning delay to start the third quarter. The Golden Knights took their opening drive 54 yards on 13 plays. Jeremy Ditzler's (Erie, Pa./Iroquois) 34-yard field goal capped the drive and tied the contest at 13 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

Gannon took its first lead of the game following an Edinboro special team miscue. The Fighting Scots had a snap sail high over the punter's head late in the third quarter. Edinboro punter Ryan Genco then kicked the ball through the endzone from the two-yard line and was penalized for illegal kicking.

Head coach Jim Kiernan's squad was given the ball at the two-yard line. Richardson then found the endzone on the next play for his second touchdown of the season. The senior tailback has 10 touchdowns in five games this season. His second score Saturday afternoon put the Golden Knights in front 20-13 with 2:25 to play in the third quarter.

Gannon had the ball again early in the fourth quarter when the game was delayed a second time due to lightning. The second delay lasted 50 minutes.

A special team miscue following the delay then started Edinboro's rally. Two plays after the game resumed, a bad snap forced Gannon punter Evan Euler (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) to take a 16-yard loss and turn the ball over at the Golden Knights' 12-yard line.

It took Edinboro eight plays to move 12 yards, but Harris' fourth-and-goal touchdown sneak that was confirmed after a 30-second huddle by the officials pulled the Fighting Scots within 20-19 with 7:44 remaining in regulation.

Edinboro head coach Scott Browning elected to go for a two-point conversion following an offside penalty against Gannon. However, Junior Jabbie's rushing attempt from the one-yard line was stuffed.
Gannon was only able to pick up one first down on its next possession and gave Edinboro the ball back at its 18-yard line with 3:08 to play. That's when Harris went to work. The senior quarterback either rushed or passed for 77 of 81 yards on the winning drive.

Harris was stopped on consecutive plays inside the three-yard line, before Edinboro called time-out with four seconds left. Romanias then converted a 17-yard field goal from the right hash as time expired to win the game.

Zach Boedicker (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) accounted for 166 of Gannon's 232 yards. The junior quarterback led Gannon in rushing with 71 yards on 12 carries. He added 95 yards on 11-of-17 passing.

Richardson rushed for 49 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Levar Goff (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) led the receivers with four catches for 37 yards.

Kevin Minor (South Euclid, Ohio/Shaw) led all tacklers with 12 stops, including six solo tackles. Chris Cook (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) and Matthew Neal-Mink (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) added 10 stops each.

Gannon dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC West with Saturday's loss. Edinboro improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference action. The Golden Knights begin a two-game road swing Saturday, October 3 at Clarion. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Edinboro football game, please click here.