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ERIE, Pa. – Lawrence Coleman (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) and Daniel Tapscott (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) formed the winning connection Saturday afternoon at Mercyhurst's Tullio Field. The duo hooked up three times for touchdown passes in the second half as the Gannon football team rallied for a 30-27 victory at Mercyhurst. The verdict during the Lakers' Homecoming weekend enabled the Golden Knights to hold onto the Niagara Cup for another season.

It marked the second consecutive season Gannon stunned its rival with a second-half comeback. Last season, the Golden Knights used a 73-yard touchdown pass with 2:01 left in regulation to post a 14-10 victory at Gannon University Field.

Saturday's rally was sparked by an impressive performance from Coleman, who became the first Gannon receiver to catch three touchdowns in a game since Raymar Hester performed the feat at Walsh on October 13, 2001. Coleman finished with seven catches for 127 yards, becoming the first Gannon receiver to record 100 receiving yards in a game since Levar Goff had 121 yards against Mercyhurst on October 11, 2008. Six of those receptions, 97 of those yards and all three touchdowns came in the second half.

Mercyhurst out-gained Gannon 229-122 during the first half and took a 13-3 lead into the halftime locker room. But it was a different Golden Knight team that came onto the field in the second half.

Gannon used great field position on its second drive to cut into the Mercyhurst lead. Justin Caliste (Roseville, Calif./Oakmont) returned a 27-yard punt 14 yards to the Hurst 38-yard line. On the next play, Tapscott hit Coleman on a 38-yard scoring pass for their first touchdown. The series of events brought the Golden Knights within 13-10.

The back-and-forth game turned in Mercyhurst's favor for a brief moment when Gannon had a punt blocked on its next possession. Linnell Robinson picked up the blocked punt and scored from 15 yards out for a 20-10 Laker lead.

But the score did little to hamper Gannon's second-half control. Starting at the Mercyhurst 49-yard line after a 34-yard kickoff return by Caliste and a clipping penalty on the Lakers, Gannon marched 49 yards on nine plays for another touchdown. Tapscott went 4-of-6 on the drive, capped with a 22-yard scoring strike to Coleman that cut the lead to 20-17 with 2:23 left in the third quarter.

Mercyhurst tried to regain the momentum with a fake punt on its next possession. On fourth-and-five from his own 40-yard line, Garrett Wild took the snap as an up-back and picked up a first down with a 31-yard pass to Todd Wingate.

But defensive coordinator Brad Rzyczycki's troops immediately went to work. A three-and-out that included a 15-yard personal foul on Mercyhurst forced the Lakers to punt.

Mercyhurst's next drive set up Gannon's go-ahead score. The home squad gained only one yard from its 10-yard line and managed only a 21-yard punt. Caliste raced up to catch the ball when catching interference was called on the Lakers, setting the Golden Knights up at the 17-yard line.

Facing a second-and-20 after a holding call, Tapscott tried to hit Coleman with another pass. The pass was incomplete, but the Lakers were called for pass interference. The duo then connected on a five-yard score to assume a 24-20 lead with 8:09 to play. It represented Gannon's first lead of the afternoon.

The unraveling continued when the Gannon defense caused the Lakers to lose 25 yards while going three-and-out on their next possession. The play of the day came on the next Mercyhurst drive.

Starting at its own 20-yard line with 3:31 remaining, quarterback Anthony Vendemia picked up three yards on a scramble. Wesley Smith (Albany, N.Y./The Albany Academy) then forced a Vendemia fumble on a sack and Randy Colling (Arcade, N.Y./Pioneer) recovered the ball on the Mercyhurst 16-yard line.

Gannon managed four yards on its first three plays and elected to go for it on fourth-and-six. Head coach Jim Kiernan was rewarded for his decision when Alex Papson (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) scored from 12 yards on the play. The PAT failed, leaving the score at 30-20 with 1:59 showing on the clock.

But like every Gannon-Mercyhurst event, the game was far from over. Mercyhurst needed only 1:05 to drive 69 yards on 10 plays. A Vendemia two-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Kennedy cut the deficit to 30-27 with 50 seconds left.

Mercyhurst recovered the following on-side kick, but was called for offsides. The Lakers were called for offsides again on the second try, but the penalty was declined after Gannon recovered the kick. The Golden Knights then took the celebratory knee moments before Kiernan received the Gatorade victory bath.

Tapscott orchestrated arguably his best performance of the season, going 14-of-27 with a season-high three touchdowns and no interceptions. The redshirt freshman doubled his season touchdown total and did not throw an interception for the first time this season.

Papson accounted for 75 rushing yards and one touchdown on 25 carries. Both figures represented season-highs. Evan Twombly (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) and Jerry Smith (Westland, Mich./John Glenn) had two catches each on the outside.

Defensively, Gannon was phenomenal in open-field tackles. The Golden Knights recorded 40 solo tackles and only 16 assisted stops. Mike Phillips (Bowie, Md./Bowie) led the way with six tackles. Twenty-one Golden Knights posted tackles and none had more than six in the team effort. The defensive squad had five sacks, nine tackles for a loss, three forced recoveries, one interception, a blocked kick and five pass break-ups. The pressure also resulted in a 1-of-11 chart on third down for the Lakers.

The Niagara Cup remained on Gannon's downtown campus despite Mercyhurst owning advantages in first downs (17-14), passing yards (281-202) and total yards (337-275). The Golden Knights won the battle for rushing yards (73-56) and time of possession (31:35-28:25).

Gannon improved to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with its second consecutive victory over the crosstown rival. Mercyhurst dropped to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Golden Knights conclude a brief two-game road swing Saturday, October 8 at 16th-ranked California (Pa.). Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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