Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon football team was able to erase an early 14-0 deficit at West Chester Saturday, only to see the Rams retake the lead late in the fourth quarter to escape with a 21-17 win. 

The Golden Knights found themselves trailing 14-0 after the first eight minutes of Saturday's meeting with West Chester after the Rams took advantage of two Gannon turnovers. John O'Donnell's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Rams a 7-0 lead just 13:09 into the game. 

After the two teams traded defensive stops, Gannon committed its second turnover of the day when West Chester recovered a Golden Knight fumble at the Gannon 32 yard line. The Rams moved the ball downfield, eventually scoring on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Matt Mattei to LaRonn Lee. 

The Gannon defense held the Rams scoreless the rest of the half allowing the Golden Knight offense to regain its rhythm. The scoring started with a 45-yard field goal from Matt Szczupakowski (Spencerport, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) at the 14:06 mark of the second quarter. 

Gannon's first touchdown game with just 24 seconds left in the half as Liam Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio / Leipsic Local) drove Gannon 57 yards in just 1:18 to cut the West Chester lead to four heading into the break. The drive ended with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Abraham Ocasio (Bronx, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes).

After each team was forced to punt twice to open the third quarter, the Gannon defense stopped the Rams on 4th-and-10 from the Gannon 20 yard line, turning the ball back to the offense. After one first down, Nadler connected with Justin Caliste (Roseville, Calif. / Oakmont) for a 66-yard strike, giving Gannon the lead with 2:22 left in the third. 

Midway through the fourth quarter a punt of just 16-yards gave the Golden Knights their best starting field position of the day, but another Gannon turnover proved costly for the Golden Knights as O'Donnell picked off his second pass of the day on Gannon's first play of the drive, leaving the Rams with 8:47 to work with. 

Mattei marched the Rams 70 yards downfield, using 10 plays and 3:37 off the clock for the eventual game-winning TD. The score came on a 29-yard pass to Erick Brundidge with 5:10 left. 

Gannon faced a 4th-and-3 on the following drive, electing to try a trick play with punter Cody Crosby (Russell, Pa. / Eisenhower) completing a pass to Alex Papson (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny). However, the Rams sniffed out the fake, stopping Papson short of the first-down marker. West Chester held the ball on the Gannon 36 with just 3:51 to play.

After moving the ball inside the Gannon 15 yard line, the Rams went for it on 4th-and-1 from the 10 yard line. Eddie Elliott was stopped for a loss by Khayree Conners-McChristian (Sicklerville, N.J. / Winslow Township) as Elliot loss the ball on the play and Luke Rankie (Lockport, N.Y. / Lockport) recovered for Gannon.

The Golden Knights had just 1:38 to work with, needing to drive 86 yards for the score. Nadler's first pass was good to Jansen Jones for eight yards, before an incompletion to Ocasio. Gannon had a great opportunity on third down with Quad Law (Donora, Pa. / Ringgold) open downfield, but the freshman receiver was unable to haul in what looked to be a potential large gain for the Golden Knights. Another incomplete pass on fourth down and the West Chester regained possession on downs. 

Caliste and Ocasio both recorded 100-yard receiving games totaling 116 and 123 yards respectively. Jones tallied 41 yards on the ground while Papson added 33. Nadler was 18-for-35  with 267 in the air and two touchdowns. 

Both teams even their records at 1-1. Gannon will open Pennsyvlania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division action next Saturday with a 6 p.m. contest at Slippery Rock.