ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon football team concludes Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division play Saturday, November 9 at Indiana (Pa.) with a possible spot in the conference title game on the line. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The contest can be heard live locally on Jet Radio 1400 and online at
www.wergfm.com. A live video broadcast will be available at
http://nmtvsports.com/main.php?module=event-detail&eventId=28549.
The PSAC Western Division race comes down to the final weekend of divisional play. Slippery Rock leads the division with a 5-1 PSAC West mark. The Rock's only loss in nine overall games this season came September 21 by a 38-27 count at Gannon. The Golden Knights and California (Pa.) sit one game back with 4-2 divisional records.
Slippery Rock controls its own destiny and can clinch a spot in the PSAC Championship Game with a victory at Seton Hill. However, Gannon can make its first-ever conference championship appearance with a victory at Indiana (Pa.) combined with a Slippery Rock loss at Seton Hill. The Golden Knights win a tiebreaker with the Rock because of the head-to-head verdict. Gannon also wins a three-way tie with California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock.
Gannon (5-4, 4-2 PSAC West) has already clinched its first winning divisional record since going 4-3 against PSAC West teams in 2010. With one victory during their last two contests, the Golden Knights can recorded their first winning season overall since posting a 6-5 mark in 2010.
Justin Caliste can break Gannon's all-time record for all-purpose yards this Saturday. The junior enters the Indiana (Pa.) contest with 3,820 career all-purpose yards, needing 72 yards to break Jon Richardson's (2006-09) school record of 3,891.
Gannon has battled through the 16th-toughest schedule in Division II and the hardest in the PSAC according to figures released this week by the NCAA.
Jansen Jones rushed for a career-high 220 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday against Seton Hill, becoming the first Golden Knight in school history to rush for 200 yards three times in the same season. There had been only four 200-yard games in the history of the program prior to the 2013 season. Jones also jumped two spots and into fourth place all-time at Gannon with 2,557 career rushing yards. The redshirt senior's 84 points this season equal the second-highest single-season total in school history and sit only 12 points shy of the school record set by Jon Richardson in 2009.
Defensively,
Luke Rankie has made 88 tackles through nine games. The redshirt junior needs nine stops to move into Gannon's all-time single-season top-10 chart. Redshirt junior
Adam Schaffer's current 41.1 punting average is on pace to easily surpass his own school single-season record of 39.8 set last season.
Indiana (Pa.) (7-2, 4-2 PSAC West) recorded its second consecutive road victory last Saturday with a 42-14 win at Clarion. It was the Crimson Hawks' third consecutive win against the Golden Eagles, with each of those wins coming by at least 28 points (45-0 in 2012; 35-7 in 2011).
De'Antwan Williams rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 26 yards on three receptions. In the process, the redshirt senior entered IUP's career top 10 with 2,284 rushing yards which ranks eighth all-time. Williams has rushed for over 100 yards during three straight games, totaling 444 yards and five touchdowns.
Indiana (Pa.) was listed among others receiving votes in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll. The Crimson Hawks conclude their regular-season home schedule Saturday against the Golden Knights, before traveling to Shippensburg next weekend.
Gannon has dropped its last two games against Indiana (Pa.) and trails the all-time series 3-2. The Crimson Hawks have won the last two contests by a 35-7 score at home in 2011 and a 38-35 decision at Gannon University Field last season. Williams scored the game-winning touchdown last year from the two-yard line on fourth-and one with 3:16 remaining in regulation.
