ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon football team opens the home portion of its 2013 schedule Saturday, September 14 against 23rd-ranked West Chester at Gannon University Field. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover game is scheduled for 12 noon.

Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for non-Gannon students and senior citizens. All Gannon students, staff and faculty are admitted free of charge by showing their school ID at the gate. The contest can be heard live locally on Jet Radio 1400 and online at www.wergfm.com. A live video broadcast will also be available through America One by clicking here.

Gannon is 12-13-1 all-time in home openers, including a 4-1 mark during the last five seasons. The Golden Knights won three consecutive home openers from 2008-10, defeating Clarion once and Lake Erie twice. After falling to Shippensburg in the 2011 home opener, Gannon rebounded with a 36-33 victory against Lake Erie in last year's home opener.

Head coach Brad Rzyczycki's club is coming off a school-record 639 yards of total offense during a 36-33 season-opening victory last week at Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Lake Erie. The offensive unit didn't turn the ball over in a game for the first time since a 24-20 victory against Slippery Rock on November 6, 2010.

Individually, there were highlights galore. Redshirt senior Jansen Jones rushed for a career-high 218 yards, jumping into Gannon's all-time top 10 and all the way to ninth place with 1,453 career yards. Redshirt sophomore Liam Nadler was his usual steady self at quarterback, completing 25-of-42 passes for 398 yards and two scores. In the process, he moved past Todd Heigley (1994-97) and into fourth place on Gannon's all-time passing chart with 3,308 yards despite playing only 12 career games.

Three receivers surpassed the 100-yard benchmark in the same game for the first time in school history. Junior Justin Caliste had a game-high nine catches for 106 yards while junior Abraham Ocasio followed with six receptions for a game-high 148 yards. Caliste posted his fourth career 100-yard game. Ocasio increased her career number to five, leaving him one shy of Lee Castana's (1995-98) school record of six. Sophomore Quad Law completed the trio with six catches for 101 yards. Both marks represented career-highs for Law. Caliste and Ocasio continue to skyrocket up Gannon's all-time reception chart. Caliste jumped three spots and now ranks sixth with 81 career receptions. Ocasio moved two spots and sits in eighth spot with 77 career catches.

Defensively, Mike Zanders and Rico Wright II led the team with 10 tackles each during their first games in a Golden Knight uniform. Those numbers included seven solo tackles for Zanders and six unassisted stops for Wright II.

West Chester is ranked 23rd in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25. The Golden Rams gained national recognition after crushing previously 12th-ranked New Haven 45-14 last Saturday at home. It marked the first time that WCU opened the year with a victory since 2009 and was the program's first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since last year's win at California (Pa.).

Senior tailback Rondell White registered 277 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns against New Haven. He eclipsed 200 all-purpose yards in a game for the ninth time in his career. Junior quarterback Sean McCartney went 20-for-26 for 290 yards and three scores. McCartney's 20 completions were the most by a WCU quarterback since he completed 27 passes during his first college start against Shippensburg in 2010.

Gannon dropped a 21-17 decision at West Chester last season in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. During the second game of the season for both teams, the Golden Rams scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mike Mattei to Erick Brundidge with 5:10 remaining to capture a four-point victory. Ocasio had seven receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown for the Golden Knights in that game.