Dezmon Hopkins
Joe Mattis
Junior Dezmon Hopkins' 85-yard PAT return for a score was Gannon's first since November 12, 2011.
41
Winner Slippery Rock ROCK 4-1 , 1-1
14
Gannon University GAN 3-2 , 0-2
Winner
Slippery Rock ROCK
4-1 , 1-1
41
Final
14
Gannon University GAN
3-2 , 0-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ROCK Slippery Rock 6 8 13 14 41
GAN Gannon University 8 6 0 0 14

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at Mercyhurst University

10/10/2015 | 12:00 PM

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Oct. 10 (Sat) / 12:00 PM
at Mercyhurst University

Game Recap: Football | | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Football Team Drops Homecoming Game to Slippery Rock (Video/Photos)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Slippery Rock 41, at Gannon 14
  • Records: Gannon (3-2, 0-2 PSAC West), Slippery Rock (4-1, 1-1 PSAC West)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - McConnell Family Stadium
  • The Short Story: The Slippery Rock football team scored 35 unanswered points after falling behind 14-6 and posted a 41-14 victory Saturday afternoon during a rain-soaked Homecoming crowd at McConnell Family Stadium.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The first half featured 28 points, but it wasn't via the conventional route. Gannon turned the ball over during its first three possessions, including a tipped ball that was picked off and returned 70 yards for a touchdown on the Golden Knights' second possession.
  • However, senior Chris Dollard (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. DuPont) blocked the extra point. Junior Dezmon Hopkins (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) picked up the loose ball and raced 85 yards for a defensive PAT, giving Slippery Rock a 6-2 lead with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
  • Gannon used a short field late in the quarter to push ahead for the first time. The Golden Knights gained possession on the Rock 20-yard line after Dollard forced and recovered a fumble.
  • A 13-yard pass from redshirt senior Liam Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio/Leipsic Local) to redshirt senior Jesstin Hamm (Harwood, Md./DeMatha Catholic) moved the ball to the five-yard line. Three plays later, senior Brock Jones (Peninsula, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) found the end zone from three yards out. Slippery Rock then turned the tables and blocked Gannon's extra point, leaving the score at 8-6 with 13 seconds left in the opening frame.
  • Midway through the second quarter, Gannon's special teams put points on the board. Hamm took a punt at the Gannon 29-yard line and raced 71 yards for a touchdown. But Slippery Rock blocked another extra point to keep the Golden Knights' lead at 14-6.
  • Slippery Rock turned the momentum late in the first half. The Rock used six plays to march 67 yards in 63 seconds to tie the game. The final piece of the puzzle was a 21-yard touchdown run by Shamar Greene with 28 seconds remaining. The ensuing two-point conversion by Greene sent the teams into halftime tied at 14.
  • The visitors controlled the second half. After a punt return to the Gannon eight-yard line, Greene needed only one play to find the end zone and push Slippery Rock ahead 21-14 just over two minutes into the second half.
  • Greene added another touchdown at the 7:10 mark of the third quarter, before Isiah Neeley chipped in a pair of touchdowns runs during the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

GAME NOTES
  • Saturday's contest was played in constant rain that became heavy during the second half. Both teams were also forced to battle 15-25 mile per hour winds coming out of the East.
  • Slippery Rock held advantages in rushing yards (193-58) and total yards (317-280).
  • Gannon countered with leads in first downs (18-16), passing yards (222-124) and time of possession (31:43-28:17).
  • Jones led the Gannon rushing attack with 82 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.
  • Nadler finished 18-of-45 for 222 yards.
  • Redshirt freshman Eli Quinter (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) went over the 100-yard receiving mark for the second time in the last three games, catching eight passes for 119 yards. He set a season-high in yardage, surpassing his previous high of 104 set two weeks ago at Kutztown.
  • Sophomore Foster Reznor (Grove City, Pa./Grove City), junior Mike Zanders (Charlotte, N.C./Hopewell) and senior Trenton Donald (Uniontown, Ohio Walsh Jesuit) led the defensive unit with nine tackles each.
  • Reznor set a career-high, topping his previous high of five tackles in the season opener at Southern Connecticut State.
  • Donald produced a season-high in tackles.
  • Hamm's 71-yard punt return was the seventh-longest in school history. It was also Gannon's first punt return for a touchdown since Justin Caliste took one 90 yards for a score September 28, 2013 at Clarion.
  • Hopkins' 85-yard PAT return for two points was Gannon's first since Khayree Connors-McChristian performed the feat November 12, 2011 at LIU Post.
  • Gannon turned the ball over five times, representing the most since having five against Mercyhurst on October 13, 2012.
  • The Golden Knights fumbled the ball six times, losing four. Both marks were the program's highest since losing five of eight fumbles at Wayne State (Mich.) on October 6, 2007.
  • Slippery Rock is listed among others receiving votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll after being nationally-ranked for the majority of the season.
  • The Rock won at McConnell Family Stadium for the first time in four games since Gannon joined the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in 2008.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon has dropped its first two PSAC Western Division games for the first time since losing its first five in 2012.
  • Nadler became Gannon's all-time total offense leader, breaking Gannon Hall of Famer Darmel Whitfield's (2001-04) record. Nadler ended the game with 10,534 career yards of total offense.
  • Hamm's streak of 10 consecutive games with a touchdown pass came to an end.
  • Nadler's NCAA Division II record of pass attempts without an interception ended at 312 when a ball was tipped for an interception in the first quarter. Ironically, his last interception came 364 days ago at Slippery Rock.
  • Redshirt senior Joshua Wiechelt (Depew, N.Y./Depew) needed only five games to break his career-high in tackles with 63, surpassing his previous-high of 55 set last year.
  • Gannon lost on Homecoming Weekend for the fifth consecutive season.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns to the road Saturday, October 10 but it will be a short trek across the City of Erie to Mercyhurst.
  • Game time is scheduled for 12 noon.
  • It represents Gannon's first road contest since September 19.
  • The rivalry game will be played in front of a national television audience and can be seen live locally on the CW.
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Players Mentioned

Justin Caliste

#5 Justin Caliste

WR
5' 5"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Chris Dollard

#88 Chris Dollard

DL
6' 4"
Senior
Business Administration
Trenton Donald

#50 Trenton Donald

DL
6' 4"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
Jesstin Hamm

#7 Jesstin Hamm

WR
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Communication Arts
Brock Jones

#25 Brock Jones

RB
5' 10"
Senior
Business Entrepreneurship
Liam Nadler

#10 Liam Nadler

QB
6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Political Science
Eli Quinter

#16 Eli Quinter

WR
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
Entrepreneurship
Foster Reznor

#23 Foster Reznor

DB
5' 11"
Sophomore
General Studies
Joshua Wiechelt

#3 Joshua Wiechelt

LB
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Accounting
Mike Zanders II

#31 Mike Zanders II

DB
5' 9"
Junior
Accounting

Players Mentioned

Justin Caliste

#5 Justin Caliste

5' 5"
Senior
Criminal Justice
WR
Chris Dollard

#88 Chris Dollard

6' 4"
Senior
Business Administration
DL
Trenton Donald

#50 Trenton Donald

6' 4"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
DL
Jesstin Hamm

#7 Jesstin Hamm

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Communication Arts
WR
Brock Jones

#25 Brock Jones

5' 10"
Senior
Business Entrepreneurship
RB
Liam Nadler

#10 Liam Nadler

6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Political Science
QB
Eli Quinter

#16 Eli Quinter

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
Entrepreneurship
WR
Foster Reznor

#23 Foster Reznor

5' 11"
Sophomore
General Studies
DB
Joshua Wiechelt

#3 Joshua Wiechelt

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Accounting
LB
Mike Zanders II

#31 Mike Zanders II

5' 9"
Junior
Accounting
DB