Mike Phillips
Joe Mattis
Redshirt senior Mike Phillips led both teams with a career-high 17 tackles, jumping seven spots on Gannon's all-time tackle chart.
26
Winner Gannon University GAN 1-0
22
So. Conn. St. SCS 0-1
Winner
Gannon University GAN
1-0
26
Final
22
So. Conn. St. SCS
0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GAN Gannon University 13 7 6 0 26
SCS So. Conn. St. 3 0 6 13 22

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Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

9/12/2015 | 12:00 PM

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Sep. 12 (Sat) / 12:00 PM
 Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

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

Gannon Football Team Fends Off Southern Connecticut State; Wins Fourth Consecutive Season Opener

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 26, at Southern Connecticut State 22
  • Records: Gannon (1-0), Southern Connecticut State (0-1)
  • Location: New Haven, Conn. - Jess Dow Field
  • The Short Story: The Gannon football team grabbed a 26-3 third-quarter lead, before holding off Southern Connecticut State en route to a 26-22 victory Saturday afternoon in the season opener on the road. It marked the Golden Knights' fourth consecutive season-opening win.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Southern Connecticut State took the opening kickoff and drove 78 yards in 11 plays, before settling for a 19-yard field goal.
  • Gannon grabbed its first lead after turning a pair of SCSU turnovers into 13 points within the span of 58 seconds late in the first quarter.
  • Senior Trenton Donald (Uniontown, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) forced the first turnover, causing a fumble while sacking quarterback Robert Nittolo at his own 15-yard line. Four plays later. redshirt senior Liam Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio/Leipsic Local) connected with fellow redshirt senior Jesstin Hamm (Harwood, Md./DeMatha Catholic) for a three-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was blocked, leaving the Gannon lead at 6-3 with 2:15 left in the first half.
  • On the second play of the next SCSU possession, Nittolo fumbled again at the Owls' 18-yard line. Junior Mike Zanders (Charlotte, N.C./Hopewell) forced the fumble, before junior Qwaheem Marshall (Rochester, N.Y./Joseph C. Wilson Magnet) recovered.
  • Gannon needed only two plays to score this time. Nadler hit redshirt sophomore Brendan Klemensic (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) for a 16-yard gain, before scoring on a two-yard run for a 13-3 advantage.
  • The Golden Knights used a 10-play, 68-yard drive late in the second quarter to finish the first-half scoring. Gannon picked up a key first down on fourth-and-one from the SCSU 32-yard line due to a defensive penalty for offsides. The drive ended with a Nadler five-yard touchdown pass to Hamm with 54 ticks remaining. Their second scoring connection of the first half gave the Golden Knights a 20-3 halftime lead.
  • Gannon's most impressive drive of the afternoon arguably came to open the second half. After sophomore Brandon Mansell (New Brighton, Pa./Blackhawk) took the opening kickoff back 43 yards to the 47-yard line, the Golden Knights added another 53 yards on eight plays.
  • The damage was done mostly on the ground outside of 19 passing yards. Senior Brock Jones (Peninsula, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) finished off the drive with runs of 11 yards and 17 yards to assume a 26-3 lead at the 12:08 mark of the third quarter.
  • Southern Connecticut State controlled play after Jones' touchdown, scoring 19 unanswered points. Three touchdown passes from Nittolo to Devante Jenkins cut the deficit to 26-22 with 3:17 remaining.
  • Gannon then recovered the ensuing on-side kick and ran out the clock.

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon won the game despite losing every statistical category. Southern Connecticut State generated advantages in first downs (30-16), rushing yards (176-114), passing yards (254-143), total yards (430-257) and time of possession (36:53-23:07).
  • The Golden Knights had six sacks in a game for the first time since recording that same number during a 40-21 victory against Seton Hill on November 2, 2013.
  • Redshirt senior Mike Phillips (Bowie, Md./Bowie) tied a career-high with 17 tackles, equaling the third-highest single-game total in school history. He fell three tackles shy of the school record.
  • Redshirt freshman Eli Quinter (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) led Gannon receivers in catches (7) and yards (55) during his collegiate debut.
  • Redshirt senior Joshua Wiechelt (Depew, N.Y./Depew) and Zanders recorded 16 tackles each, representing career-highs for both.
  • Redshirt senior Tim Petro (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) also set a career-high with nine tackles.
  • Other Golden Knights to record career-highs in tackles included redshirt sophomore Nico Mendieta (San Ramon, Calif./California) and junior Matthew Gawlik (Strongsville, Ohio/St. Ignatius) with eight stops each.
  • Gannon recorded 111 total tackles, including 80 assisted stops. Both figures are the most in program history since at least 1999.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon won its fourth consecutive season opener, improving to 16-12-1 all-time in season openers and 9-3 during the last 12 years.
  • The Golden Knights have won five consecutive games against Northeast-10 Conference opponents dating back to 2000.
  • Phillips jumped seven players and moved into 12th place all-time at Gannon with 17 tackles, giving him 217 during his career.
  • Nadler moved past Kevin Cloherty (1999-02) into sixth place on Gannon's all-time scoring chart with 170 career points.
  • Jones jumped past Sam Culberth (2002-06) into 19th place among all-time Golden Knights with 114 career points.
  • Hamm moved past eight Golden Knights and into 13th place all-time at Gannon with 102 career points.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon hosts Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division foe Cheyney Saturday, September 12 during the program's home opener at Gannon University Field.
  • Game time is scheduled for 12 noon.
  • The contest represents the first PSAC crossover of the season. All crossover games will not count in the standings this year.
  • The Golden Knights are 3-0 all-time against the Wolves, owning a 118-27 scoring edge in those three games.
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Players Mentioned

Trenton Donald

#50 Trenton Donald

DL
6' 4"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
Matthew Gawlik

#95 Matthew Gawlik

DL
6' 3"
Junior
Business Finance
Jesstin Hamm

#7 Jesstin Hamm

WR
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Communication Arts
Brock Jones

#25 Brock Jones

RB
5' 10"
Senior
Business Entrepreneurship
Brendan Klemensic

#12 Brendan Klemensic

WR
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Undeclared
Brandon Mansell

#21 Brandon Mansell

RB
5' 8"
Sophomore
Sport and Exercise Science
Qwaheem Marshall

#94 Qwaheem Marshall

DL
6' 3"
Junior
Undeclared
Nico Mendieta

#51 Nico Mendieta

LB
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
Criminal Justice
Liam Nadler

#10 Liam Nadler

QB
6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Political Science
Tim Petro

#43 Tim Petro

LB
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Accounting

Players Mentioned

Trenton Donald

#50 Trenton Donald

6' 4"
Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
DL
Matthew Gawlik

#95 Matthew Gawlik

6' 3"
Junior
Business Finance
DL
Jesstin Hamm

#7 Jesstin Hamm

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Communication Arts
WR
Brock Jones

#25 Brock Jones

5' 10"
Senior
Business Entrepreneurship
RB
Brendan Klemensic

#12 Brendan Klemensic

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Undeclared
WR
Brandon Mansell

#21 Brandon Mansell

5' 8"
Sophomore
Sport and Exercise Science
RB
Qwaheem Marshall

#94 Qwaheem Marshall

6' 3"
Junior
Undeclared
DL
Nico Mendieta

#51 Nico Mendieta

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
Criminal Justice
LB
Liam Nadler

#10 Liam Nadler

6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Political Science
QB
Tim Petro

#43 Tim Petro

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Accounting
LB