Marc Jones
Matt Mead Photography LLC
Junior Marc Jones padded his NCAA rushing lead with 247 yards and four total touchdowns in limited action at Seton Hill.
76
Winner Gannon University GAN 3-4 , 2-2
31
Seton Hill SHU 0-7 , 0-4
Winner
Gannon University GAN
3-4 , 2-2
76
Final
31
Seton Hill SHU
0-7 , 0-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GAN Gannon University 14 19 29 14 76
SHU Seton Hill 14 3 0 14 31

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California University of Pennsylvania

10/21/2017 | 12:00 PM

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Oct. 21 (Sat) / 12:00 PM
 California University of Pennsylvania

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

Gannon Football Team Sets PSAC Record for Rushing Yards And School Record for Points in 76-31 Victory at Seton Hill (Video)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 76, at Seton Hill 31
  • Records: Gannon (3-4, 2-2 PSAC West), Seton Hill (0-7, 0-4 PSAC West)
  • Location: Greensburg, Pa. - Offutt Field
  • The Short Story: The Gannon football team set a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team record for rushing yards (567) and broke the school record for points (76) as the Golden Knights rolled past Seton Hill 76-31 Saturday evening on the road. NCAA rushing leader Marc Jones (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) rushed for 247 yards and scored four total touchdowns despite playing only five plays in the second half.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
  • Box Score: Click Here
  • Video Highlights of Jones' Leap And Long TD Run (Courtesy of Westmoreland Sports Network: Click Here

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • After assuming the ball at the 35-yard line following Gannon's opening kickoff that went out-of-bounds, Seton Hill marched 65 yards in nine plays for a 7-0 lead 4:21 into the contest.
  • Gannon needed only three plays to answer. All three play calls went to Jones who ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run on the third attempt, tying the contest at seven with 4:39 gone in the opening quarter.
  • The Golden Knights forced a three-and-out to set up another opportunity for Jones. This time, the junior tailback capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 advantage at the 5:16 mark of the first quarter.
  • Seton Hill countered with a seven-play, 51-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run as time expired in the first quarter, sending the two programs into the second 15 minutes tied at 14.
  • On Gannon's next possession, redshirt senior Tyler Palka (Temperance, Mich./Saline) ripped off a key 24-yard run on second-and-11. Jones followed with runs of 16 and 14 yards. On third-and-goal from the four-yard line, redshirt freshman Jimmy Keefe (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/St. Edward) tossed a touchdown pass to Jones for a 20-14 lead.
  • After another Seton Hill three-and-out, Jones ended another scoring drive with a 52-yard touchdown run that had the Griffins' Homecoming Crowd stunned. Jones broke through the line of scrimmage and then hurdled the safety in the middle of the field en route to his fourth touchdown of the half. The score gave the Golden Knights a 26-14 lead with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
  • The home squad kicked a field goal during its next possession.
  • Gannon then ended the first-half scoring with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Keefe to redshirt sophomore Dontae Owens (Reading, Pa./Reading) at the 2:18 mark, sending the Golden Knights into the break with a 33-17 edge.
  • Head coach Brad Rzyczycki's club put the game on ice during the third quarter. Jones opened the half with two runs for 18 yards, before Palka took off on a 48-yard touchdown run for a 41-17 lead 58 seconds after the intermission.
  • Junior Anthony Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Bishop O'Connell) intercepted a Seton Hill pass on the Griffins' second offensive play of the second half, setting up a 20-yard run by Jones and five-yard touchdown run by Palka 1:54 into the second half. The series of plays gave the Golden Knights a 48-17 lead and ended the day for Jones and other starters as Rzyczycki emptied the bench.
  • Gannon scored four more touchdowns to assume a 76-17 advantage midway through the four quarter. Sophomores Isaiah Young (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and Zevin Holley (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford) sandwiched a pair of Palka scores with touchdown runs of their own during the streak.
  • Seton Hill recovered to score twice during the final six minutes to account for the final 76-31 score.

GAME NOTES
  • Seton Hill celebrated Homecoming Weekend Saturday against the Golden Knights.
  • The 4 p.m. kickoff was Gannon's latest of the season.
  • The Golden Knights finished with advantages in first downs (30-16), rushing yards (567-128), total yards (696-370) and time of possession (35:58-24:02).
  • The Griffins countered with a 242-129 edge through the air. 
  • Gannon went 9-of-12 on third-down conversions compared to Seton Hill's 3-of-12.
  • The Golden Knights finished 5-of-6 inside the red zone.
  • Jones recorded his usual 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 247 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. He added three receptions for 34 yards and one more score.
  • Palka added career-highs in rushing yards (175) and touchdowns (4) on nine carries, averaging 19.4 yards every time he touched the ball.
  • Keefe went 13-of-20 for 129 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions through the air.
  • Owens topped the Gannon receiving group in catches with four for 49 yards and one touchdown. 
  • Freshman Ryan Vessels (Bowie, Md./St. Johns College) led the Gannon defensive unit with a career-high eight tackles, one tackle for a loss and one forced fumble.
  • Fellow freshman Tre McNeill (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College) was next with six stops.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon broke a PSAC record with 567 rushing yards, surpassing the previous mark of 559 set by Millersville against Bloomsburg in 1981.
  • Entering the day as the leading rusher at all levels of the NCAA, Jones produced his seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing performance and eighth in 18 games as a Golden Knight. He is the first Gannon player in program history to open a season with seven consecutive 100-yard games.
  • Gannon remained undefeated against Seton Hill in five all-time meetings. The Golden Knights own a 26.2 scoring average in those contests while averaging 50.2 points in the series.
  • Jones' 1,540 rushing yards through seven games already represents the third-highest single-season total in program history. He sits only 88 yards behind Brock Jones' school-record total of 1,628 in 2014.
  • Palka recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game. His previous career-best was 54 yards last season at California (Pa.).
  • Jones broke the school record for points in a season with 132, surpassing Brock Jones' previous mark of 108 set in 2014.
  • Palka produced a career-high in all-purpose yards for the second consecutive week with 184 yards. He entered the game with four touchdowns in two seasons at Gannon, before doubling that total against Seton Hill.
  • Jones moved his all-purpose total to 1,761 yards which is the third-highest mark in school history. He is 65 yards behind Brock Jones' school record of 1,826 set in 2014.
  • Gannon scored at least 45 points for the fourth time this season.
  • The Golden Knights entered the contest with the 26th-toughest schedule in NCAA Division II through the first six games. The Golden Knights' first six opponents own a combined .621 (18-11) winning percentage.
  • Gannon broke school records for points in the second half (43), points in the third quarter (29) and total points (76). The previous top marks for second-half points (41) and third-quarter points (27) were set during a 58-28 victory against Seton Hill on October 25, 2014 at McConnell Family Stadium. The previous scoring record was 66 points against East Stroudsburg (W 66-41) in 2014 and Kutztown (W 66-31) in 2015.
  • The Golden Knights' 696 yards of total offense ranked second all-time in program history behind a 712-yard effort during a 66-31 victory at Kutztown on September 19, 2015.
  • Vessels entered the contest with eight career tackles, before double that number against Seton Hill.
  • McNeill started the day with five career stops, before having six against the Griffins.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns home to face California (Pa.) at McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday, October 21.
  • The Vulcans were listed among others receiving votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll after being ranked among the top 25 all season.
  • Game time is scheduled for 12 noon.
  • Gannon is 1-8 all-time against Cal, but that one victory came via a forfeit during the 2014 campaign when the Golden Knights finished 9-2 overall.
  • Outlets to follow the game include a live video broadcast (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gannon), live gameday statistics (http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/football) and live gameday audio (http://www.wergfm.com).
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Players Mentioned

Zevin Holley

#24 Zevin Holley

RB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Sport Management
Anthony Howard

#25 Anthony Howard

LB
6' 0"
Junior
Marcus Jones

#4 Marcus Jones

RB
5' 11"
Junior
Middle Childhood Education
Jimmy Keefe

#16 Jimmy Keefe

QB
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Middle Level Education and Special Education
Tyler Palka

#2 Tyler Palka

QB
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Secondary Education
Isaiah Young

#26 Isaiah Young

RB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Sports Management and Marketing/Entrepreneurship
Dontae Owens

#8 Dontae Owens

WR
6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
Criminal Justice
Trevaughn McNeill

#28 Trevaughn McNeill

DB
6' 0"
Freshman
Communication Arts
Ryan Vessels

#36 Ryan Vessels

LB
6' 0"
Freshman
Undeclared

Players Mentioned

Zevin Holley

#24 Zevin Holley

5' 10"
Sophomore
Sport Management
RB
Anthony Howard

#25 Anthony Howard

6' 0"
Junior
LB
Marcus Jones

#4 Marcus Jones

5' 11"
Junior
Middle Childhood Education
RB
Jimmy Keefe

#16 Jimmy Keefe

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Middle Level Education and Special Education
QB
Tyler Palka

#2 Tyler Palka

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Secondary Education
QB
Isaiah Young

#26 Isaiah Young

5' 10"
Sophomore
Sports Management and Marketing/Entrepreneurship
RB
Dontae Owens

#8 Dontae Owens

6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
Criminal Justice
WR
Trevaughn McNeill

#28 Trevaughn McNeill

6' 0"
Freshman
Communication Arts
DB
Ryan Vessels

#36 Ryan Vessels

6' 0"
Freshman
Undeclared
LB