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Junior Marc Jones became the sixth Golden Knight to rush for over 200 yards in a single game during Saturday's season opener.

Box Score

Gannon University GAN 1-0

Southern Conn. State SCS 0-1

Gannon University GAN

1-0

Final

Sep. 02, 2017

Southern Conn. State SCS

0-1

Score By Quarters
Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
GAN Gannon University	20	14	14	7	55
SCS Southern Conn. State	7	8	0	7	22

Next Game:

Shippensburg University

9/9/2017 | 12:00 PM

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Next Game

Full Schedule

Sep. 09 (Sat) / 12:00 PM

Shippensburg University

Recap
Roster

Game Recap: Football | 9/2/2017 10:11:00 PM | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Football Team Rolls Past Southern Connecticut State 55-22 in Season Opener

Next Game:

Shippensburg University

9/9/2017 | 12:00 PM

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Next Game

Full Schedule

Sep. 09 (Sat) / 12:00 PM

Shippensburg University

Recap
Roster

Team Statistics

Team Statistics
Game Stats	GAN	SCS
Total Yards	520	319
Pass Yards	177	204
Rushing Yards	343	115
Penalty Yards	2-39	1-5
1st Downs	26	23
3rd Downs	9-12	6-16
4th Downs	0-0	3-5
TOP	29:49	30:11

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play	Visiting Team Score	Home Team Score
1st Quarter
11:42 - GAN - Marc Jones 2 yd run (Tyler Palka rush failed), 7 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:18	6	0
09:38 - GAN - James Simms 48 yd interception (Karch Holland kick)	13	0
06:22 - GAN - Marc Jones 6 yd run (Karch Holland kick), 1 plays, 6 yards, TOP 0:02	20	0
01:20 - SCS - T. LaSaracina 13 yd pass from R. Catapano (Jose Conde kick) 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:02	20	7
2nd Quarter
11:24 - GAN - Marc Jones 9 yd run (Karch Holland kick), 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:50	27	7
01:11 - SCS - Z. Fernandes 14 yd pass from R. Catapano (R. Griesenauer pass) 7 plays, 36 yards, TOP 3:19	27	15
00:13 - GAN - Tyler Palka 17 yd pass from Zach Phillips (Karch Holland kick) 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:50	34	15
3rd Quarter
11:18 - GAN - Isaiah Young 3 yd run (Karch Holland kick), 5 plays, 87 yards, TOP 2:23	41	15
06:27 - GAN - Tyler Palka 8 yd pass from Zach Phillips (Karch Holland kick) 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 4:16	48	15
4th Quarter
10:06 - SCS - Z. Fernandes 13 yd pass from R. Catapano (Jose Conde kick) 5 plays, 36 yards, TOP 1:33	48	22
05:05 - GAN - Zach Phillips 16 yd run (Karch Holland kick), 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:54	55	22

Total Yards

GAN

520

SCS

319

Turnovers

GAN

SCS

First Downs

GAN

SCS

Total Possession

GAN

29:49

SCS

30:11

Game Leaders

#6 Zach Phillips

CMP

19
TD

2
YDS

177
INT

1

#4 Marc Jones

Avg

10.1
TD

3
YDS

201
GAIN

201

#12 Nico Law

Avg

14.7
TD

0
YDS

44
GAIN

44

#26 Isaiah Young

Avg

5.7
TD

1
YDS

40
GAIN

41

#2 Tyler Palka

No

11
TD

2
YDS

119
Long

27

#21 Brandon Mansell

No

2
TD

0
YDS

26
Long

17

#8 Dontae Owens

No

3
TD

0
YDS

14
Long

7

#25 Anthony Howard

Tackles

15
TFL

0.5
Sacks

0.0
YDS

0

#1 James Simms

Tackles

15
TFL

1.0
Sacks

0.0
YDS

0

#9 Geremy Paige

Tackles

10
TFL

0.0
Sacks

0.0
YDS

0

Receiving Yards

Tyler Palka

119

Brandon Mansell

Dontae Owens

Brend.Klemensic

Passing Yards

Zach Phillips

177

Rushing Yards

Marc Jones

201

Nico Law

Isaiah Young

Zach Phillips

Tackles

#25

THE RUNDOWN

Score: Gannon 55, at Southern Connecticut State 22
Records: Gannon (1-0), Southern Connecticut State (0-1)
Location: New Haven, Conn. - Jess Dow Field
The Short Story: Junior Marc Jones (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns during his first career start and the Gannon football team raced to a 20-0 lead during the first nine minutes en route to a 55-22 victory Saturday afternoon in the season opener at Southern Connecticut State.

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Box Score: Click Here

HOW IT HAPPENED

Gannon went right to work with a seven-play, 66-yard drive during the first possession of the season. Redshirt junior Zach Phillips (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) went 5-of-5 through the air, including three connections with redshirt senior Tyler Palka (Temperance, Mich./Saline). Jones had two carries for 17 yards, topped by a two-yard score 3:18 into the contest. The Golden Knights immediately tried a two-point conversion, but were denied to keep the score at 6-0.
Southern Connecticut State's first drive ended with redshirt junior James Simms (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) cutting in front of a pass and returning an interception 48 yards for a 13-0 lead.
Another interception led to Gannon's third score. On the second play of SCSU's third possession, redshirt junior Geremy Paige (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) picked off another pass and returned it 19 yards to the Owls' six-yard line. Jones then found paydirt on the next play, increasing Gannon's lead to 20-0 with 6:22 left in the first quarter.
Southern Connecticut State put together its best drive late in the first quarter, marching 80 yards on 14 plays in five minutes and two seconds. The end result was a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ray Capapano to Thomas Lasaracina, making the score 20-7 with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
Gannon sandwiched a SCSU touchdown between two of its own to assume a 34-15 halftime advantage. Jones opened the second-quarter scoring with a nine-yard rushing touchdown and Palka had a one-handed, 14-yard touchdown reception with 13 ticks remaining.
The lead ballooned to 48-15 after Gannon out-scored Southern Connecticut State 14-0 during the third quarter. Sophomore Isaiah Young (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) had a three-yard touchdown run and Palka scored on an eight-yard passing connection.
The two teams traded scores during the final 15 minutes. After SCSU found the end zone on its first drive of the fourth quarter, Gannon responded with a nine-play, 70-yard drive to cap the scoring. All but seven yards came on the ground. A 16-yard touchdown run by Phillips with 5:05 remaining accounted for the final 55-22 score.

GAME NOTES

Saturday's contest represented the season opener for both teams.
Gannon finished with an advantage in first downs (26-23), rushing yards (343-115) and total yards (520-319).
Southern Connecticut State countered with a slight edge in passing yards (204-177) and time of possession (30:11-29:49).
Gannon was 9-of-12 on third-down conversions compared to Southern Connecticut State's 6-of-16 showing. However, the Owls did convert three of five fourth-down opportunities.
Jones made the most of his first career start, rumbling for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
Phillips finished 19-of-26 for 177 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 38 yards on eight carries to account for 215 yards of total offense.
Palka was Phillips' top target with 11 catches for 119 yards and two scores.
Redshirt sophomore Dontae Owens (Reading, Pa./Reading) secured three passes for 14 yards during his Gannon debut.
Junior Anthony Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Bishop O'Connell) and Simms led the Gannon defensive unit with 15 tackles each. Simms also had a fumble recovery and interception.
Paige completed the trio of double-digit tacklers with 10 stops.
Sophomore Noah Harris-Lyles (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) recorded five tackles, including a team-high 2.5 that resulted in a loss.
Only three penalties were called during the game. Gannon was whistled twice for 39 yards while Southern Connecticut State had one infraction for five yards.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Gannon won its sixth consecutive season opener. The squad has won its last four against Southern Connecticut State after being victorious during the previous two against Lake Erie.
The Golden Knights scored their most points in a game since a 66-31 victory at Kutztown on September 19, 2015.
Gannon's 55 points represented its most in a season opener during the program's 31-year history.
Jones became the sixth Golden Knight in program history to rush for over 200 yards in a single game. The feat has now been accomplished 12 times by those six student-athletes.
Palka's remarkable day came during his first career action at wide receiver. He played quarterback during his previous three collegiate seasons at Saginaw Valley State and Gannon.
Jones had a breakout performance with 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns after rushing for 455 yards in 11 games last year behind starting tailback Tyler Johnson (North East, Pa./North East).
Howard's 15 tackles tied his career-high set against Indiana (Pa.) on October 29, 2016.
Simms recorded a career-high 15 tackles during his Gannon debut after transferring from NCAA Division I Towson.
Senior Karch Holland (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) went 7-for-7 in extra points, extending his streak of consecutive PATs made to 52 dating back to the 2015 season.
Phillips moved into eighth place all-time at Gannon with 2,926 yards of total offense. He jumped Brock Jones (2012-15), Jon Richardson (2006-09) and Jansen Jones (2009-13) during Saturday's game.
Gannon's 343 rushing yards equaled the eighth-highest single-game total in program history.
Jones produced his second 100-yard rushing performance during his two years at Gannon.
Palka became the first Golden Knight to have over 100 receiving yards in a game since November 14, 2015. Both Jesstin Hamm and Brandon Mansell (New Brighton, Pa./Blackhawk) performed the feat during the same game that day against East Stroudsburg.

UP NEXT

Local football fans will get their first look at the Golden Knights Saturday, September 9 when Shippensburg arrives at McConnell Family Stadium.
The home opener is scheduled for 12 noon.
The Raiders were predicted to finish third in the PSAC Eastern Division according to the league's preseason coaches poll.
Gannon posted a 24-20 victory at Shippensburg last season.
Gameday links will include a live webcast (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gannon), live Jet Radio 1400 audio (http://www.wergfm.com) and live statistics (http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/football).

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