Joey Cox
27
Gannon GAN 2-9
28
Winner Lock Haven LHU 2-9
Gannon GAN
2-9
27
Final
28
Lock Haven LHU
2-9
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GAN Gannon 0 14 0 13 27
LHU Lock Haven 13 7 0 8 28

Game Recap: Football | | David Rung, Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Fall In Thriller At Lock Haven To Close Season

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: Lock Haven 28, Gannon 27
  • Records: Gannon (2-9, 1-6 PSAC West) | Lock Haven (2-9, 0-7 PSAC East)
  • Location: Hubert Jack Stadium — Lock Haven, Pa.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
KEY SEQUENCE
  • A 13-play, 75-yard march ended in the touchdown the Golden Knights needed with just two seconds remaining on the clock, as Joey Cox (Costa Mesa, Calif./Calvary Chapel) capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to make it a one-point game. Cox, pressed into quarterbacking duties in the final game of the season, led the Gannon offense back onto the field to go for a game-winning two-point conversion, but his pass was knocked to the ground as the Bald Eagles held on to the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Lock Haven managed to move the ball well after receiving the opening kickoff, getting down to the Gannon 28-yard line, but the Golden Knight defense once again made a big play, as Jeremiah Brennin (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) popped the ball loose and Khwan Mickens (Miami, Fla./West Broward) hopped on it to get the ball to the offense. Zevin Holley (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford) scampered for a first down on the Knights' first play, but they would punt it back to the hosts.
  • Some chunk plays for the Bald Eagles allowed them to get into the red zone, and a 15-yard touchdown toss opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. A 22-yard strike from Cox to Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) got the ball into Lock Haven territory on the next drive, but the Bald Eagles picked up an interception, then went 82 yards in five minutes to make it a 13-0 advantage at the end of the quarter.
  • A.J. Satcher (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) got the momentum flipped with one play, returning the ensuing kick 58 yards to the LHU 30 to start the second quarter. Five straight runs moved the ball to the 16-yard line, and Cox found Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) for the touchdown on the next play to make it 13-7.
  • Another fumble forced by the Knights, this time with Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) forcing and Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy) recovering, got the ball back to Gannon near midfield, but Lock Haven held and forced a punt. Needing to go 84 yards, LHU did just that, getting a second chance at a third down thanks to a penalty, converting for the first down then finishing the drive with a 15-yards run for a 20-7 lead.
  • A 20-yard burst from Holley on 3rd and 2 kept the next Gannon drive going, and Cox started finding his own running lanes as the half neared the end. The regular wide receiver ripped off runs of 13 and 14 yards to help get the ball inside the LHU 20, and the senior covered the final 16 yards on third down to get it back to one possession, making it 20-14 heading into the break.
  • Holley picked up another chunk play on the first drive of the third quarter, going for 23 yards down to the Bald Eagle 32. Lock Haven cut that drive short with an interception, but the Golden Knight defense held, with Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) stuffing a third-down run for a loss of seven to force a punt.
  • With the momentum back in their favor, the Golden Knights began to move the ball. Short runs from Holley and a 22-yard strike from Cox to Freeman that also featured a roughing the passer call took the ball inside the LHU 30. With a 1st and goal from the 3, Holley picked up two yards to the 1, but Lock Haven stopped three straight runs to hold onto the lead late in the third quarter.
  • On the final play of the third, Cox hit Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) for 22 yards to get the ball near midfield. With the first two plays of the fourth quarter not going anywhere, Cox hit another big pass, this time for 36 yards to Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney), and Cox covered the final 17 yards on a keeper. That tied things up, and Eric Scarpino's (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) extra point made it 21-20 with 12:26 to play.
  • The two defenses made stops as five more minutes came off the clock, with Satcher, Thompson and Tyler Tiggs (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) making tough tackles for the Knights. When the Bald Eagles got the ball back though, they started picking up yards. A 21-yard reception pushed it into Gannon territory, and a 31-yard run by Kyle Knight with 3:57 to play put the hosts back in front. A two-point conversion and a touchback later, and Gannon faced 75 yards to go, trailing by seven.
  • A methodical drive by the Knights started with four runs from Holley to cover 28 yards. A sack looked to hurt, but a 21-yard toss to Stanley on 3rd and 15 kept their hopes alive, and another third-down conversions, this time Cox to Freeman, came with 47 ticks left. Another 12 yards from Holley took the ball to the 8 and led to a wild finish.
  • Lock Haven picked off a pass and returned it 100 yards for the score, only to see it wiped off by a flag before the turnover. That moved the ball to the 4, and Cox put his shoulder down on two straight plays, the second finishing with a touchdown that led to the deciding two-point conversion.
     
GAME NOTES
  • Cox, who entered with 21 career starts under his belt, made his first career appearance under center. The redshirt senior, who is Gannon's leading receiver on the year, put together a solid day, throwing for 149 yards and a touchdown and adding 75 yards rushing and three scores on the ground.
  • Cox didn't get the chance to add to his receiving totals on Saturday, but will finish his Gannon career 10th in the program record book in both receptions (91) and yards (1,098).
  • Another senior, Holley capped his career with yet another career day. A week after running for 147 yards against Slippery Rock last week on Senior Day, the running back eclipsed that, getting 164 yards on 33 carries to lead the Knights to 261 rushing yards on the day.
  • The two fumbles recovered by Gannon pushed its streak to 12 consecutive games forcing a turnover for the Golden Knight defense.
  • Brennin finished the day with nine tackles to lead the Knights. Eight of those stops were solo, and he tallied 3.0 tackles for loss to go with his forced fumble.
 
UP NEXT
  • Gannon will be back in action for the 2020 season in September.
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