Melvin Blanks West Chester 091419
Joe Mattis
48
Winner West Chester WCU 2-0
14
Gannon GAN 1-1
Winner
West Chester WCU
2-0
48
Final
14
Gannon GAN
1-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WCU West Chester 21 14 6 7 48
GAN Gannon 0 7 0 7 14

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

Fast Start, Turnovers Help Push No. 19 West Chester Past Golden Knights

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: No. 19 West Chester 48, Gannon 14
  • Records: Gannon (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West) | West Chester (2-0, 0-0 PSAC East)
  • Location: McConnell Family Stadium — Erie, Pa.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
KEY SEQUENCE
  • The Golden Knights were looking to get back into the game with a score early in the second quarter to cut it to 21-7. That long drive had the momentum working in Gannon's direction, and the hosts only added to it by forcing West Chester into a 3rd and 10 on the next drive. Instead, the Rams went for 19 yards and the first down on the next play, and quickly worked down the field for a touchdown of their own to answer, just two minutes after Gannon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • A tough day with turnovers started on the first drive of the game for Gannon. The Knights were working their way down the field methodically, but after getting into opponent territory, a heave on fourth down was picked off and returned 61 yards for the first score of the game.
  • West Chester followed that up with two straight three-and-outs, and responded with touchdowns after both punts to build a 21-0 lead within the first 13 minutes.
  • The Knights got going in the final minutes of the opening quarter, with passes to Zevin Holley (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford) for 11 and Tyger Winston (New York City, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) for 12 picking up first downs. The big play was a 44-yard strike on a deep ball to Nico Law (Monroeville, Pa./Ringgold) down the right seam, and Keefe floated a perfect ball to the back of the end zone to find Joey Cox (Costa Mesa, Calif./Calvary Chapel) for the 8-yard score to cap a 75-yard drive.
  • Gannon's defense, as it did so many times during last week's season-opening win over Southern Connecticut, stepped up on the next two drives after West Chester made it 28-7. Both resulted in three-and-outs, with a Nicholas White sack keying the first stand and an Aaron Webb (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) stop playing a big role in the second. Unfortunately, the Rams managed to move the ball down the field and score the final minute of the half to take a 35-7 lead into the break.
  • The Rams took the second-half kickoff and were able to move down the field, closing it out with an 18-yard strike to add to the lead. Gannon picked up three consecutive third-down conversions on its next possession to move inside the WCU 30, but an interception ended the threat.
  • The fourth quarter started well for the Golden Knights, with Zi Allen (Johnson City, Tenn./Archbishop Spalding) going up to pull down his first career interception on the second play of the period. Starting its drive on its own 33, Gannon got a 13-yard first-down completion from Jason Dambach (Fombell, Pa./Riverside) to Winston to set the offense up near midfield. On the next play, Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) bullied his way through an attempted tackle and cruised to the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown to end the scoring drought.
  • West Chester tallied the final score of the game on the next drive, and the two sides combined for just one first down over the final four drives of the game.
     
GAME NOTES
  • Blanks finished the game with 93 yards rushing on just 16 carries, scoring a touchdown for the second straight game to start the season.
  • Cox also has a score in both games this year, and led the team with three receptions.
  • Defensively, A.J. Satcher (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) followed up his PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week performance with a game-high nine tackles, including four solo. Aaron Webb (Baltimore, Md./Franklin), who registered 13 stops a week ago, was just behind Satcher with eight tackles Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
  • Gannon plays its final game before PSAC West play next week, heading to Kutztown Saturday.
  • Live video, live stats and live audio will be available for the 12:05 p.m. kickoff at Andre Reed Stadium.
  • The Golden Bears are 2-0 after a 21-point fourth quarter helped them squeak by California 35-28 Saturday.
  • The series with KU is tied at 2-2 after the Bears grabbed a 48-33 shootout victory last season.
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