11-Wright
Erik Riess
23
Gannon GAN 2-3 , 1-2
28
Winner Indiana (PA) IUP 3-1 , 3-1
Gannon GAN
2-3 , 1-2
23
Final
28
Indiana (PA) IUP
3-1 , 3-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GAN Gannon 0 7 3 13 23
IUP Indiana (PA) 14 0 7 7 28

Game Recap: Football | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Put Big Scare into 25th-Ranked IUP Before Falling 28-23

INDIANA, Pa. – The Gannon University football team nearly spoiled Homecoming for Indiana(Pa.) on Saturday afternoon before coming up just short against the 25th-ranked Crimson Hawks. IUP escaped with a 28-23 win over a Golden Knight squad that refused to go away at Frank Cignetti Field at George P. Miller Stadium. Gannon is now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West, while IUP improved to 3-1 and 2-0, respectively.

Gannon found itself trailing 14-0 less than halfway through the first quarter. The Golden Knights would go three-and-out on their first possession, and IUP proceeded to drive 78 yards on five plays to take a 7-0 lead with 12:11 remaining in the first quarter. Harry Woodbery capped the march with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Irvin Charles.

After another three-and-out, the Crimson Hawks took over following a Isaac West (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) punt at their own 34 and seven plays later held a 14-0 advantage with 7:44 left in the quarter. Woodberry would complete all three of his pass attempts for 35 yards, the last a 10-yard TD toss to Grant Smith for his second touchdown pass of the day.  

While the Gannon offense was still looking to find some rhythm, the defense dug in and stopped IUP twice in Gannon territory. After forcing a punt early in the second quarter, the Golden Knights cut the deficit in half as Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) directed an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The sophomore completed a 13-yard pass to Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) on a 3rd-and-7 play at the GU 23, and Blanks followed that up with a 19-yard run as Gannon reached IUP territory for the first time. A roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the IUP 30, and Antonio Wright (West Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) Jr. followed with a 21-yard run down to the nine. Three plays later Curtis combined with Blanks for a six-yard touchdown pass. With 7:19 left in the half, Gannon trailed 14-7.

Gannon's defense would come up with another stop in its own territory late in the first half, and the teams went into the half with IUP leading 14-7.

The Crimson Hawks built the lead back up to 21-7 on the opening drive of the third quarter. The drive initially featured five runs before Woodbery threw for his third touchdown of the afternoon, this one covering 31 yards to Duane Brown. The scoring march covered 70 yards in eight plays.

Gannon responded with points of its own. A 32-yard kickoff return by Chaz Davis (Callahan, Fla./West Nassau) gave the Golden Knights the ball at their own 40. Curtis and Wright combined on a 30-yard pass play to the IUP 25, and facing a 3rd-and-18 two plays later, Curtis and Damerisse Freeman Jr. (Euclid, Ohio/St.. Edward) hooked up for a 23-yard completion to the IUP 10. The drive would eventually stall at the IUP 4, but Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) came in and converted a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-10 with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter.

For the fourth time in the game the Gannon defense held IUP in GU territory early in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights took over at their own nine and put together an 11-play, 91-yard march that covered 3 minutes 47 seconds. On the second play of the drive Curtis completed a 31-yard pass to Freeman to the GU 41 to get out of the shadows of the end zone. Five running plays, including three by Curtis for 17 yards, gave Gannon a 3rd-and-6 at the IUP 31. Curtis found Blanks inside the ten-yard line down the right sideline, and the junior running back completed a 31-yard scoring play, diving into the end zone.

The second touchdown of the day for the pair, and third for Curtis, pulled the Golden Knights to within 21-16 with 10:21 remaining. The extra point was blocked, and only a great effort by Nick White (Randallstown, Md./Milford Mill Academy) stopped IUP's Nazir Streater from returning the ball for a defensive PAT. The defensive end chased Streater almost the length of the field, finally dragging him down inside the 10.

IUP answered with a seven-play, 46-yard drive set up by a 42-yard kickoff return by Malik Anderson. Woodbery would complete three passes to Brown for 31 yards, and on 1st-and-goal from the eight, Woodbery scored on an eight-yard run. With 5:37 remaining in the game, IUP led 28-16.

Not to be outdone, Gannon struck again with a 64-yard drive in just 1 minute 36 seconds. Curtis was spotted with barely enough for a first down on a 4th-and-1 play at the GU 45. One play later, Curtis and Freeman combined for another big pass play, this one covering 47 yards to the IUP 1. Wright scored on the next play and with 3:55 remaining, Gannon had again closed to 28-23 following Scarpino's PAT.

Scarpino's onside kick was recovered by IUP at the GU 46. The defense would hold IUP without a first down and Gannon had one last possession at its own 20 with 3:05 remaining. After two incompletions, Curtis and Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) combined for six yards, leaving the Golden Knights needing four yards on fourth down. Curtis' pass for Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) fell incomplete and IUP took over with two minutes left and ran out the clock.

The statistics proved to be as even as the final score. Gannon finished the day with 386 total yards while IUP had 380. The Golden Knights finished with 263 yards through the air and 123 on the ground, while IUP had 221 yards passing and 159 yards rushing.

Curtis, a transfer who previously played at Ohio State and then Bryant, continued his stellar play. The 6'4", 252 lb. signalcaller completed 18-of-35 passes for 263 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs. He added 20 yards rushing on nine carries. Blanks was the top ballcarrier with 63 yards on 10 carries and also caught 4 passes for 51 yards with 2 TDs. Wright added 44 yards on the ground on seven rushes along with 2 receptions for 39 yards.

Damerisse Freeman Jr. (Euclid, Ohio/St.. Edward) and Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) each caught 3 passes, with Damerisse's covering and 101 yards and Johnny's 38 yards.

Woodbery, a graduate transfer from Eastern Illinois, completed 18-of-32 passes for 221 yards with 3 TDs, along with a touchdown rushing. Justice Evans led the team with 78 yards rushing on 12 carries. Brown led all receivers with 8 catches for 101 yards, while Charles caught 4 passes for 65 yards.

Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) paced the Gannon defensive effort, as the freshman linebacker posted a career-high 14 tackles. Tre McNeill, playing in just his second game of the season, added 10 tackles. Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) totaled 6 stops along with 3 passes broken up.    

Gannon returns home on Saturday, October 9 to host Cal U. The Vulcans were tied with IUP for 25th place in the latest AFCA Division II top 25. They improved to 5-0 with a 37-0 win over Mercyhurst this afternoon. The contest kicks off at 12 noon at McConnell Family Stadium.
 
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