EDINBORO FIGHTING SCOTS (1-5, 1-3 PSAC WEST) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (3-4, 2-2 PSAC West)
DATE:  Saturday, October 23, 2021
KICKOFF: 12 noon
STADIUM:  McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.

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ERIE, Pa. – It's local rivalry time as Gannon will play both of its local rivals over the next three weeks. Edinboro visits McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday after shocking the Golden Knights two years ago with an 18-17 win on a 35-yard field goal as time expired. GU will make the short trip to Mercyhurst on Saturday, November 6. Gannon snapped a two-game losing streak – both to nationally-ranked teams – with a 14-10 win at Seton Hill last weekend. That boosted the Golden Knights to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC West. Mercyhurst handed Edinboro a 27-20 loss in overtime, dropping the Fighting Scots to 1-5 and 1-3 in conference play.
 
SERIES RECORD
Edinboro leads 10-4
 
Edinboro dominated the early stages of this local rivalry, winning the first seven meetings. Since that time, Gannon has won four of the next eight meetings. The Fighting Scots have won the last two times the two teams have met, including an 18-17 win at McConnell Family Stadium in 2019.

LAST MEETING
2019 – Edinboro 18, at Gannon 17
Edinboro would stun Gannon as Vicente Arriagada kicked his third field goal of the day, a 35-yarder, as time expired for the winning points. The Golden Knights had jumped out to a 17-8 lead early in the third quarter as Carlos Gomez bolted 49 yards for a touchdown to cap a five-play, 80-yard drive. Jordan Castelli completed a four-yard TD pass to Ta'Nauz Gregory with 40 seconds left in the third quarter to Edinboro to within 17-15. The Fighting Scots jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the strength of a safety and a 46-yard field goal by Arriagada. Gannon answered with a 62-yard drive that was culminated by a 20-yard touchdown strike from Jimmy Keefe (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward) to Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) with 2:31 left in the first quarter. The two teams exchanged field goals in the second half, with Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) splitting the goal posts from 34 yards out and Arriagada making a 25-yarder. That made the score 10-8 at the half. Keefe completed 14-of-36 passes for 198 yards, with Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) catching 4 passes for 69 yards. Gomez fell just shy of 100 yards rushing, carrying 19 times for 98 yards. Castelli completed18-of-35 passes for 189 yards with a pair of INTs, with Gregory catching 9 passes for 78 yards. Dorian Woody led the Scots on the ground with 73 yards on 24 rushes.       
 
LAST WEEK
Gannon 14, at Seton Hill 10
Thanks to a punishing ground game and a timely defense, the Golden Knights came away with the road win, spoiling Seton Hill's Homecoming. Gannon would run for a season-high 282 yards against a Seton Hill defense that came in allowing just 78.8 ypg., the second-lowest figure in the PSAC. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) led the way with career-highs of 25 carries for 200 yards. The junior running back accounted for the game's winning score on a one-yard run with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Gannon opened the scoring early in the second quarter on a 26-yard pass from Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) to Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina). Seton Hill would take a 10-7 lead with a safety and touchdown in the third quarter, before Blanks keyed the winning 75-yard drive. All 11 plays were runs. The defense did the rest, stopping the Griffins twice inside the GU five-yard line, once at the three and the other time at the one on the opening drive of the third quarter. The unit came up with three turnovers, including interceptions by Trevaughn McNeill (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS) and Khwan Mickens (Miramar, Fla./West Broward), while limiting Seton Hill to 314 total yards. Antonio Wright (West Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) complemented Blanks with 82 yards on 16 carries.
 
Mercyhurst 27, at Edinboro 20  (ot)
The Fighting Scots drove 72 yards in the final two minutes to tie the game at 20-20 with 51 second left on a 31-yard pass from Isaac Bernard to Jon Long, only to have the potential winning extra point hit the crossbar. Mercyhurst scored a touchdown on its first possession in overtime, converting on a 3^rd-and-12 play with a 26-yard pass from Joe Carter to Cameron Barmore. Carter scored on a one-yard run on the next play for the 27-20 lead. Edinboro was unable to pick up a first down on its possession. Edinboro's other scores came on an 18-yard pass from Bernard to Mike Watkins, and a two-yard halfback option pass from Anfreenee Williams to Jack Hollibaugh. Edinboro finished with 355 total yards while Mercyhurst had 386. Bernard completed 26-of-36 passes for 265 yards with 2 TDs, with Watkins catching 6 passes for 95 yards and Long 6 for 93. Williams gained 73 yards rushing on 20 carries.   
 
HEAD COACHES
Erik Raeburn (Mount Union '94) is in his second season as Gannon's head coach after serving as the offensive coordinator in 2019. He took over a Gannon squad which had posted a 2-9 record in 2019. The Golden Knights were 1-3 during the spring. Raeburn has a 147-69 career record and is in his 21^st season as a head coach. He joined the Gannon staff as offensive coordinator in 2019 after serving as the head coach at Savannah State for three seasons from 2016 to 2018. From 2008-15, Raeburn enjoyed great success at Wabash. He led the Little Giants to a 78-13 record in eight seasons, with five NCAA Division II Playoffs appearances and three North Coast Athletic Conference titles. Prior to that he served as the head coach at Coe College from 2000-07, where he was 57-26 in eight seasons. That included three conference championships and two trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Mount Union, in 1994.  
 
Jake Nulph (Robert Morris '05) is in his second season as Edinboro's head coach, although the Fighting Scots did not play any games during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. He earned his first win as a head coach on October 2 with a 17-7 win at Seton Hill. Nulph served as an assistant coach at Indiana(Pa.), serving as the defensive backs coach, before taking over at Edinboro. His resume also includes stops at Duquesne as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2018, the defensive coordinator/special teams coordinator at Westminster from 2014-18, along with four years at St. Francis(Pa.), a year at Allegheny, and four seasons at his alma mater, Robert Morris.

PSAC RANKINGS

	Gannon	Edinboro
Scoring	27.3 (7)	18.0 (12)
Scoring Defense	29.3 (14)	29.0 (13)
Total Offense	385.3 (6)	249.2 (14)
Total Defense	414.7 (14)	379.2 (12)
Rushing Offense	161.9 (5)	91.7 (13)
Rushing Defense	149.0 (13)	147.2 (12)
Passing Offense	223.4 (6)	157.5 (12)
Passing Defense	265.7 (13)	232.0 (12)

() PSAC rank
   
PSAC PRESEASON POLL
Gannon was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC Western Division in the coaches' preseason poll. The Golden Knights finished with a 2-9 record in 2019, and was 1-3 this past spring. Edinboro was picked to finish in fifth place after a 4-7 finish in 2019.

GROUND GAME POUNDS SETON HILL
It was hard to tell that Gannon was facing the second-best rushing defense in the PSAC last week. Seton Hill came in allowing just 78.8 ypg. on the ground, but the Golden Knights rushed for a season-high 282 yards on 49 carries as a young offensive line consistently opened holes for Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (West Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne).  The 277 yards was the highest total since a 453-yard effort against Lock Haven in the final game of the 2018 season. Blanks posted his third 100-yard effort of the season and fourth of his career, setting career-highs for carries (25) and yards (200). Wright chipped in with 82 yards on 16 carries. 

WHITTAKER MAKES THE MOST OF HIS CATCHES
Redshirt junior tight end Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) has caught 11 passes this season after previously hauling in three passes in 10 career games. Even more impressive, five of his receptions have gone for touchdowns. Touchdown number five came last week at Seton Hill, as he took a short pass, broke a tackle, eluded another tackler, and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 26-yard scoring pass from Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.). Whittaker hauled in two touchdown tosses against Shepherd, covering 11 and 23 yards.

MCNEILL MCGOOD
Trevaughn McNeill (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS) missed the first three contests with an injury, but the senior defensive back has had a huge impact since returning in week number four. He would see limited action in that game vs. Clarion, but the following week he had 10 tackles at IUP, and followed that up with nine stops vs. Cal. Last week, McNeill had seven tackles along with an interception. In 2019, McNeill led Gannon with 77 tackles.

BLANKS AMONG TOP BALLCARRIERS IN DIVISION II
Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) has emerged as one of the top ballcarriers in Division II. The junior running back comes off career highs of 25 carries and 200 yards at Seton Hill, good for his third 100-yard game of the season and fourth of his career. He now has 706 yards on 103 carries, a 6.9 yard average, with 6 TDs. Blanks ranks 18th in Division II in rushing yards, along with second in the PSAC and 18th in DII in rushing yards per game, and first in the PSAC and 14th nationally in yards per carry. Blanks leads the PSAC and is 28th in DII in total touchdowns (8).

DEFENSE USING BEND-BUT-DON'T-BREAK APPROACH
For the second time in three weeks, Gannon's defense came up with big plays when it mattered the most. The Golden Knights would stop Seton Hill twice inside the five yard-line in last week's 14-10 win. The first came at the three yard-line as the Griffins came up a yard short on a 4th-and-2 play in the second quarter thanks to Joseph Loiseau (Columbia, Md./Laurel) and Cameron Jenkins (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Orange Lutheran). Seton Hill opened the third quarter with a long drive covering 74 yards. The Griffins needed 75, however, as Loiseau and a host of others stopped SHU short of the goal line. Gannon registered three turnovers against Seton Hill while limiting the Griffins to 314 total yards. Two weeks earlier, after a tough start Gannon's defense limited IUP to just two scores over the final three-plus quarters. The Crimson Hawks drove into Gannon territory on five occasions without coming up with any points. Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont), a freshman linebacker, led the way with a career-high 14 tackles. 

CURTIS ENJOYING IMPRESSIVE INITIAL YEAR AS GOLDEN KNIGHT
Quarterback Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) is enjoying a strong first season as Gannon's quarterback. Curtis played three semesters at Ohio State before moving on to Bryant in 2019. He threw for 1,700 yards in 2019, completing 174-of-301 passes with 7 TDs and 6 INTs. As a Golden Knight, Curtis has completed 108-of-215 passes for 1,542 yards with 15 TDs and 4 INTs. He is fast approaching the top 10 for yards passing in a season at Gannon, and his 15 TD passes ranks seventh in a season. He ranks third in the PSAC and 23rd in Division II in passing TDs, along with 22nd in DII in passing yards per completion (14.28). Curtis accounted for five touchdowns in the 56-21 win over Clarion. He would throw four touchdown passes, covering 7, 4, 19, and 35 yards, along with scoring on a one-yard run. He saw his streak of passes without an interception come to an end against Cal. The streak had grown to 139 passes before he was intercepted in the first quarter. It was his first pickoff since late in the first half in the season opener at Northwood. Curtis also saw his streak of throwing at least two TDs in a game come to an end. He had thrown for two-or-more TDs in each of his first five games as a Golden Knight.

NOTHING EASY ABOUT GANNON SCHEDULE
Three of Gannon's first six games came against nationally-ranked opponents. It began with a meeting the second week of the season against a Shepherd team that was ranked 13th at the time. Three weeks ago the Golden Knights played at 25th-ranked Indiana(Pa.). A week later, it was then 15th-ranked Cal U visiting McConnell Family Stadium. And on the horizon is a date with Slippery Rock on Saturday, October 30. SRU had climbed to sixth in the AFCA Top 25 before losing to IUP last week and dropping to 17th.  

GOLDEN KNIGHTS FIRST TO SCORE IN OPENING HALF AGAINST CAL
Cal came into its game with Gannon with some incredible defensive numbers, including shutting out three of its first five opponents. The Vulcans had allowed just 26 points total. Gannon's offense enjoyed considerably more success, scoring 17 points against the top-ranked defense in Division II, along with totaling 296 yards, the most allowed by Cal in 2021. 

TRIO OF RECEIVERS REACH THE CENTURY MARK
Gannon has had three different receivers reach 100 yards receiving in a game this season. It began with Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) catching 7 passes for 100 yards in the season opener at Northwood. Two weeks later at Bloomsburg, Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) had 5 receptions for 111 yards. Two weeks ago, Damerisse Freeman Jr. (Euclid, Ohio/St.. Edward) burned IUP for 101 yards on 3 catches.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS REALLY CELEBRATE HOMECOMING
A large Homecoming crowd barely had a chance to settle in their seats as Gannon jumped to a big lead against Clarion. The Golden Knights scored on their first four possessions, starting with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game. Not even five minutes had elapsed and Gannon held a 7-0 lead on the first of four Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.)  touchdown passes. The lead grew to 21-0 after one quarter, and when Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) returned a fumble 99 yards for a score on the first play of the second quarter, it was 28-0. Gannon led 42-14 at the half.
 
GANNON LIGHTS UP SCOREBOARD VS. CLARION
Gannon's 56-21 win over Clarion represented the most points by the Golden Knights since a 77-31 win over Seton Hill in 2017.
 
THOMPSON NAMED PSAC WEST DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AFTER RECORD FUMBLE RETURN
Junior linebacker Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) was selected the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week after pacing a strong defensive effort vs. Clarion. He would even get in on the scoring. With Clarion knocking on the door at the GU 1, Thompson picked up a fumble caused by Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy) and raced 99 yards down the sideline in front of the Gannon bench for his first career touchdown. He would end the day with 4 tackles while pacing a Gannon defense that held Clarion to 335 total yards and five turnovers. Thompson was also named to the DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week honor roll. He hails from Woodbridge, Va.
 
SCARPINO GOES DEEP
Redshirt sophomore Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) kicked a career-best 45-yard field goal against Shepherd. His previous long was a 41-yarder vs. Clarion in 2019. He would add a 25-yarder later in the game. Scarpino has made four of his five field goal attempts this season and is 9-for-11 in his career.  
 
GOLDEN KNIGHTS MAKE FIRST TRIP TO MICHIGAN SINCE 2004 A MEMORABLE ONE
Gannon's trip to Midland, Michigan and subsequent 28-21 overtime win over Northwood marked the first time the Golden Knights had won in Michigan since 2004. At that time Gannon was a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and played numerous contests in Michigan.  The Golden Knights joined the PSAC in 2007. On September 25, 2004, Gannon won at Northern Michigan, 45-40.

SCOUTING EDINBORO
The Fighting Scots come in with a 1-5 record and are 1-3 in the PSAC West after suffering a 27-20 loss to Mercyhurst in overtime last Saturday. First-year head coach Jake Nulph was presented his first win on October 2 with a 17-7 victory at Seton Hill. The Boro offense showcases Anfreenee Williams, 5'11", 215 lb. sophomore running back. Williams has rushed for 291 yards on 77 carries, but he has been coming on of late with 73 yards on 20 carries vs. Mercyhurst and 80 yards on 19 rushes the week before against Slippery Rock. He rejoined the team for the first time since 2014 when he was the team's leading rusher with 678 yards on 141 carries. Edinboro has used three quarterbacks this season, with freshman Isaac Bernard emerging as the starter recently. He has completed 46-of-66 passes for 391 yards with 3 TDs and an INT. He completed 26-of-36 passes for 265 yards with a pair of touchdowns vs. Mercyhurst. Sophomore linebacker Saige Ley is the team's leading tackler with 46 hits. Defensive ends Derian Smith (6'1", 250 lbs.) and Tarique Smith (6'1", 240 lbs.) are dangerous bookend pass rushers. They have combined for eight sacks. 
 
UP NEXT
Gannon plays the second of back-to-back home games at McConnell Family Stadium. It will be Senior Day as the Fighting Scots host 17th-ranked Slippery Rock for a 12 noon kickoff on Saturday, October 30.