No. 15/No. 16 SLIPPERY ROCK "THE ROCK" (7-1, 4-1 PSAC West) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (4-4, 3-2 PSAC West)
DATE: Saturday, October 30, 2021
KICKOFF: 12 noon
STADIUM: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.

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ERIE, Pa. - It's Senior Day at Gannon, with the Golden Knights facing their fourth ranked team of the season. Slippery Rock comes in with a 7-1 record and is 4-1 in the PSAC West after a narrow 20-17 win at Mercyhurst. The Rock moved up two spots to 15^th in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25, and stands 16^th in the D2Fiootball.com poll. Gannon will recognize three seniors prior to the contest. Defensive end Jay Bullock (Garfield Heights, Ohio/University School) and safety Trevaughn Vaughn have played huge roles in the defensive success. Ryan Vessels (Bowie, Md./St. Johns College HS), meanwhile, has not played since 2019 when he suffered a career-ending injury, but he has remained a vital part of the program. Gannon (4-4, 3-2 PSAC West) seeks a third straight win after rallying for a 21-18 win over local rival Edinboro last Saturday. The Golden Knights are coming off two of the best rushing efforts in years with 282 yards at Seton Hill and 316 vs. Edinboro. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) has had back-to-back 200-yard games and enters the game with 945 yards on the season. 
 
SERIES RECORD
Slippery Rock leads 9-6
Gannon looks to snap a six-game losing streak to The Rock. The Golden Knights last won in 2013 by a 38-27 margin at McConnell Family Stadium.

LAST MEETING
2019 – Slippery Rock 56, at Gannon 7 | RECAP
Ninth-ranked Slippery Rock fell behind 7-0 when Zevin Holley scored on a 28-yard run less than three minutes into the game. After that it was all SRU as The Rock scored the final 56 points. SRU totaled 518 yards, including 340 through the air, while limiting Gannon to 181 yards. Roland Rivers threw for 293 yards and 4 TDs, with Henry Litwin hauling in 9 passes for 134 yards and 2 TDs.  Holey was a bright spot for the Golden Knights with 147 yards on 27 carries.
 
LAST WEEK
at Gannon 21, Edinboro 18 | RECAP
For the second straight week Gannon relied on a relentless ground game to post a come-from-behind win. After setting a season high with 282 yards rushing at Seton Hill, the Golden Knights bettered that with 316 yards. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) was the bell-cow back, posting his second straight 200-yard effort while setting career highs with 29 carries for 239 yards, the 10^th-highest single-game rushing total. Blanks scored a pair of touchdowns. The first was a two-yard run to give Gannon a 7-3 lead with 6:08 remaining in the second quarter. The second was a 24-yard burst to boost Gannon's lead to 21-10 with 3:14 left in the contest. The Golden Knights entered the fourth quarter trailing 10-7 but would take the lead when Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) made a leaping catch of a Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) pass in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown with 7:47 remaining, It capped the second 98-yard drive of the game. Gannon had to survive some anxious moments late, with Edinboro scoring a touchdown and converting the two-point play with 24 seconds left, but Chaz Davis (Callahan, Fla./West Nassau) recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Slippery Rock 20, at Mercyhurst 17 | RECAP
SRU survived a huge upset attempt by Mercyhurst as DJ Opsatnik kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:24 remaining. The Lakers had knotted the score at 17-17 on a field goal with just over five minutes remaining in the game. SRU finished with 343 total yards while limiting Mercyhurst to 222 yards. Opsatnik earlier booted another 30-yard field goal. Chris D'Or accounted for SRU's first score on a five-yard run in the second quarter, and Henry Litwin hauled in a 42-yard pass from Andrew Koester in the third quarter to give The Rock a 17-14 lead.  Koester completed 19-of-32 passes for 227 yards with a TD and an INT. Jermaine Wynn Jr. caught 6 passes for 58 yards. Evyn Holtz was the top rusher with 73 yards on 12 totes. Chad Kuhn had a pair of sacks and forced a fumble on the defensive side of the ball.   
 
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 148-69 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.  
 
Shawn Lutz (West Virginia '96) is in his sixth season as Slippery Rock's head coach after serving for 20 seasons as an assistant coach under legendary George Mihalik. Lutz has maintained SRU's position as one of the top Division II programs in the country, recording a 46-12 record with two PSAC titles, the PSAC championship in 2019, and two NCAA Playoff appearances. The 2019 SRU squad registered a perfect regular season record and won two NCAA Tournament games to capture the Super Region I title before closing its year with a loss in the national semifinals against No. 4 Minnesota State to conclude the year with a 13-1 overall record. The Rock ended the season ranked sixth in the nation by the American Football Coaches Association. The 2018 campaign saw Slippery Rock finish the year with an 11-3 record, win the PSAC West and advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. SRU finished the year ranked 12th in the nation according to the AFCA. Lutz was named the 2018 PSAC West Coach of the Year.

PSAC RANKINGS 

	Gannon	SRU
Scoring	26.5 (7)	38.6 (2)
Scoring Defense	27.9 (13)	16.3 (4)
Total Offense	391.1 (5)	457.8 (2)
Total Defense	392.9 (13)	257.8 (3)
Rushing Offense	181.1 (4)	135.9 (7)
Rushing Defense	149.0 (11)	133.4 (9)
Passing Offense	210.0 (7)	321.9 (3)
Passing Defense	243.9 (13)	124.4 (1)

() 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. Slippery Rock was the preseason favorite after compiling a 13-1 record in 2019, reaching the NCAA Division II semifinals before falling to Minnesota State.

GOODBYE SENIORS
Gannon will recognize three seniors prior to today's game as part of our Senior Day festivities. The three seniors are Jay Bullock (Garfield Heights, Ohio/University School), Trevaughn McNeill (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS), and Ryan Vessels (Bowie, Md./St. Johns College HS).  Bullock and McNeill play key roles in an improving Gannon defense. Bullock is a 6'1", 254 lb. defensive end from Garfield Heights, Ohio. He has twice earned second team All-PSAC West honors (2018 and '19). He has made 29 career starts and has over 100 career tackles with 6 sacks.  McNeill, from Philadelphia, was the team's leading tackler in 2019 with 77 stops from his safety position and currently has 28 tackles this year despite missing the first three games with an injury. He has 178 career stops. Vessels is a linebacker from Bowie, Md. who unfortunately suffered a career-ending injury in 2019. Since that time he has remained a valuable contributor to the Gannon football program.
     
MELVIN NOT SHOOTING BLANKS
With back-to-back 200-yard games and four games of 100-or-more yards in 2021, Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) has emerged as one of the top running backs in Division II. The junior has rushed for 945 yards on 132 carries, an eye-opening 7.2 yards per carry, with 8 TDs. He ranks seventh in Division II in rushing yards, tenth in rushing yards per game (118.1), and eighth in yards per carry, leading the PSAC in all three categories. He also stands tenth in the country and first in the PSAC in total touchdowns with 10. Blanks needs 55 yards to become the first GU back to reach 1,000 yards on the ground since Marcus Jones in 2018. He comes off a 29-carry, 239-yard effort vs. Mercyhurst, both career highs, with the 239 yards the 10th-highest single-game performance. The week before he totaled 200 yards on 25 carries at Seton Hill.    

98 IS TWICE AS NICE
Poor weather conditions weren't the only things Gannon had to overcome against Edinboro. The Golden Knights were forced to traverse a long field not once, but twice. The first was a season-high 98 yards on 11 plays (5 minutes, 27 seconds) midway through the second quarter, with Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) scoring on a two-yard run. The Golden Knights found themselves pinned back at the two once again in the fourth quarter. This time they used up 5 minutes, 13 seconds and 10 plays for a second 98-yard TD drive. Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) accounted for the touchdown, catching a 17-yard pass from Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.). The two 98-yard drives give Gannon five scoring drives of 90-or-more yards this year. The previous longest drive was 97 yards at Seton Hill. They drove 93 yards at Bloomsburg and 91 at IUP. 

TIME TO GIVE THE O-LINE A LITTLE LOVE
When the season began, head coach Erik Raeburn trotted out a young offensive line that included freshman Elisha Bacon (Vero Beach, Fla. /Vero Beach) at left tackle, sophomore Jacob Petit (Uniontown, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban), redshirt freshman Jordan Covatto (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) at center, redshirt sophomore Montana Nietert (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) at right guard, and redshirt freshman Riley Noble (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) at right tackle. The quintet had taken virtually every snap prior to the Edinboro game, when Covatto was forced to depart. Nietert moved over to center and Charles Tollner (Wilton, Calif./Pleasant Grove), a redshirt sophomore, stepped in at right guard. The group did not miss. They have paved the way for Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) to become one of the top rushers in Division II. Gannon now ranks fourth in the PSAC in rushing offense (181.1 ypg.) and has allowed just eight sacks. The latter figure is second in the PSAC and 13th in Division II. Two weeks ago, Gannon rolled up 282 yards rushing on a Seton Hill defense that was second in the PSAC in rushing defense at 78.8 ypg. Last week, the Golden Knights ran for 316 yards on 42 attempts. It's the most yards rushing since a 453-yard effort against Lock Haven in the last game of the 2018 season.

GOLDEN KNIGHT D STOUT UP THE MIDDLE
The Gannon defense showcases a strong defensive line. The tackle tandem of Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy) and MaLik Bridgeman (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College HS) have both missed time this year, but when healthy they are an imposing pair. Woody, a 6'1", 314 lb. redshirt junior, had 1.5 sacks among his seven tackles against Edinboro. He has 22 tackles on the season with 4.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. Bridgeman had a pair of tackles and 1.5 TFL. The 6'0", 321 lb. junior has 32 tackles with 5 TFL and 3 sacks on the season. They combine to make it tough for opponents to run up the middle. 

WHITTAKER MAKES THE MOST OF HIS CATCHES
Redshirt junior tight end Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) has caught 12 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 two weeks ago 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. Last week, his diving 19-yard catch on 3rd-and-8 from the GU 4 kept a 98-yard scoring drive alive in the fourth quarter. 

DEFENSE USING BEND-BUT-DON'T-BREAK APPROACH
Gannon's defense has made a habit of coming up with goal line stands in recent weeks. The Golden Knights stopped Seton Hill twice inside the five yard-line in the recent 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). The Griffins were then stopped shy of the goal line as Loiseau and a host of others stopped SHU at the one. 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. Last week, Edinboro reached the GU 2 but was stopped for no gain on 4th-and-goal, with Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) and Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) doing the honors. 

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 with 7 TDs and 6 INTs. As a Golden Knight, Curtis has completed 116-of-232 passes for 1,658 yards with 16 TDs and 4 INTs. He is now tenth in yards passing in a season at Gannon, and his 16 TD passes ranks sixth in a season. 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. 

NOTHING EASY ABOUT GANNON SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock is the fourth nationally-ranked team Gannon will face this year. 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. 

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 SLIPPERY ROCK
Slippery Rock is traditionally one of the top teams not just in the PSAC but in Division II, and this year is no exception. The Rock comes in ranked 15th according to the AFCA Division II Top 25 and 16th in the D2Football.com Top 25 with a 7-1 overall record and 4-1 in the PSAC West. The Rock ran off six straight wins by an average margin of 34 points before suffering a 48-21 loss at home to IUP. They rallied a week ago for a 20-17 win at Mercyhurst. As usual, SRU showcases one of the top passing offenses in the country, along with a stingy defense. SRU ranks 13th in Division II in scoring offense (38.6 ppg.) and 16th in scoring defense (16.2 ppg.). Andrew Koester, a 6'4', 220 lb. redshirt senior directs the high-powered attack. He has completed 150-of-251 passes for 2,318 yards with 23 TDs and 8 INTs. He ranks ninth in Division II in TD passes and 13th in passing yards. While Jermaine Wynn Jr. has a team-leading 38 receptions for 526 yards with 5 TDs, All-American Henry Litwin has enjoyed a record-setting career. The redshirt senior became the second player in SRU history to surpass 3,000 receiving yards. His career numbers are a staggering 191 catches for 3,036 yards with 37 TDs. His numbers this year are 37 receptions for 686 yards and 8 TDs. Defensively, SRU is allowing just 125.8 yards per game through the air, ranking sixth in the country. Redshirt senior defensive end Chad Kuhn ranks fifth in the PSAC with seven sacks. 
 
UP NEXT
Gannon wraps up the 2021 campaign with a pair of road games. However, the Golden Knights won't even leave the city limits next week, making the short trek to East 38th Street and a date with crosstown rival Mercyhurst. Kickoff is set for 12 noon on Saturday, October 30. The following week the season concludes with the longest road trip of the season, traveling across state to East Stroudsburg.