football vs cal u
Johnny Freeman caught four passes for 81 yards.
38
Winner CAL CAL 6-0 , 3-0
17
Gannon GAN 2-4 , 1-2
Winner
CAL CAL
6-0 , 3-0
38
Final
17
Gannon GAN
2-4 , 1-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CAL CAL 14 17 7 0 38
GAN Gannon 3 7 0 7 17

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

Blanks, Wright Score on the Ground as Gannon Falls to 15th-Ranked Cal U

ERIE, Pa. – Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (West Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) accounted for rushing touchdowns for Gannon on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Knights dropped a 38-17 decision to 15th-ranked Cal U at McConnell Family Stadium. Gannon is now 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC West, while Cal improved to 6-0 and 3-0, respectively.

The contest marked the third time in the last five weeks that Gannon was facing a nationally-ranked team. Cal came in ranked 15th in the AFCA Division II Top 25 and 25th according to D2Football.com. The Golden Knights previously faced then 13th-ranked Shepherd and a week ago fell by a narrow 28-23 decision at then 25th-ranked Indiana(Pa.).

Cal came in with the top-ranked defense in Division II in scoring defense (5.2 ypg.), total defense (135.6 ypg.) and passing defense (87.0 ypg.), in addition to ranking fourth in rushing defense (48.6 ypg.). The Vulcans had shut out three of their first five opponents and had allowed just 26 points total.

Gannon was able to do something no other Cal opponent had previously done in the first five games – score in the first half. The Golden Knights took the opening kickoff and drove inside the Vulcan 10 before kicking a field goal. Those were the first points allowed by Cal in the first half all season. The Golden Knights would add a touchdown late in the first half.

All told, Gannon finished with more points than any Cal opponent this year, along with 296 total yards, a high vs. the Vulcan defense. The Golden Knights' 83 yards rushing represented the second-highest total allowed.

Just as it did against Shepherd earlier in the year, the Gannon offense struck for a big play on the first play from scrimmage. Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) connected with Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) for a 37-yard catch-and-run play to the Cal 38. One play later Curtis ran for 18 yards to the 18. Gannon would reach the five-yard line before a sack stalled the march. Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) came in and booted a 31-yard field goal. Scarpino has now made all four of his field goal attempts this season. The 10-play, 61-yard drive gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead with 10:32 left in the first quarter.      

Cal would score the next 24 points to go up 24-3 late in the second quarter. The Gannon defense forced a three-and-out on Cal's first possession, but the Vulcan defense would account for their first score of the game. Curtis' pass was intercepted and returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Jermal Martin, Jr., giving Cal a 7-3 lead with 8:18 left in the quarter. The pickoff snapped a string of 139 straight passes without an interception by Curtis, and was his first since late in the first half in the season opener at Northwood.

The Vulcans would score on their next two possessions on touchdown passes by Noah Mitchell. The first covered 23 yards to JaQuae Jackson to cap a seven-play, 53-yard drive with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

The lead grew to 21-3 on the first play of the second quarter. Following a second Cal interception, Mitchell guided a nine-play, 49-yard drive that ended with a one-yard TD pass to Jackson Daugherty.

Gannon would drive to the Cal 34, keyed by a 25-yard completion to Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep), two possessions later before turning the ball over on downs. The Vulcans responded with a 12-play, 51-yard march. Cal would reach the GU 10, but a sack on third down by Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy) forced the Vulcans to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Anthony Beitko.

Thanks to a 50-yard kickoff return by freshman Chaz Davis (Callahan, Fla./West Nassau), the Golden Knights started the next drive just past midfield. Four plays later they were in the end zone. Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) made a leaping grab of a Curtis pass for an 18-yard gain on a 3rd-and-6 play to the Cal 25. On the next play, Blanks went up the middle, broke a tackle and veered left, then broke another tackle and dove into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown. The junior now has five touchdowns on the ground and seven total. Scarpino's extra point made it 24-10 with 1:58 remaining.

Unfortunately, the Cal offense would answer with a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Mitchell completing 6-of-8 passes. The last was a three-yard TD pass to Jackson with one tick remaining in the half. That gave Cal a 31-10 lead at intermission.

The teams would trade scores in the second half. Cal would build its lead to 38-10 with 6:35 left in the third quarter as Mitchell threw his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon, this one covering 30 yards to Cam Tarrant. Tarrant actually took a short pass, broke a tackle and sprinted to the end zone.

Gannon would reach the Cal 1 yard line early in the fourth quarter before Curtis' fourth-down run came up just short. The GU defense forced three straight incompletions to force a punt, with Gannon taking over at the Cal 45. Eleven plays later, Gannon was in the end zone for the second time on the afternoon. Antonio Wright (West Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne) scored his third touchdown rushing this season. The freshman took a handoff and went right, then made a hard cut up the middle for a 6-yard TD run with 8:07 remaining. The drive featured a clutch 12-yard completion from Curtis to Damerisse Freeman Jr. (Euclid, Ohio/St.. Edward) on a 4th-and-10 play.

Gannon finished with 296 total yards, the most allowed by Cal this year, while the Vulcans totaled 429 yards. Most of that came through the air, as Cal passed for 382 yards while being limited to 47 yards rushing. Gannon had 83 yards rushing and 213 passing, the latter a season-high vs. Cal.

Curtis, Gannon's redshirt sophomore quarterback, completed 15-of-38 passes for 213 yards with the 2 INTs. He did not throw a touchdown for the first time this year as he was under a heavy pass rush most of the day. Despite that, the Golden Knights allowed just one sack against a team that ranked eighth in the country in sacks with 4.0 per game.

Blanks was the game's leading rusher with 51 yards on 11 carries. Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) caught 5 passes for 47 yards, matching the redshirt sophomore's career high for receptions. Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) added 4 receptions for 81 yards.

Mitchell would complete 35-of-53 passes for 382 yards with 4 TDs. Nine different Vulcans caught passes, led by Tarrant with 11 catches for 124 yards. Tyson Hill also went over 100 yards with 102 on 7 receptions, while Jackson hauled in 6 balls for 70 yards.

The Gannon defense was led by redshirt linebacker Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Kam Snell (Owings Mills, Md./Good Counsel) returned after missing the last two games with an injury to add 9 tackles. Nick White (Randallstown, Md./Milford Mill Academy) also had 9 tackles, including 2.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks. Gannon ended the day with 4 sacks after Cal had allowed just 8 in five games.  Cameron Jenkins (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Orange Lutheran) and Trevaughn McNeill (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS) also contributed 9 stops.

The Golden Knights head out on the highway this coming Saturday, October 16, playing at Seton Hill. The Griffins improved to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC West with a 19-17 win at Mercyhurst this afternoon. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Offutt Field.  
 
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