Nicholas White
21
Mercyhurst HURST 0-2
28
Winner Gannon GAN 1-3
Mercyhurst HURST
0-2
21
Final
28
Gannon GAN
1-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
HURST Mercyhurst 0 0 7 14 0 21
GAN Gannon 7 0 3 11 7 28

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

Fourth-Quarter Comeback Leads To Overtime Win For Gannon Over Mercyhurst

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: Gannon 28, Mercyhurst 21 (OT)
  • Records: Gannon (1-3) | Mercyhurst (0-2)
  • Location: Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium – Erie, Pa.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
KEY SEQUENCE
  • With Mercyhurst needing a touchdown on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, Noah Thompson (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) set the edge, funneling the run off the right side back inside, where Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge), Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy), Malik Bridgeman (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College HS) and Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) finished it to get the stop and send Gannon celebrating a win in its spring season finale.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Gannon defense opened as strong as it closed, getting a three-and-out on the opening drive. That got the ball back to the offense, which moved into Mercyhurst territory quickly with a 34-yard strike from Jimmy Keefe (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward) to Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), followed by 19 yards on three carries from Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills). Blanks capped the 74-yard drive with a seven-yard scamper off the left side to make it 7-0 early.
  • An excellent play on a deep ball from safety Matt Wiitanen (Seattle, Wash./Pioneer) resulted in an interception for the Golden Knights on the next drive, but despite some long drives, neither team scored the rest of the first half. Gannon stalled on the Laker 30, then got a stop of its own after Mercyhurst held the ball for nearly nine minutes to get to the Gannon 21.
  • The two sides traded punts until Mercyhurst worked its way down to the Gannon 9 with seconds left in the first half. They opted to attempt a 26-yard field goal, but Reginald Hamlette Jr. (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill) came up the middle and Wiitanen came around the right side to each get a piece of the ball and keep the shutout at the half.
  • Just like its first drive of the first half, the first drive out of the break resulted in points for the Knights. With Jonathan Quinque (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) behind center, the freshman found Jordan Smith (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), Gabe Wescott (Greenwood, Del./Woodbridge) and Stanley for first downs to get to the Mercyhurst 30. A 10-yard burst from Michiah Burton (Columbus, Ohio/New Albany HS) got them in the red zone, and although the drive slowed down to a 4th and 2, Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) nailed a 29-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
  • With the Mercyhurst offense winning time of possession, but only moving the ball sparingly for most of the first three quarters, the guests struck with a big play five minutes after that field goal, as a 62-yard deep ball on first down got them on the board with 4:04 left in the third. The Lakers scored again on their next drive, and appeared to have all the momentum when they got a fourth-down stop and scored again to make it 21-10 with 5:59 to play.
  • That wouldn't be the case though, as Quinque found Burton across the middle on the first play of the next drive, with the sophomore taking it 58 yards to the Mercyhurst 2. Blanks finished off the final two yards and Quinque hit Wescott to get within three at 21-18. The Lakers looked to escape after a shanked punt when they hopped on a fumble on Gannon's next drive, but another short punt with 18 seconds left set the Golden Knights up.
  • Quinque found Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) down the left side for 22 yards to get Gannon in position, and after two incompletions on shots to the end zone, Scarpino calmly hit his second 29-yarder of the day to tie it up and send it to overtime.
  • There, three yards on 4th and 1 from Blanks kept Gannon alive, and on the next play, Burton shimmied around the left side for the final 13 yards. When Mercyhurst got the ball back needing to match, they quickly moved to the 8-yard line. With 1st and goal from there, the Knights got big stops from Bridgeman and N. Thompson, then Baker and Wiitanen on third down to keep the Lakers at the 1 before the grand finale.
     
GAME NOTES
  • The win snapped a four-game skid against the crosstown foes. It was also the fifth time in the last seven meetings that the game was decided by one possession.
  • It was the third overtime meeting all-time between the two teams, with Gannon now 2-1 in such games.
  • Saturday was also head coach Erik Raeburn's first win at the helm of the Golden Knights after having to wait 16 months to even coach his first game in Erie thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To no one's surprise, it was the first victory in the month of April in the history of the Golden Knight program.
  • Saturday was also senior day for the Golden Knights, who honored Jimmy Keefe (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward), Jimar Cunningham (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas Institute of Rochester) and Jordan Smith (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) prior to the game.
  • Quinque closed out the game behind center for six of the final seven drives, finishing with 179 yards on 12-of-19 passing. In two games, the true freshman has put up 316 passing yards and two touchdowns.
  • The Gannon defensive line put up an incredible effort, leading the way for a unit that recorded 13 tackles for loss and four sacks. Defensive tackle Bridgeman posted a career-high nine total tackles, including 3.0 behind the line of scrimmage.
  • Nicholas White (Randallstown, Md./Milford Mill Academy) wrapped up his breakout campaign with another 1.5 sacks Saturday, giving him 5.5 on the four-game season. He totaled six tackles Saturday, including 3.0 for loss.
  • Baker, Reddick and Wiitanen each posted 10 tackles to lead the way. Wiitanen added his interception, with Redding adding a sack and Baker a TFL.
  • Burton finished with 115 all-purpose yards, adding 57 rushing on 13 carries with a touchdown on the ground. Blanks returned to action with 54 yards on 19 totes and two rushing scores.
  • Stanley led the receiving corps with five grabs for 85 yards, both of which are career highs.
 
UP NEXT
  • The Golden Knights have wrapped up their delayed and shortened 2020-21 season, and will return to action for the 2021 slate this fall.
 
 
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