gannon vs shepherd 9-11-2021
56
Winner Shepherd SHEP 2-0
26
Gannon GAN 1-1
Winner
Shepherd SHEP
2-0
56
Final
26
Gannon GAN
1-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SHEP Shepherd 21 14 7 14 56
GAN Gannon 6 3 10 7 26

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

Curtis-to-East Connection Enjoys Another Big Day in Loss to 13th-Ranked Shepherd

ERIE, Pa. -- The Gannon football team played its home opener on Saturday afternoon at McConnell Family Stadium against a high-powered Shepherd squad that came in ranked 13th in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25. The passing combination of Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.)-to-Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) enjoyed another big day, but unfortunately the Golden Knights struggled to slow down the impressive aerial attack of the Rams. Gannon would drop a 56-26 decision to Shepherd to see its record even at 1-1, while the Rams improved to 2-0 in the PSAC crossover contest.

Gannon took a quick 6-0 lead in its first-ever meeting with Shepherd, scoring on the first possession of the game. The Golden Knights drove 75 yards in five plays, with Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) hauling in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Curtis. Shepherd answered with the next three scores to lead 21-6 after one quarter. Tyson Bagent directed drives of 35, 60, and 39 yards as Shepherd would score on its first four possessions. Greg Leonard accounted for the first score on a 10-yard pass from Bagent, followed by an eight-yard TD reception by Ryan Beach. Bagent threw his third touchdown pass of the first quarter with two minutes remaining, an 11-yarder to Brian Walker.
 
The Golden Knights answered with a nine-play, 47-yard march that was culminated by Eric Scarpino's (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) career-long 45-yard field goal. That closed the gap to 21-9 a minute into the second quarter, but the Rams scored two more touchdowns for a 35-9 halftime advantage. Both were impressive drives, the first covering 82 yards and the second good for 92 yards. Both ended with Bagent throwing touchdown passes to Michael McCook of five and four yards.

Gannon forced a Shepherd punt on the first possession of the third quarter, and proceeded to go 55 yards on 11 plays. When the drive stalled, Scarpino came in and booted his second field goal of the game, this one from 25-yards, as Gannon closed the gap to 35-12 midway through the third quarter. Shepherd answered with a 65-yard drive in just two plays, as Ronnie Brown burst up the middle for a 58-yard touchdown run less than a minute after Scarpino's 3-pointer. Gannon wasn't done scoring in the third quarter. Curtis directed an impressive 75-yard drive as he completed all six of his attempts. The last came on a 17-yard TD pass to East following a beautiful play fake. It marked the third time the pair hooked up for six points this year. The score came with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter as Gannon trailed trailed 42-19 after three periods.

After Ty Hebron scored on a 12-yard run for Shepherd early in the fourth quarter, Curtis threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, finding Whittaker for a 23-yard score. The big 262 lb. tight end bowled over a tackler before diving into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.  That closed the gap to 49-26 less than four minutes into the final stanza, but Shepherd would tack on one more score for the final margin.     

Curtis, the former Ohio State and Bryant signalcaller, would end the day with 252 yards passing and 3 TDs, completing 21-of-36 passes. East caught 7 passes for 76 yards and a score, while Whitaker hauled in 3 passes for 47 yards and two six-pointers. Damerisse Freeman Jr. (Euclid, Ohio/St.. Edward) caught 4 passes for 29 yards. Gannon finished the day with 333 total yards. The Rams limited Gannon to 81 yards on the ground, with Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) leading the way with 25 yards on seven carries. 

Shepherd totaled 583 yards, with Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Bagent completing 29-of-37 passes for 363 yards and 5 TDs. The Rams had 363 yards passing and 220 yards rushing. Beach caught 8 passes ffor 82 yards and Josh Gontarek contributed 108 yards on 4 receptions. Brown had 72 yards rushing on five carries, and Avaughn Holley came in late and ran for 69 yards on 12 carries.

Gannon returns to action on Saturday, September 18 with another PSAC crossover contest at Bloomsburg. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. 
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