FB vs. Charleston (WV) 9-1-22
Matt Durisko

Football Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Host West Chester in Search of First Win over Golden Rams

WEST CHESTER GOLDEN RAMS (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (2-0, 0-0 PSAC West)
DATE: Saturday, September 17, 2022
KICKOFF: 12 noon
STADIUM: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Live Video l Live Stats l Live Audio
 
GAME NOTES: Click Here
 
RADIO: 90.5 WERG FM – Listen to all the exciting action of Gannon football with Jack Quinn providing the play-by-play.
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon returns home to play its second straight PSAC crossover game with the goal of a third straight win to open the season. That has not happened since 2016 when the Golden Knights ran off three straight victories to start the season. They figure to face their toughest test to date against a West Chester team that is 1-1 after two games. Kickoff at McConnell Family Stadium is 12 noon.
 
The Golden Knights opened the season in impressive fashion with a 47-13 win over a Charleston (WV) team that was 8-2 a year ago on Thursday, September 1. They hit the highway for the first time last Saturday and rode a strong defensive effort to a 16-10 win at Millersville.
 
West Chester has a deceiving 1-1 record. The Golden Rams have faced a pair of teams that made the NCAA Division II playoffs a year ago. They edged Bentley on a late field goal, 17-16, in their season opener before suffering a 35-14 loss to No. 18 Slippery Rock last Saturday. Both games came at WCU's John A. Farrell Stadium. This marks the 100th season of football for West Chester, with head coach Bill Zwaan now in his 20th season.
  
Gannon, 5-6 a year ago, was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll while West Chester was chosen third in a highly-competitive PSAC East after ending at 6-5 in 2021. This marks the first meeting between the two team since 2019, when West Chester handed Gannon a 48-14 defeat at McConnell Family Stadium. West Chester has won all four previous meetings.
 
SERIES RECORD
West Chester leads 4-0

Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2019 – West Chester 48, at Gannon 14 I RECAP
Gannon and West Chester met on the gridiron for the first time in 2012 with the Golden Rams prevailing 21-17 at Farrell Stadium. They have gone on to win the next three meetings as well, including a 48-14 victory at McConnell Family Stadium in 2019. Paul Dooley ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third to lead West Chester. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) paced the Golden Knights with 93 yards rushing, including a 51-yard TD run.
 
FIVE FAST FACTS
Gannon has started the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2016 Golden Knight edition opened the season with three straight victories. Now they look to match that while picking up the first win ever against West Chester. Until the last two games Gannon had not enjoyed great success in PSAC crossover games in recent years. Last year's 13-10 win at East Stroudsburg to end the 2021 season snapped a string of eight straight losses in crossover contests.
 
A year ago the Gannon defense allowed 29.1 ppg,. and 396.7 yards per game in total offense. That included 159.6 ypg. on the ground. Though just two games into the season, it has been a stout defensive unit that has taken the field. Gannon limited Charleston to 305 total yards, 41 of that on the ground. Millersville was held to 157 total yards, the lowest figure since Cheyney gained 48 yards in 2014. The Marauders ran for 22 yards, the lowest total since a 10-yard effort by Clarion in 2018. The Golden Knights rank first in the PSAC and 21st in Division II in total defense (231.0 ypg.) and are second and ninth, respectively, in rushing defense (31.5 ypg.). A big part of the defense's early success is a total of 12 sacks in the first two games. Gannon had seven in the opener against Charleston and followed that up with five at Millersville. The Golden Knights lead the PSAC in sacks and are third nationally. Nine different players have already taken part in a sack, with Obi Ezeigbo (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) and Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy) leading the way with 2.5 apiece. Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) has a pair.
 
With Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) Jr. leading the way Gannon has topped the 200-yard mark in rushing in each of the first two games. The Golden Knights ran for 232 yards in the opener and last week had 215 on the ground at Millersville. They posted back-to-back 200-yard rushing efforts for the first time since 2018. Gannon ranks second in the PSAC and 20th in Division II in rushing. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) Jr. continue to be a strong one-two punch in the backfield. Blanks made it two for two in 100-yard games to start the 2022 season. The senior running back opened the season with 113 yards against Charleston and followed that up with 127 yards on 32 carries at Millersville. He now has eight career 100-yard games, including five a year ago. Wright also topped 100 yards vs. Charleston with 109 yards, his first career 100-yard effort. The last time a pair of Gannon runners gained 100 yards occurred in 2017 when Marcus Jones and Tyler Palka each ran for over 100 yards against Seton Hill. Jones had five straight 100-yard efforts in 2018. Blanks has moved up to ninth in career rushing with 2,275 yards.
 
Defensive backs Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) and Matt Wiitanen (Renton, Wash. /Pioneer) were recognized by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in the first two weeks of the season. Farnsworth was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for his performance in Gannon's 47-13 win over Charleston (WV). Wiitanen received the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week award following the 16-10 win at Millersville.  Farnsworth was honored after a career-high 12 tackles performance, including nine solo, while forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass. Wiitanen blocked a punt that resulted in a safety for the first score of the Millersville game. He had five tackles overall.
 
Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) entered the Millersville game with eight career receptions, four of those coming a year ago and four in the season-opener vs. Charleston. The redshirt junior wide receiver from Louisiana stepped up big with leading receiver Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) missing last week. He matched his career total with eight catches, good for a career-best 99 yards.
 
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
West Chester owns a storied history in the PSAC with 19 conference titles the most in PSAC history. The Golden Rams have 649 victories all-time, ranking third in NCAA Division II history. Bill Zwaan, now in his 20th season at the helm at WCU, has continued that winning tradition. He has led West Chester to the NCAA Division II playoffs ten times while winning six PSAC East regular season titles. The Golden Rams returned four All-PSAC East performers from last year and were picked to finish third in the PSAC East.  They are off to a 1-1 start with both games at home against 2021 NCAA playoff teams. They opened the year with a narrow 17-16 win over Bentley followed by a 35-14 loss to No. 18 Slippery Rock last week. One of the returning All-PSAC East performers is 2021 PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Taylor, a 6'1", 240 lb. junior linebacker who was named a preseason All-American. Taylor led all tacklers in the PSAC in stops last year with 98. He has 13 so far in two games, with three for losses. Junior RB Ja'Den McKenzie is a returning first team All-PSAC selection. He has rushed for over 900 yards in each of his first two seasons and has 25 career TDs to his credit. A 6'3", 230 lb. junior, he was third in the PSAC in rushing last year with 980 yards on 178 carries with 12 TDs. Phil Poquie is actually the team's leading rusher with 111 yards on 18 carries after gaining 629 yards with 7 TDs last year. McKenzie adds 90 yards on 34 carries. Sophomore QB Shane Dooley returns for his second season as the starter. He was a second team All-PSAC selection in 2021 after completing 104-of-174 passes for 1,719 yards with 20 TDs and 9 INTs. He added 298 yards and 2 TDs rushing. In two games in 2022 Dooley has completed 16-of-35 passes for 238 yards with 2 TDs and 4 INTs.
 
UP NEXT
Conference play begins as Gannon opens the PSAC West portion of its schedule at Clarion on Saturday, September 24. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Trey Baker

#50 Trey Baker

LB
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Ke

#1 Ke'John Batiste

WR
6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
Melvin Blanks

#2 Melvin Blanks

RB
6' 1"
Senior
Business
Sam East

#20 Sam East

WR
5' 11"
Senior
Undeclared
Obi Ezeigbo

#33 Obi Ezeigbo

DL
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
Chris Farnsworth

#9 Chris Farnsworth

DB
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Malachi Woody

#0 Malachi Woody

DL
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Sports Marketing
Antonio Wright

#11 Antonio Wright

RB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Criminal Justice
Matt Wiitanen

#2 Matt Wiitanen

DB
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Trey Baker

#50 Trey Baker

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
LB
Ke

#1 Ke'John Batiste

6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
WR
Melvin Blanks

#2 Melvin Blanks

6' 1"
Senior
Business
RB
Sam East

#20 Sam East

5' 11"
Senior
Undeclared
WR
Obi Ezeigbo

#33 Obi Ezeigbo

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
DL
Chris Farnsworth

#9 Chris Farnsworth

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
DB
Malachi Woody

#0 Malachi Woody

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Sports Marketing
DL
Antonio Wright

#11 Antonio Wright

5' 10"
Sophomore
Criminal Justice
RB
Matt Wiitanen

#2 Matt Wiitanen

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
DB