Alex Whittaker vs. West Chester
Bryce Dolak
29
Winner West Chester WCU 2-1
23
Gannon GAN 2-1
Winner
West Chester WCU
2-1
29
Final
23
Gannon GAN
2-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WCU West Chester 7 10 7 5 29
GAN Gannon 3 20 0 0 23

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

Aerial Attack Comes Up Just Short in 29-23 Loss to West Chester

THE GAME FACTS
Score:  West Chester 29, Gannon 23
Records:  Gannon (2-1, 0-0 PSAC West), West Chester (2-1, 0-0 PSAC East)
Date:  Satuday, September 17, 2022
Location:  Erie, Pa. – McConnell Family Stadium
 
Gannon saw its two-game winning streak to open the 2022 campaign come to an end as West Chester rallied for a 29-23 win at McConnell Family Stadium. The Golden Knights held a 23-17 lead at the half but the Golden Rams relied on a pounding ground game over the final thirty minutes to come back. After missing the Millersville game with an injury, Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) turned in a monster game with 178 yards on eight receptions, with Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) recording his first 100-yard effort with 108 yards on seven grabs. Despite being constantly harassed by the WCU pass rush, Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) threw for a career-high 362 yards and 2 TDs. Gannon is now 2-1 while West Chester, picked to finish third in the PSAC East, is also 2-1. The Golden Rams split a pair of contests against 2021 NCAA playoff teams in their first two games.
 
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Box Score:  Click Here
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon opened the game with an impressive 11-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Eric Scarpino's (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 11:29 left in the opening quarter. The Golden Knights converted twice on third down.
 
West Chester responded with a pair of touchdowns to take a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. On their second possession the Golden Rams took advantage of a short field to go up 7-0. A short punt and 18-yard return by D'Shaun Seals left WCU at the GU 25. Facing a 3rd-and-11, Desmon Johnson connected with Mary Wright for a 26-yard TD pass, with Wright making a great one-handed catch.
 
WCU's next score was the result of its longest drive of the day after a Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) punt pinned the Golden Rams back at their own. They needed 10 plays to cover the 91 yards, with eight of those plays runs. The last was a 24-yard burst up the middle by big Ja'Den McKenzie (6'3", 230 lbs.). WCU led 14-3 with 14:39 remaining in the half.

Gannon proceeded to dominate the rest of the second quarter, scoring 20 unanswered points. The run began with a special teams' gaffe as West Chester muffed a punt with Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) recovering at the WCU 35. After a sack on first down, Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) scored his fourth touchdown of the season on a 20-yard run. The senior went off right tackle and broke a tackle at the ten to pull Gannon to 14-10 with 13:47 left in the half.
 
Following a WCU three-and-out, Gannon struck again on another big play, this time courtesy of the arm of Curtis. He completed a pair of passes to Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney), one a 16-yarder on a 3rd-and-12 play, and then hit Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) on a fly pattern down the right sideline for a 38-yard TD pass. The extra point was blocked, but the six-play, 65-yard drive gave Gannon a 16-14 lead with 8:41 left.
 
Gannon dodged a bullet later in the quarter after West Chester recovered a fumble near midfield. Hayden McDonald (Tigard, Ore. /Tigard) forced a fumble and Baker came up with his second recovery at the WCU 47. Two plays later the Gannon lead grew to 23-14. Curtis and East combined for a 25-pass on first down, and the redshirt junior quarterback then found big tight end Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) open over the middle for a 22-yard TD pass.
 
West Chester pulled to within 23-17 at intermission thanks to another short field. The ensuing drive began at the Gannon 46 after the Golden Knights were whistled for two unsportsmanlike penalties on the touchdown and forced to kickoff from the ten. Sean Henry kicked a 35-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining in the half.
 
West Chester made a statement drive to start the second half, taking the opening kickoff and needing just four plays to march 76 yards behind backup quarterback Desmon Johnson. Johnson carried twice for 16 yards to the GU 49, and McKenzie followed with his second touchdown of the hot afternoon, a 49-yard jaunt. Henry's extra point gave WCU the lead for good at 24-23 with 13:19 left in the third quarter.
 
Gannon's next three possessions ended in WCU territory without any points. The first ended at the WCU 39 with a lost fumble, and on the second Gannon turned the ball over on downs at the WCU 35 on an incomplete pass, ending a nine-play drive.
 
The third drive was the most painful for Gannon. The Golden Knights took over at their own 20 following a punt with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter. Eleven plays later the Golden Knights had the ball at the WCU 11 facing a 4th-and-1. The interior of the Golden Rams' defensive line stopped Curtis short of the first down.
 
West Chester added insult to injury by putting together a long drive of its own. The Golden Rams ate up over five minutes and to go from their own 11 to the GU 11. They actually scored a touchdown on a 19-yard touchdown pass, but the score was negated by offsetting penalties. Henry came in to kick his second field goal, this one from 37 yards, for a 27-23 lead with 5:20 remaining.
 
Gannon picked up one first down on its next possession, but they were forced to punt. West Chester took over with just over four minutes left and used up all but 25 seconds on the clock. Curtis was sacked on back-to-back plays to end the game, the latter resulting in a sack for the final score as time ran out.  
      
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon was looking for its first win over West Chester. The Golden Rams had won the previous four meetings, the last one also at McConnell Family Stadium in 2019.
 
After rushing for 200 yards in back-to-back games, Gannon was unable to muster a consistent ground game against a physical West Chester defense. With WCU registering six sacks, three more than Gannon had allowed in the first two games combined, the Golden Knights were held to 55 yards rushing in 34 attempts. The Golden Rams, meanwhile, ran for 285 yards against a Gannon defense that came in ranked second in the PSAC and ninth in Division II while allowing just 63 yards total in two games. That's the most since Michigan Tech ran for 337 yards against Gannon in 2007.
 
Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, ending the afternoon with 18 carries for 84 yards. He added three receptions for 26 yards and scored a touchdown on a 20-yard run.
 
Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) made up for the lack of a rushing attack with a career-high 362 yards and 2 TDs, completing 23-of-37 passes without an interception. The redshirt junior has now attempted 86 passes this season without an interception. West Chester, meanwhile, was limited to 90 yards through the air.
 
Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) and Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) became the first receiving tandem to top 100 yards in a game since Jesstin Hamm and Brandon Mansell at East Stroudsburg in 2015. East set career-highs for receptions (8) and yards receiving (178) while recording his second career 100-yard game. After falling one yard shy of 100 yards receiving last week at Millersville, Batiste pulled in seven passes for 108 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown reception. He now has 15 catches for 207 yards in his last two games.
 
Gannon ended the day with 417 yards compared to 375 for the Golden Rams. WCU had a narrow advantage in time of possession, 30:46 to 29:14. Gannon made good on 5-of-13 3rd-down plays while WCU was 4-of-13. Unfortunately, Gannon was hampered by penalties for the second straight week. The Golden Knights were whistled 12 times for 109 yards while West Chester had six penalties for 50 yards.  
 
Defensive back Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) led Gannon tackles for the third straight game with a career-high 16 stops, bettering his total of 12 in the opener against Charleston. Defensive tackle MaLik Bridgeman (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College HS) also enjoyed a career-effort with 10 tackles. Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) had eight tackles and recovered a pair of fumbles.
 
West Chester showcased the powerful rushing tandem of Ja'Den McKenzie and Desman Johnson. McKenzie, a 6'3", 230 lb. junior who was a first-team All-PSAC East selection a year ago, ran for 150 yards and 2 TDs on 23 carries. Johnson, a 250-lb. sophomore quarterback took over in the second half and ended with 73 yards on eight rushes. He also threw for a touchdown in the first half.
 
THE RECORD BOOK
Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) moved closer to eighth place in career rushing, finishing with 84 yards on 18 carries. The senior now has 2,359 yards. Next up is Kevin Cloherty, who is eighth with 2,486 yards.
 
Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) has played in just 14 games as a Golden Knight, but his career passing yards total now stands at 2,941 yards after throwing for a career-high 362 yards against West Chester. He moved past Matt Butler into seventh place in career passing yards. Todd Heigley stands in sixth place with 3,053 yards.
 
Sam East's (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) 178 yards receiving against West Chester ranks fifth in a game. Lee Castana holds the top two figures with 266 and 252 yards against Canisius and Albany, respectively. Justin Caliste had 227 yards vs. Seton Hill, while Lawrence Coleman totaled 194 yards vs. Clarion.
 
UP NEXT
Gannon begins PSAC West action with a road contest at Clarion on Saturday, September 24. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is 1:00 p.m. The Golden Eagles improved to 1-2 with a 44-7 win at Lock Haven on Saturday.
 
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