Kory Curtis vs. Charleston
Matt Durisko
13
Charleston(WV) UC 0-1
47
Winner Gannon GAN 1-0
Charleston(WV) UC
0-1
13
Final
47
Gannon GAN
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UC Charleston(WV) 0 6 7 0 13
GAN Gannon 13 14 6 14 47

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

Golden Knights Impressive in 47-13 Opening-Game Win over Charleston (WV)

Curtis accounts for five TDs, Blanks and Wright rush for 100 yards apiece

THE GAME FACTS
Final Score:  Gannon 47, Charleston (WV) 13
Records:  Gannon (1-0, 0-0 PSAC West), Charleston (0-1, 0-0 MEC)
Date:  Thursday, September 1, 2022
Location:  Erie, Pa. l McConnell Family Stadium
 
Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more, and even kicked four extra points and served as the punter, to lead Gannon to an impressive 47-13 win over a Charleston (WV) team that was 8-2 last year in the season opener for both teams. While denying Charleston's Quinn Sanders a win in his first game as head coach, the Golden Knights presented head coach Erik Raeburn his 150th career win. Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) Jr. each ran for 100 yards and the defense turned in a strong showing, limiting the Golden Eagles to 41 yards rushing while recording seven sacks. The unit even accounted for the final score, as freshman defensive lineman Myron Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scooped up a fumble and returned it 42 yards to cap off Gannon's first-ever meeting with a Mountain East Conference team.
 
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Box Score:  Click Here
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon jumped out to a 13-0 lead with a pair of first quarter touchdowns. The Golden Knights took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards in just seven plays. Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) completed a nine-yard pass on a 3rd-and-7 play to Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) to keep the drive alive, and two plays later the redshirt junior found senior Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) in the left corner at the goal line for a 20-yard TD pass just over three minutes into the game.
 
The Golden Knights took advantage of a special teams error by Charleston to gain possession deep in UC territory. A fumbled punt snap led to Gannon taking over at the UC five. Blanks burst up the middle on the next play for six points with 6:24 left in the quarter. Curtis came in and booted his first career extra point.
 
The Gannon offense bogged down for a period after that, and Charleston took advantage with short drives of 33 and 31 yards. The defense forced the Golden Eagles to settle for Tim McCutchen field goals of 43 and 31 yards. The second pulled Charleston to within 13-6 with 10:44 left in the second quarter.
 
Gannon rallied to score a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of the half to take control of the game. However, if not for a key grab by East, the game may have taken a different turn. The senior wide receiver made a diving catch for a first down with Gannon facing a 3rd-and-10 at its own 26. Blanks and Wright followed with four runs for 49 yards and the Curtis-to-East connection struck for the second time for a 20-6 lead with 4:52 left. Curtis found East wide open on a crossing pattern in the back left corner of the end zone for a 15-yard score to cap an eight-play, 74-yard drive.



After forcing a punt, Gannon ended the half with a six-play, 49-yard march, all on the ground. Wright carried twice for 22 yards, and Curtis carried on the last three play, bulling in from a yard out for the score and a 27-6 lead with 37 seconds remaining.
 
Charleston opened the second half with an impressive 18-play drive, moving from their own 17 to the GU one. On 4th-and-goal, a penalty moved the ball back to the six, and an incomplete pass left the Golden Eagles without any points.
 
Blanks took over on the next possession. The senior carried four straight times for 27 yards, then took a beautiful throw on a wheel route and went 63 yards with the Curtis pass down to the UC 15. Three plays later Curtis threw his third touchdown pass of the game, a three-yarder to tight end Alex Whittaker (Medina, Ohio/Medina) for a 33-6 advantage with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Charleston marched 74 yards late in the quarter to score on a 20-yard pass from Davis Black to Xzavion Gordon to close to 33-13. Gannon matched the score with a drive midway through the fourth quarter. Curtis accounted for his fifth touchdown of the day on a one-yard plunge against a Charleston defense that ranked among the scoring and total defense leaders a year ago.
 
Myron Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) put an exclamation point on the victory with a 42-yard fumble return with 1:21 left in the contest. The freshman defensive lineman scooped up the fumble on Gannon's seventh sack of the night and sprinted the final 42 yards.


 
BY THE NUMBERS
150. That's the number of wins Gannon head coach Erik Raeburn now has. Starting his 22nd season as a head coach, Raeburn won 78 games at Wabash, 57 at Coe College, had eight wins at Savannah State, and is now 7-9 at Gannon in his third season. He improved to 150-71 as Gannon won its second straight season opener.
 
Gannon displayed a balanced offense, rushing for 232 yards and passing for 164 yards for 396 total yards. The defense, meanwhile, held a Charleston offense known for its balance to just 41 yards on the ground and 305 total yards. The Golden Knights sacked Golden Eagle quarterbacks seven times and had nine tackles for losses.
 
An offensive line that faced a big challenge against a strong Charleston defense rose to the occasion, allowing just two sacks and paving the way for both Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Antonio Wright (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) Jr. to rush for 100 yards. 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. Blanks recorded his seventh career 100-yard game with 113 yards on 18 carries, adding a pair of receptions for 72 yards. Wright added his first career 100-yard effort with 109 yards on 14 carries. Gannon averaged 5.5 yards per rush.
 
Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) threw for three touchdowns, ran for two more, and made good on 4-of-5 extra points to account for 34 points. The redshirt junior completed 12-of-20 passes for 164 yards and ran for an additional 12 yards on seven carries. He even handled the punting duties, averaging 42.6 yards on five punts with a long of 50 yards.
 
Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) wishes every game was a season opener. The senior led Gannon with four receptions for 48 yards, with touchdown catches of 16 and 15 yards. A year ago, he caught the game-winning 25-yard TD pass from Curtis in a 28-21 overtime victory at Northwood. He caught two six-pointers last year, as well.
 
Defensive back Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) led the defense with a career-high 12 tackles, nine of those solo. He added a forced fumble and pass breakup. Hayden McDonald (Tigard, Ore. /Tigard), a transfer from Valparaiso playing in his first game as a Golden Knight, added six tackles, as did Keith Thompson (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge). The redshirt senior was making his 35th career start.
 
Obi Ezeigbo (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) came off the bench to finish with 2.5 of Gannon's seven sacks. McDonald had one sack, with Von Hubbard (Riviera Beach, Fla./William T. Dwyer), Charles Calhoun (Euclid, Ohio/St. Edward), Malachi Woody (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian Academy), Zharell Walker (Severn, Md. /Meade), and Luke Shragher (Jamison, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) registering 0.5 sacks.
 
Davis Black led Charleston, completing 26-of-46 passes for 247 yards with a touchdown. Colby Cooper caught seven passes for 71 yards. Josh Brown, a 6'3", 235 lb. running back, gained 69 yards rushing on 15 carries.
 
THE RECORD BOOK
Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) moved into ninth place in career rushing, boosting his career total to 2,148 yards. The senior moved past Charbel Latouf. Next up is Kevin Cloherty, who is eighth with 2,486 yards.
 
While he played in just his 12th game as a Golden Knight, Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) now has 2,419 yards passing. He entered the season ranked tenth in career passing yards and moved up two spots tonight to eighth place, passing Bob Bartley and Zach Phillips. Matt Butler is in seventh place with 2,803 yards.
 
Gannon's 47 points were the most points scored in a season opener since 2017, when the Golden Knights opened with a 55-22 win at Southern Connecticut State. It's also tied for the second-highest point total in an opener.
 
UP NEXT
Gannon plays the first of three PSAC crossover games, heading to the eastern part of the state to play at Millersville on Saturday, September 10. Kickoff is set for 12 noon. It will mark the first time the two teams have met since 2017 when Gannon won 39-7 at Millersville. The Golden Knights hold a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. Millersville opened the 2022 season tonight with a 28-10 loss at Saint Anselm.
 
 
 
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