Mike Gallagher
13
Gannon GAN 0-1 , 0-0
22
Winner Charleston (WV) CHA 1-0 , 0-0
Gannon GAN
0-1 , 0-0
13
Final
22
Charleston (WV) CHA
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GAN Gannon 0 0 6 7 13
CHA Charleston (WV) 0 3 6 13 22

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

Golden Knights Turn in Strong Defensive Effort in 22-13 Loss at Charleston (WV) on Thursday Night

THE GAME FACTS
Final Score: Charleston (WV) 22, Gannon 13
Records: Gannon (0-1, 0-0 PSAC West) I Charleston (WV) (1-0, 0-0 MEC)
Date: Thursday, August 31, 2023
Location: Charleston, W.Va. I University of Charleston Stadium
 
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a game that was expected to be a shootout between two-high powered offenses, it was the defenses that dominated most of the action. Unfortunately for Gannon, a great defensive effort was spoiled by a trio of big plays in the fourth quarter.  Charleston rallied for two touchdowns in the final four minutes to hand the Golden Knights a 22-13 loss in the season opener for both teams. It marked the second straight year the two teams met on a Thursday night to open the season. Gannon prevailed 47-13 last year at McConnell Family Stadium.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Box Score: Click Here

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half featured just one score, that a 43-yard field goal by Charleston's Tim McCutchen with 44 seconds left in the half. Most of the half was a showcase of punts, with Gannon setting an unofficial record with five punts in the first quarter. The Golden Knights finally got a first down on their third possession, but the first half would end with Gannon showing 101 yards.

That being said the Gannon defense was equally dominant, holding Charleston to 103 total yards. The Golden Eagles drove for the lone score of the half following a failed drive by the Golden Knights. Zharell Walker's (Severn, Md./Meade) interception halted a Charleston drive at the GU 15. Nate Mikell (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood), making his first career start, ran for 15 yards for a first down and then on 3rd-and-4 completed a 15-yard pass to Donell "Tank" Mason to UC 49. The combination clicked for another big play following one more first down, with Mason hauling in a 34-yard pass to the UC 10 on a 3rd-and-17 play. Mikell appeared to score a touchdown on a run around the right side from two yards out on second down, but it was negated by a holding penalty. A run accounted for a loss of four yards and Mikell's pass on 3rd-and-goal from the UC 15 was intercepted. The pickoff foiled a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ate up over seven minutes.

The Golden Eagles used the turnover, and a long pass completion, to set up the lone points of the half. Taking over at their own 20, the scoring drive covered 55 yards on 10 plays, with McCutchen's 43-yard field goal just climbing over the goal post with 44 seconds left in the half. A 39-yard completion from Javonte Howard to Tae Marrero was the key play on the drive.
  
The Gannon offense started clicking in the second half, with Eric Scarpino's (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) two field goals in the third quarter giving the Golden Knights a 6-3 lead late in the period. The redshirt senior accounted for Gannon's first points of the season with a 27-yard field goal with 8:50 left in the third quarter following a short punt. Gannon took over at the UC 40, with Mikell completing three passes for 29 yards before the drive stalled.

The defense forced a three-and-out, with Obi Ezeigbo (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) and Joseph Loiseau sacking Howard on 3rd-and-down. Gannon took over at its own 45 following a short punt and this time drove to the UC 17 before Scarpino kicked his second field goal of the evening, this one from 35 yards out. The 3-pointer gave the Golden Knights their first lead at 6-3 with 4:29 left in the third quarter.

Gannon's lead was short-lived as Charleston took the ensuing kickoff and drove 60 yards on six plays to take a 9-6 with 2:15 remaining in the quarter. The scoring play was a 14-yard pass from Howard to Thomas Ashworth.

The Golden Knights reclaimed the lead at 13-9 with just 5:28 remaining as Mikell directed the longest drive of the night. He completed four passes in the drive for 44 yards, the final one of his best throws of the night to Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) for a 14-yard touchdown. The redshirt senior snared the ball in the right front corner of the end zone and reached over for the six points. Scarpino's extra point gave Gannon a 13-9 advantage with 5:28 remaining.

Unfortunately Charleston answered immediately with a long touchdown pass on a coverage breakdown. The Golden Eagles needed just four plays and 95 seconds to cover 66 yards, the final 49 yards on a touchdown pass from Howard to Marquan Herron. The extra point turned into a bizarre play, and almost a tie game. The snap was bobbled and after a lengthy scramble for the ball Gannon recovered and returned it for a defensive conversion. However, the play was negated by an offside penalty. UC botched the next snap as well, but still led 15-13 with 3:53 to play.

Gannon's ensuing drive resulted in a short completion followed by three straight completions as Charleston took over on downs at the GU 36. Chavon Wright capped the drive with four straight runs, the last a nine-yard TD run with 1:55 left in the game.    

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon saw its two-game winning streak in season openers snapped. In addition, the Golden Knights lost to Charleston for the first time after winning the first two meetings.

Thursday night's contest was expected to feature plenty of points but turned out to be a showcase of the defenses. A year ago Charleston averaged 39.9 ppg., good for seventh in Division II, and Gannon wasn't far behind at 31.6 ppg. The Golden Knights ranked second in the PSAC and 38th in Division II.

The Golden Knights ended up outgaining Charleston 273 yards to 243 yards as the GU defense turned in a stellar effort. However, the Golden Knights were unable to mount a ground game, finishing with 65 yards on 32 attempts. Charleston had 46 yards on 30 rushes and 36 of that came on the final scoring drive.

Nate Mikell (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood) made the first start of his career and put up some big numbers. The redshirt sophomore completed 25-of-44 passes for 208 yards with a TD and an INT and led Gannon with 43 yards rushing on nine carries.

Nine different players caught passes, led by running back Donny Marcus (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) with seven catches for 24 yards. He was playing in his first game as a Golden Knight after transferring from Ball State. Reigning PSAC West Offensive Freshman of the Year Donell "Tank" Mason added six receptions for 72 yards, while Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) added five receptions for 47 yards. Batiste finished with 64 receptions a year ago, tied for second all-time, for a school-record 957 yards.

Charleston quarterback Javonte Howard completed 17-of-29 passes for 197 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Chavon Wright, who was the MEC Offensive Freshman of the Year after gaining 1,175 yards with 17 TDs last year. He ended the night with 71 yards on 19 carries, but was held in check until the series.

Senior linebacker Zharell Walker (Severn, Md./Meade)s paced the Gannon defense with seven tackles and also registered his first career interception as a Golden Knight. Hayden McDonald (Tigard, Ore./Tigard) and Chris Farnsworth (Bristol, Pa./Milton Hershey) added six tackles apiece, with McDonald showing a sack and 1.5 TFL. Kam Snell (Owings Mills, Md./Good Counsel) also intercepted a pass and Obi Ezeigbo (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) and Joseph Loiseau shared a sack.  

THE RECORD BOOK
Gannon has a host of wide receivers looking to climb up the career receptions chart. Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) moved into a tie for 14th place in career receptions with 73. Bransen Stanley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) (86) is in 11th place, with Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) (74) 13th and Johnny Freeman (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) (69) 18th.  

Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) converted on field goals of 27 and 35 yards in his two attempts. It's the first time a Gannon kicker made two-or-more field goals since last year's Clarion game (9/24/22) when Scarpino made two. The redshirt senior has now made 19 career field goals to move into sixth place in career field goals made, and his 25 attempts also rank sixth.

UP NEXT
Gannon plays its home opener with the first of three PSAC crossover games as Millersville visits McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday, September 9. Kickoff is set for 12 noon. The Marauders opened the 2023 season on Thursday night, as well, posting a 33-7 win over Saint Anselm. While Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West preseason poll, Millersville was fifth in the Western Division poll. Gannon has won four of the five meetings between the two schools following a 16-10 victory at Millersville last year.
 
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