Gannon vs. Millersville
Bryce Dolak

Football Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Game Preview: Golden Knights Seek First Win at PSAC East Foe West Chester

GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (0-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at WEST CHESTER GOLDEN RAMS (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East)
DATE: Saturday, September 16, 2023
KICKOFF: 12 noon
STADIUM: John A. Farrell Stadium l West Chester, 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 Dan Teliski providing the play-by-play.
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon will go for its first win of the 2023 campaign on Saturday, September 16 while also seeking a first-ever victory over West Chester. The PSAC crossover contest is set to kick off at 12 noon at WCU's John A. Farrell Stadium.

The Golden Knights have never defeated the Golden Rams in five previous meetings, including a 29-23 loss a year ago at McConnell Family Stadium. Gannon led 23-17 at the half in that game but was held scoreless in the second half.

Head coach Erik Raeburn's team has suffered a pair of losses to open the season, with both games decided in the final minutes. Gannon played its home opener a week ago against another PSAC East opponent, Millersville. The Golden Knights rallied back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to forge ties at 14-14 and 21-21, only to see the Marauders drive 75 yards and score the game-winning touchdown in the 28-21 loss with 29 seconds remaining.

The week before the Golden Knights again failed to score in the first half but moved ahead at Charleston (WV) 6-3 in the third quarter on a pair of Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) field goals and led 13-9 with 5:28 remaining in the game when Nate Mikell (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood) threw his first career touchdown pass to Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington). The Golden Eagles struck right back less than two minutes later for the winning score, then tacked on an insurance score with just under two minutes remaining as Gannon fell 22-13.

West Chester played its first two games on the road and comes in with a 1-1 record. The Golden Rams opened the season with a tight game, trailing at Saint Anselm 19-10 after three quarters before rallying for a 20-19 win. They scored the winning touchdown with 53 seconds remaining. Last week WCU traveled to nationally-ranked Slippery Rock and fell behind 28-7 after one quarter. The end result was a 49-24 loss to 15th-ranked SRU.

Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West in the coaches preseason poll while West Chester was third in the Eastern Division. Gannon finished at 8-3 a year ago while West Chester was 7-4.
   
SERIES RECORD
West Chester leads 5-0
West Chester is one of two teams in the PSAC that Gannon has never defeated. The Golden Rams rallied from a 23-17 halftime deficit for a 29-23 win a year ago at McConnell Family Stadium. The only other PSAC team Gannon has never beaten is Shepherd. The two have met just once, with Shepherd winning in 2021.

Last Meeting:  Sept. 17, 2023 – West Chester 29, at Gannon 23 l RECAP
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. Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) turned in a monster game with 178 yards on eight receptions, and 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 362 yards and 2 TDs. Gannon actually outgained the Golden Rams, 417 yards to 375, but West Chester ran for 285 yards.

HEAD COACH
Gannon head coach Erik Raeburn is in his 23rd season as a head coach and picked up his 150th career win with last year's triumph over Charleston. Now in his fourth year at Gannon, he owns a 14-14 ledger in charge of the Golden Knights and is 157-76 overall. He has had head coaching stops at Coe, Wabash, Savannah State, and Gannon. A year ago he led Gannon to an 8-3 record, the 11th time he has guided a team to eight-or-more wins.
 
GOLDEN KNIGHTS SEEK FIRST WIN AGAINST RAMS
Gannon is looking for a first-ever win over West Chester. The Golden Knights have lost all five previous meetings, including a 29-23 setback a year ago. In that game Gannon led 23-17 at the half but was outscored 12-0 in the second half. WCU is one of the two PSAC teams Gannon has never beaten. The other is the Shepherd Rams. Gannon lost the lone meeting with Shepherd in 2021.

GANNON VICTIM OF TWO FOURTH-QUARTER LOSSES
Gannon makes its second long road trip of 2023. After traveling south to Charleston (WV) in the season opener, the Golden Knights now head southeast to the far end of Pennsylvania for the second of three PSAC crossover games. Gannon comes in at 0-2 with both losses coming down to late in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights led Charleston 13-9 with less than five minutes to play but the Golden Eagles regained the lead with just under four minutes to play and added an insurance touchdown with two minutes left. Gannon rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit to forge a 21-21 tie with 4:22 left on Nate Mikell's (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood) third touchdown pass of the day covering six yards to Jonathan Bowden (Palm Bay, Fla./Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy). But Millersville drove 75 yards on nine plays to score the winning touchdown with 29 seconds left. Gannon actually had one last chance, reaching the Millersville 34, but Mikell's throw into the end zone as time expired fell incomplete.

SPEAKING OF DISTANCE
The Charleston (WV) and West Chester games represent the two longest trips for Gannon in 2023. Roundtrip the Charleston trip is almost 600 miles, while the bus ride to southeastern Pennsylvania to West Chester is close to 700 miles roundtrip.
  
GOLDEN KNIGHTS LOOKING FOR FASTER START
Gannon is still looking for its first points in the first half after two games. The Golden Knights trailed 3-0 at the half at Charleston (WV) and Millersville held a 14-0 lead at the half. They would rally in both games in the second half, taking a 13-9 lead in the fourth quarter at Charleston and tying Millersville at 14-14 and 21-21.

MIKELL OFF TO FAST START AS STARTING SIGNALCALLER
With the departure of record-setting quarterback Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast) head coach Erik Raeburn had an open competition for the starting quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Nate Mikell (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood) emerged as the winner. Like Curtis a native of Florida, Mikell has been an exciting dual threat in the first two contests. In his debut at Charleston (WV) he completed 25-of-44 passes for 208 yards with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ke'John Batiste (Covington, La./Covington) that gave Gannon a 13-9 lead with 5:28 remaining. It was the first career TD pass for Mikell.  The 208 yards were the most by a Gannon quarterback making his first start since Liam Nadler threw for 420 yards in his debut against Lake Erie in 2012. Mikell also led Gannon with 43 yards rushing. Last week he threw for 263 yards with 3 TDs, completing 23-of-37 passes, while also leading Gannon in rushing with 69 yards on 12 carries. He redshirted in 2022 and saw brief action in four games as the backup quarterback in 2021, completing 2-of-4 passes for 22 yards.

SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
West Chester was picked to finish third in the PSAC East in the coaches preseason poll after posting a 7-4 finish a year ago. The Golden Rams host Gannon in their home opener after playing back-to-back games on the road. They opened with a come-from-behind 20-19 win at Bentley, followed by a 49-24 loss at No. 15 Slippery Rock last Saturday. WCU trailed Bentley 19-10 after three quarters but rallied in the final ten minutes for the one-point win. Jayden Williams capped a four-play, 71-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left for the winning score … Cooper Jordan threw for 292 yards and a touchdown, completing 19-of-27 passes, and ran for an additional 84 yards on 16 carries at Bentley. For his efforts the sophomore quarterback was named the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week. Jordan enjoyed another impressive effort at Slippery Rock, but the Golden Rams fell victim to three interceptions, two inside the 5-yard line. WCU trailed 28-7 after one quarter and never had an answer for a Slippery Rock offense that gained 544 yards. The Golden Rams weren't far behind with 497 yards, including 311 through the air. Jordan completed 15-of-27 passes for 285 yards and ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries … Jordan leads West Chester in both passing and rushing after two games. He has thrown for 577 yards with a touchdown and 3 INTs, completing 34-of-54 passes, while rushing for 153 yards on 30 carries with a touchdown. D'Shaun Seals is the second-leading rusher with 63 yards on seven carries and also leads the team with nine receptions for 196 yards … WCU head coach Bill Zwaan is in his 21st season at the helm of the Golden Rams. He owns a 158-72 record at WCU and is 212-86 overall when adding in six seasons at Widener. He is the all-time winningest coach at West Chester and is approaching the legendary W. Glenn Killinger's record of 23 seasons. Zwaan has won six PSAC Eastern Division titles (2004, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017 and 2018) and in 2018 the Golden Rams captured the PSAC Championship. He has been named the PSAC East Coach of the Year five times and guided the Golden Rams to the NCAA Division II playoffs a school-record 10 times. WCU reached the national semifinals twice, in 2004 and 2013. 
 
UP NEXT
It's Homecoming at Gannon as the Golden Knights open PSAC West action hosting Clarion on Saturday, September 23. Note the special kickoff time of 1:00 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Kory Curtis

#7 Kory Curtis

QB
6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
Ke

#1 Ke'John Batiste

WR
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Jonathan Bowden

#84 Jonathan Bowden

TE
6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
Sam East

#3 Sam East

WR
5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
Undeclared
Nate Mikell

#6 Nate Mikell

QB
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
Eric Scarpino

#94 Eric Scarpino

PK
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
Mechanical Engineering

Players Mentioned

Kory Curtis

#7 Kory Curtis

6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
QB
Ke

#1 Ke'John Batiste

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
WR
Jonathan Bowden

#84 Jonathan Bowden

6' 5"
Redshirt Sophomore
TE
Sam East

#3 Sam East

5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
Undeclared
WR
Nate Mikell

#6 Nate Mikell

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
QB
Eric Scarpino

#94 Eric Scarpino

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
Mechanical Engineering
PK