Nate Kurtz

Football 10/3/2024 8:02:00 PM Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Football Game Preview: It's Homecoming as Golden Knights Look to Extend Six-Game Homecoming Winning Streak Hosting Seton Hill

SETON HILL GRIFFINS at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS
DATE/TIME: Saturday, October 5, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
HOMECOMING
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
GAME NOTES

TICKETS
Gannon University Athletics is now working with the Hudl Tickets platform. With the integration of Hudl Tickets, fans will now have the opportunity to purchase tickets online in advance of the competition. Fans will be able to download their tickets to their mobile device and scan them at the gate for a seamless entry into the event venue. Use this LINK to purchase your tickets for Saturday's game with Kutztown.

THE GANNON-SETON HILL SERIES
Gannon leads 9-1

Last Meeting: Sept. 30, 2023 – Gannon 23, Seton Hill 6 | RECAP
Eric Scarpino (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) kicked three field goals and Donny Marcus (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) ran for 186 yards on 20 carries to lead Gannon to the win at Seton Hill. Nate Mikell (Summerfield, Fla./Wildwood) opened the scoring with a one-yard run in the first quarter, followed by field goals of 37, 41 and 30 yards. Marcus capped off the win with a 74-yard scoring run with just under two minutes to play.

RECORDS
Gannon: 0-4; 0-1 in PSAC West
Seton Hill: 2-2; 0-0 in PSAC West

ERIE, Pa. – It's Homecoming at Gannon as the Golden Knights welcome Seton Hill to McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday, October 5. Note the special kickoff time of 1:00 p.m.

Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West preseason poll while the Griffins were voted fifth. Seton Hill, fresh off its first winning season since 2008 at 6-5, comes in at 2-2. The Golden Knights, however, have battled numerous injuries and are still looking for their initial win at 0-4. Gannon opened PSAC West a week ago with a 49-7 loss at California (Pa.). Seton Hill had a bye and will be playing its first divisional contest.

The Golden Knights have won nine of ten previous meetings with Seton Hill, including a 23-6 win a year ago for their third straight win over the Griffins. Gannon is looking to extend a string of six straight wins in Homecoming games.

The schedule-makers certainly didn't do Gannon any favors in the early portion of the season. The Golden Knights' first four opponents are a combined 13-3 this season. The season began with a 28-14 loss to Northwood. A week later the Timberwolves defeated Saginaw Valley State. They are now 3-1. Gannon then faced two of the top teams in the PSAC East, dropping a 24-7 decision at East Stroudsburg (3-1) before returning home and losing to then-seventh-ranked Kutztown 37-14. The Golden Bears are the defending PSAC champion and reached the NCAA semifinals last year. They are currently undefeated at 4-0. Last week Gannon opened PSAC West action at California (Pa.). The Vulcans improved to 3-1 with a 49-7 win over a banged-up Gannon squad.

Gannon looks to extend a six-game winning streak in Homecoming games against a Seton Hill team that comes off its best season since 2008. The Griffins won their final four games in 2023 to finish at 6-5. They come in with back-t0back narrow victories, a 15-14 decision at Bloomsburg followed by last week's 27-24 triumph over West Chester.

Gannon's defense has had to battle injuries, particularly in the secondary where ten different players have already started games. Ty Tiggs (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) and Serrell Curtis (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) are the lone defensive backs to start all four games.

Rosters:
Gannon
Seton Hill

Schedules:
Gannon
Seton Hill

Statistics:
Gannon
Seton Hill

Head Coaches:
Gannon's Erik Raeburn
Seton Hill's Daniel Day

Golden Knights to Watch
QB Jayden Whitaker (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) -- Whitaker played three games at quarterback last year, leading the Golden Knights to come-from-behind wins over Mercyhurst and Indiana (Pa.) before going down with a season-ending injury the next week. He has completed 55-of-102 passes for 763 yards with 3 TDs and 3 INTs. The redshirt freshman threw for a career-high 289 yards against Northwood.

WR Donell "Tank" Mason – the junior enjoyed the biggest night of his career against Northwood. He hauled in eight passes for a career-best 181 yards. That's the fourth-highest single-game total and bettered his 164-yard showing against Clarion last year. The 2022 PSAC West Freshman of the Year, Mason leads Gannon with 20 receptions for 305 yards while climbing into a 12th place tie in career receptions with 86 and 11th in career receiving yards with 1,271.

LBs Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) – the redshirt senior ranks second on the team in tackles with 28 while leading the Golden Knights with 4 TFL. Baker had 10 tackles in each of the first two games. He finished as the second-leading tackler a year ago with 65 stops, including 8.5 TFL and has 27 career starts and 203 career tackles. He needs 17 tackles to climb into the top 20 in career tackles.

P/PK Bryson Costa (Windber, Pa./Windber Area) – a true freshman, Costa is off to a fast start serving the dual role of placekicker and punter. He is averaging 44.8 yards on 17 punts, with seven covering 50+ yards. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points while missing his lone field goal attempt.

Scouting Seton Hill: Seton Hill is off to a 2-2 start after being picked to finish right behind Gannon in fifth place in the PSAC West preseason poll. The Griffins opened with a 56-24 loss at Fairmont State and a 21-14 setback to Ohio Dominican, but have since run off a pair close victories, 15-14 at Bloomsburg and 27-24 vs. West Chester. The Griffins had a bye a week ago and will be playing their first PSAC West game … Daniel Day is in his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater. A year ago he led Seton Hill to its best season in nearly ten years as the team won its final four games to finish at 6-5. That was the first winning season since 2008. Seton Hill finished at 4-3 in Western Division play, the first winning season in PSAC conference play in school history … the Griffins possess one of the top rushers in the PSAC in Ky'Ron Craggette. The redshirt junior comes in with 446 yards on 97 carries with 5 TDs. He leads the PSAC in rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns. He is also the second-leading receiver with 12 catches for 75 yards. A year ago Craggette was a first-team All-PSAC West honoree after gaini9ng 809 yards with 9 TDs on 151 carries … the Seton Hill defense has already come up with seven interceptions to go along with eight sacks. Ritchie McCormick, a 6-foot-1, 240 lb. linebacker, leads the tacklers with 31 stops and is tied for the team lead with 2 sacks. Free safety David Awuah has 3 INTs and stand second in tackles with 25. Demetri Whitehead and Quinton Posey each have two pickoffs, while Wyatt Schussler joins McCormick with 2 sacks.

Next for the Golden Knights: Sat., Oct. 12 at No. 9 Slippery Rock, 1:00 p.m.
Gannon makes the short journey down I-79 to play at Slippery Rock. The Rock is currently ranked ninth in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Nate Mikell: QB; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

#94 Eric Scarpino: PK; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Mechanical Engineering

#20 Donny Marcus: RB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore

#50 Trey Baker: LB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#0 Serrell Curtis: DB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman

#2 Ty Tiggs: DB; 6' 0"; Graduate Student

#9 Jayden Whitaker: QB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman

#33 Bryson Costa: PK; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#6 Nate Mikell
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore
: QB

#94 Eric Scarpino
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Mechanical Engineering
: PK

#20 Donny Marcus
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore
: RB

#50 Trey Baker
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: LB

#0 Serrell Curtis
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#2 Ty Tiggs
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student
: DB

#9 Jayden Whitaker
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#33 Bryson Costa
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: PK

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned