Hayden McDonald
Bryce Dolak

Football Game Preview: It's a Blackout Game as Golden Knights host Northwood on Thursday night

9/4/2024 12:30:00 PM

By: Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations
NORTHWOOD TIMBERWOLVES at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS
DATE/TIME: Thursday, September 5, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
GAME NOTES
 
THE GANNON-NORTHWOOD SERIES
Northwood leads 3-1

Last Meeting: Sept. 25, 2021 – Gannon 28, Northwood 21 ot | RECAP
Northwood sent the game into overtime with a one-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining in regulation but Gannon scored the winning touchdown on the first play in overtime. Kory Curtis hooked up with Sam East (Jackson Township, N.J./Saint John Vianney) for a 25-yard scoring pass. Kwan Mickens ended the game with an interception.
 
RECORDS
Gannon: 5-6 overall in 2023, 5-2 in PSAC West
Northwood: 5-6 overall in 2023; 5-4 in G-MAC
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon opens the 2024 season with a special Thursday night edition at McConnell Family Stadium on September 5. This marks the fourth straight year Gannon has debuted on a Thursday evening. That stretch began with a 28-21 overtime win at Northwood in 2021.

Now the Wolverines, members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, return to Gannon for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Both teams are coming off 5-6 finishes in 2023. But while Northwood enters riding a three-game winning streak, the Golden Knights finished 2023 with back-to-back losses.

It's a Blackout Night for the Golden Knights, as well. Gannon will debut special black jerseys with fans encouraged to wear black.
A year ago Gannon opened the season with a 22-13 loss at Charleston (WV). The Golden Knights would go on to finish at 5-6 overall, but finished third in the PSAC West with a 5-2 record.

Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West in the coaches preseason poll while Northwood is sixth in the G-MAC preseason poll.


NEW TICKET POLICY
Gannon University Athletics recently announced that the department has extended its partnership with Hudl to include the Hudl Tickets platform. Hudl Tickets will enable the department to better manage ticket sales and streamline ticketing operations to better support fans. 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. Gannon students will have free admission with a school ID.

 

Rosters:  Gannon  Northwood
Schedules:   Gannon  Northwood
Head Coaches:  Gannon's Erik Raeburn   Northwood's Dustin Beurer

Golden Knights to Watch
OL Riley Noble (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) -- the redshirt senior was one of three Golden Knights along the offensive line to earn All-PSAC West accolades a year ago. Noble started all 11 games at right tackle and has 34 career starts. He was a second team All-PSAC West honoree.
QB Jayden Whitaker (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) -- a true freshman in 2023, Whitaker saw his first action in game number eight at Mercyhurst and led the Golden Knights to a last-second 31-28 win. A week later in his first career start he directed a nine-play, 37-yard drive culminated by a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a 16-15 win at Indiana (Pa.). Unfortunately, Whitaker suffered a season-ending injury against California (Pa.) the next week. He ended the season completing 32-of-61 passes for 419 yards with 3 TDs and 3 INTs, adding 56 yards rushing and 2 TDs.
WR Donell "Tank" Mason – the junior was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2022 and enjoyed a strong sophomore campaign. He led the Golden Knights with 614 yards receiving on 40 receptions. In two seasons Mason has 66 receptions for 946 yards with 5 TDs.
LBs Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) and Hayden McDonald (Tigard, Ore./Tigard) – Baker, a redshirt senior, enters his third season as a starter, with 24 career starts. He was the second-leading tackler a year ago with 65 tackles and led the team in tackles in 2021 with 81. McDonald is a former transfer from Valparaiso. Also a redshirt senior he has started all 22 games in two seasons at Gannon. He had 61 stops a year ago, good for third on the team, with 10.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks.
DL Charles Calhoun (Euclid, Ohio/St. Edward) -- a 6-foot-2, 245-pound redshirt junior, Calhoun emerged as a key member of the defensive line and is now the lone returnee. He totaled 49 tackles while leading the team with 13.5 TFL and ranking second in sacks with 6.5.

Scouting Northwood: The Wolverines ended the 2023 season under first-year head coach Dustin Beurer with a 5-6 record, winning their final three games. They finished at 5-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the first time since 2017 and just the second time in the last 15 years that the Timberwolves had a winning mark in league play. Northwood was picked to finish sixth in the G-MAC preseason poll. The top returning player for the Timberwolves is Mbaimba Tunkara (67 tackles, 12 TFL, 3 sacks), a redshirt senior linebacker who earned second-team All-G-MAC honors a year ago and was a third-team selection in 2022. Senior QB Jacob Barlage returns after completing 174-of-312 passes for 1,910 with 10 TDs and 6 INTs.

Next for the Golden Knights:  Sat., Sept. 14 at East Stroudsburg, 6:05 p.m.
 
 
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