ERIE, Pa. -
Jon Richardson (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) became Gannon’s all-time leader in points and all-purpose yards while the defense shut out Lock Haven for the second consecutive season as the Gannon football team earned a 27-0 victory over the visiting Bald Eagles before a Homecoming crowd of 1,430 Saturday afternoon at Gannon University Field.
Gannon looked to be on the verge of blowing the game wide open during the early stages. The Golden Knights needed only three plays to score on their opening possession. Richardson followed an 11-yard run with a 29-yard touchdown scamper 3:03 into the contest for a 7-0 lead.
Following another three-and-out by Lock Haven, Gannon assumed possession at the Bald Eagles’ 35-yard line after a net punt of 10 yards. Six plays later,
Jeremy Ditzler (Erie, Pa./Iroquois) nailed a 44-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter. It marked the ninth-longest field goal in school history and was one yard shy of Ditzler’s career-long.
However, the momentum stopped there and neither team was able to dent the scoreboard for the final 23 minutes and 10 seconds of the first half as Gannon took a 10-0 advantage into the intermission.
Head coach Jim Kiernan’s motivation speech at halftime must have been a good one. Gannon immediately put the game away with touchdowns on its first two possessions of the third quarter. Richardson accounted for both touchdowns, scoring from 38 yards out on the second play of the second half and 23 yards out on Gannon’s second drive. Ditzler’s 36-yard field goal with 12:38 left in regulation produced the final 27-0 outcome.
It was only fitting that Richardson broke two major school records during the final home game of his collegiate career. The senior tailback became Gannon’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards on the first play from scrimmage and ended the contest with 3,720 career yards. His three touchdowns gave him 222 career points and 96 this season, setting new school career and single-season marks.
Richardson finished the game with a season-high 155 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. In the process, he moved into third place all-time at Gannon with 2,632 career rushing yards.
Zach Boedicker (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) was 17-of-28 for 140 yards through the air. Richardson and
Corey Bradley (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) were the main targets, hauling in four passes each.
Gannon held large advantages in first downs (20-7), total offense (431-145) and rushing yards (256-33). The Golden Knights also won the battle in passing yards (175-112) and time of possession (31:25-28:35).
Matt Jones (Rochester, N.Y./The Aquinas Institute) led the defensive unit with a career-high 11 tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss. The freshman entered the game with 16 tackles through eight games.
Matthew Neal-Mink (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) and
Kevin Minor (South Euclid, Ohio/Shaw) recorded eight and seven tackles, respectively.
Gannon improved to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with Saturday’s Homecoming victory. Lock Haven dropped its 19th consecutive game while falling to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play this season. The Golden Knights begin a season-ending two-game road swing Saturday, October 31 at Indiana (Pa.). Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
For a complete box score from Saturday’s Gannon-Lock Haven football game, please
click here.