EDINBORO, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2014) – Senior linebacker Kyle Matula came up big when it mattered most as Edinboro held off Seton Hill 31-27 at Sox Harrison Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak as Edinboro improved to 2-8 overall and 2-7 in the PSAC West. Seton Hill dropped to 2-8 and 2-7, respectively.

Matula not only played a key role defensively but also made two huge plays on special teams. He matched his career high with 12 tackles along with breaking up three passes. The last two came on the final two plays for Seton Hill as the Griffins had one last chance to win.
 

As important were his two plays on the hands team. After Seton Hill closed to 31-21 with 4:57 to play he recovered the onside kick with a leaping one-handed grab. The Griffins kicked to him again after a touchdown made it 31-27 with 1:44 to play. He took a tremendous hit but held on to the ball. 
               
The Fighting Scots held a 31-14 lead with 10:56 to play after Cody Harris accounted for his third touchdown with a three-yard run. Seton Hill put together two long drives to suddenly make things very interesting at the end of the game. 
               
The first was a 16-play, 75-yard march that featured two third down conversions and one on fourth down. Christian Strong capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to a diving Jarvis McClam in the right corner of the end zone.
               
With Edinboro's top two tailbacks out with injuries the Fighting Scots threw incompletions on two of the next three downs after Matula pulled in the first onside kick. Edinboro used up just 41 second before punting the ball back to the Griffins.
               
Seton Hill would drive 82 yards on 12 plays, all passes, to close to within four points with 1:44 to play. Strong threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, an eight-yarder to Larry Joshua.  Sophomore NG Jim Wilson would block Jesser Boulnemoure's extra point to keep the margin at four points. It was Wilson's fourth blocked PAT of the season.
               
Seton Hill again tried the onside kick with Matula recovering at the Seton Hill 47. The Scots would lose five yards over the next three plays and Connor Hollenbeck was called on to punt. His 35-yard punt pinned McClam along the side line and Aaron Knight Jr. tacjkled him for no gain at the Seton Hill 18 with 33 seconds remaining.
               
Strong opened with a nine-yard completion to Eric Brown, but the redshirt freshman threw three straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs. The last two were knocked down by Matula.
               
The game started off slowly with Seton Hill holding a 7-3 lead after one quarter. Edinboro opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a 25-yard field goal by Paul Ortiz. The big play in the eight-play, 42-yard drive was a 20-yard completion from Harris to Hollenbeck down to the Seton Hill 16.
               
Seton Hill struck back immediately, needing just two plays to take the lead. Strong completed a 24-yard pass to Brown to the Edinboro 40. On the next play he threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to FJ Williams, who broke several tackles while turning a short pass into a long gain.
               

Edinboro would retake the lead on the next series. Harris directed a six-play, 75-yard march that featured the Scots converting on a 1st-and-20 situation. After an eight-yard completion to Hollenbeck, he found Darren Massey for 31 yards to the Seton Hill 7. On the next play Hollenbeck caught a slant pattern for his first career touchdown and a 10-7 lead with 12:56 left in the second quarter.
               
Back came the Griffins, as their high-powered aerial attack struck once again. Strong's 35-yard pass to McClam gave Seton Hill the ball at the Edinboro 2. Khalil Howard bulled in from two yards out to give Seton Hill a 14-10 lead with 11:09 left. 
               
Edinboro would make it three touchdowns in just over three minutes with a quick strike of its own. Starting at the 38, Anfreenee Williams broke off a 27-yard run, and Harris followed with a 27-yard completion to Hollenbeck. The three-play scoring drive ended with Williams taking an option pitch and sprinting eight yards to the right corner of the end zone for an eight-yard TD run. With 9:38 left in the second quarter Edinboro had reclaimed the lead at 17-14.
               
The Fighting Scots would build the lead to 24-14 late in the second quarter. Ben Eisel set up the six-play, 65-yard scoring drive with an 18-yard punt return, his longest of the season.
               
Three plays later the shifty senior hauled in a 54-yard pass to give the Scots a first down at the Seton Hill 7. A penalty moved the ball back to the 12. Harris would throw a seven-yard swing pass to Williams to the five, but the freshman tailback was injured on the play and would not return. Harris and Massey capped the march with a five-yard touchdown pass with 42 seconds left in the quarter. It was Massey's tenth touchdown reception of the season, which is tied for third.
               

Seton Hill would drive to the Edinboro 21 but Boulnemoure's 38-yard field goal attempt was wide right as time expired.
               
The Third quarter featured three punts and four turnovers, three by Seton Hill. The three Griffins' turnovers halted drives at the Edinboro 33, 14, and 25.

The final miscue, a fumble by Strong which was recovered by Wilson, led to Edinboro's lone score of the second half.
The Scots would drive 75 yards in 11 plays while using up 6 minutes, 12 seconds. Harris completed all five of his pass attempts for 61 yards, including a 22-yard hookup with tight end Nick Helmick on 2nd-and-17.

Edinboro also received a strong effort on the drive from third string tailback Ryan Harkness. The freshman carried three times for 13 yards. Harris completed the march as he scampered in from three yards on an option play. That gave Edinboro a 31-14 lead with 10:56 to play.

Edinboro ended the day with 388 yards, most of that coming through the air as the ground game came to a halt after Williams left. Harris completed 27 of 34 passes for 310 yards after missing last week's game at Slippery Rock with an injury. It marked his 11th career 300-yard game. He has now thrown for 2,123 yards this season, the eighth-highest single-season total.

Williams led the Scots with 66 yards on 11 carries, but with six sacks factored in Edinboro finished with just 78 yards rushing. Williams has 681 yards, the highest total by an Edinboro runner since 2010.

Seton Hill finished with 499 yards, most of that also coming through the air. Strong, a redshirt freshman making his second career start, broke Edinboro opponent records by attempting 69 passes and completing 43. He ended the day with 445 yards, the fourth-highest total ever against Edinboro. The Griffins were held to 54 yards rushing.

The game featured two of the top receivers in the PSAC in Massey and Williams. The two enjoyed big days but they were upstaged by McClam and Brown. Both receivers caught 13 passes, one shy of the record by opponent. McClam's covered 146 yards and Brown's 134. Williams, who came in with 66 receptions, caught 8 passes for 91 yards to go over 1,000 yards for the season.   
                  
Massey, meanwhile, added to his record-breaking season. The sophomore became the season leader in receptions last week. He added to that total with 8 catches for 73 yards. He now has 76 catches for 844 yards, the latter figure ranking fifth in a season.

Hollenbeck added career-highs of 6 catches for 73 yards while Eisel had 4 catches for 71 yards and Kolbe Hughes 4 receptions for 45 yards. Eisel moved into ninth place in career receptions (124). 

Edinboro will wrap up the 2014 season next Saturday, November 15 hosting Millersville.