EDINBORO Fighting Scots (0-6, 0-3 PSAC West) at GANNON Golden Knights (4-2, 1-2 PSAC West) 
 Gannon Game Notes
Radio:  WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV:  none

The Game Story
Edinboro begins a stretch of back-to-back Thursday night games against local PSAC West rivals. For starters the Fighting Scots play at PSAC West preseason favorite Gannon. The Fighting Scots come in with a 0-6 record and are 0-3 in conference play after a 36-23 loss to Clarion this past Saturday. The 0-6 record marks the first time an Edinboro team lost its first six games since 1954, and you have to back to 1940 for the last time the Fighting Scots lost their first seven games.  A youthful Edinboro squad opened the season with a 30-10 loss to Saint Joseph's(Ind.), followed by a 20-13 setback to Shippensburg. The first road game of the season resulted in a 56-12 loss at East Stroudsburg. Edinboro began PSAC West play with a 37-30 setback to California(Pa.).

Thursday night games have not worked out well for Edinboro lately. The Fighting Scots are 1-5 in Thursday night games under head coach Scott Browning, losing the last four games. Edinboro opened the 2015 campaign with a Thursday night loss to Saint Joseph's. 

Gannon finished with a 9-2 record a year ago, sharing the PSAC West crown with Slippery Rock while matching the school record for wins. The Golden Knights came into the 2015 season with high hopes after being chosen as the preseason favorite in the PSAC West coaches' poll. They got off to a fast start with wins over Southern Connecticut State (26-22), Cheyney (44-6), and Kutztown (66-31). Then came a bump in the road as they suffered back-to-back losses at home to Clarion (47-31) and Slippery Rock (41-14). A 30-yard field goal by Karch Holland with 1:10 to play put an end to the skid as Gannon handed Mercyhurst a 16-13 defeat this past Saturday. That left the Knights at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC West.  

The loss to Clarion ensured a fourth straight losing season for the Fighting Scots. That marks the first time with four consecutive losing campaigns since a stretch of six straight losing seasons from 1997-2002. 

Another week and another high-powered offense facing the young Edinboro defense. Gannon is averaging 427.2 ypg. in total offense, including 274.7 ypg. through the air behind record-setting quarterback Liam Nadler. Nadler ranks 17th in Division II in passing TDs with 15, and recently set a Division II record for consecutive passes without an interception. His favorite target, Jesstin Hamm, has hauled in 10 of those touchdown passes to rank third nationally. The Golden Knights also possess a strong runner in Brock Jones, who has 631 yards and 7 TDs rushing after totaling 1,628 yards and 16 TDs in 2014.

The Edinboro defense lost a key member after just one week when Mike Shansky was lost for the season with an injury. The senior was a two-time All-PSAC West second team selection at linebacker, and was Edinboro's leading tackler a year ago. 

The Fighting Scots began the 2015 season with six starters returning on offense and six more on defense. While head coach Scott Browning knew youth would play a major role this year, that has become even more evident, particularly on defense. The defense has started as many as five freshmen in a game already, and as many as ten freshmen are seeing consistent playing time on the defensive side of the ball. The 2015 roster features 39 true freshman and 10 redshirt freshman. A year ago a total of 43 games were started by true freshman.

The loss at Indiana(Pa.) marked the ninth loss in the last ten road games for Edinboro, and the 11th in the last 13 road contests. The lone road win in the last nine games came last year at Clarion.

Edinboro was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish sixth the previous two years. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for sixth in 2014. Gannon was voted the preseason favorite in the PSAC West.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Gannon game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary. In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM in Erie and WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa., in addition to being streamed live. 

The All-Time Series 
Edinboro leads 7-2
The Fighting Scots had won the first seven meetings with Gannon before the Golden Knights dominated the last two affairs. They picked up their first win in the series in 2013, a 55-14 triumph, and last year handed the Fighting Scots a 52-7 defeat at Sox Harrison Stadium on a Thursday night. 

Last Year's Game 
Gannon 52, Edinboro 7 
Edinboro grabbed a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into its first night game at Sox Harrison Stadium since 2008, but the rest of the evening was a nightmare. After committing just three turnovers over the first six games the Fighting Scots turned the ball over four times, and also had an 11-yard punt, setting up three short Gannon scoring drives. But the Golden Knights also put together drives of 91, 88, and 85 (twice) yards. Gannon finished with 601 yards, the fourth-highest total ever against the Scots. That includes 212 yards and 3 TDs rushing by Brock Jones, the eighth-highest rushing total by an opponent. Edinboro's freshman tailback, Anfreenee Williams, accounted for the lone touchdown. He sprinted around right end for a season-long 58 yards on the Scots' first play from scrimmage. On the next play he scored his third touchdown of the year on a one-yard run. Williams finished with 112 yards on 17 carries. Darren Massey hauled in 10 passes for 80 yards. Cody Harris was limited to 150 yards passing. He threw two interceptions after throwing just one in the first six games.     
  
Last Week 
Clarion 36, Edinboro 23 
A large Homecoming crowd at Sox Harrison Stadium was looking to celebrate the first victory of the season for Edinboro. Unfortunately, it was Clarion doing the celebrating in front of a crowd of 4,819, as the Golden Eagles took advantage of a key penalty late in the first half and three Edinboro second-half turnovers. Edinboro kept the high-powered Clarion offense in check for much of the first half, and trailed just 13-10 late in the half. The Fighting Scots forced a Clarion punt and took over at their won 20 with 2:22 remaining. Jake Sisson completed an 11-yard pass to Alex Caratelli, but the Fighting Scots were flagged for illegal formation. The Fighting Scots were ultimately forced to punt, with Clarion taking over at their own 37 with 1:18 to play. A 41-yard pass play put Clarion at the EU 22, and the Golden Eagles then converted a 3rd-and-17 play.  On the next play Clarion scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds to play. Clarion would pull away in the second half on the strength of the three turnovers. The Golden Eagles scored immediately after two of them. An interception led to a 24-yard field goal with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter. They added a touchdown on the very first play of the fourth quarter following a Boro fumble for a 29-10 lead. Edinboro would score twice in the final period on a 30-yard pass from Jake Sisson to James Clark, and a one-yard plunge by Sisson. Sisson scored Edinboro's first touchdown on a six-yard run. Austin Reese added a 31-yard field goal. Clarion outgained Edinboro 506 to 299 yards. 
     
Gannon 16, Mercyhurst 13
Karch Holland kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining in the game for the winning points, and Mike Zanders preserved the victory with an interception in the end zone of a Hail Mary pass as time expired. Following a scoreless first quarter, Gannon went up 6-0 on a 10-yard TD pass from Liam Nadler to Jesstin Hamm. Mercyhurst would go up 13-6 after three quarters, but the Golden Knights rallied in the final 15 minutes. Nadler tied the game on a five-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Gannon finished with 462 points while holding the Lakers to 291 total yards. The Gannon D also forced three turnovers and had four sacks. Nadler threw for 290 yards, with Hamm catching 11 passes for 152 yards.  
          
The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period.  Browning is in his tenth season with a 57-49 record, and is in his 30th season as a member of the Edinboro staff.  With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh in 2013, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald.   The 2014 win over Clarion was his 55th, moving him into sole possession of second place in career victories.  Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator.  Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester.  He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach.  That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007.  His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins.  In 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA Top 25.  The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA playoffs for the first time in his tenure.  Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA poll.  The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011.  The 4-6 finish in 2012 represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.  

Brad Ryzczycki (Mercyhurst '95) was hired as Gannon's head coach on May 3, 2012.   However, he is no stranger to area football, as he was a four-year starter at cornerback for Mercyhurst and most recently served as Gannon's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for five seasons.  He led Gannon to a 3-8 finish in his first season, followed by a 6-5 ledger in 2013, and a 9-2 record a year ago. He has a 22-17 career mark.  Rzyczycki began his coaching career at his alma mater, Mercyhurst, working there for seven seasons as a defensive assistant.  Prior to arriving at Gannon he served in the same role at Kentucky Wesleyan for four years.  He also served as the wide receivers and special teams coordinator at Saginaw Valley State for a season.    

Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"Three turnovers. Blown coverages. Missed assignments up front. We still play young. But I think some of the younger players were the guys that stepped up."

Browning Comments ... on the Golden Knights
"They were favored to win it at the beginning of the year. They're a good team. I think they've had some injuries that have led to the inconsistencies. They still have the quarterback who is very good, the tailback, and a lot of returning players."




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