ERIE, Pa. (Oct. 15, 2015) – Edinboro's 49-42 loss at Gannon on Thursday night left the Fighting Scots still searching for their first win in 2015. It also extended Edinboro's struggles in road games (losing 10 of their last 11 road games) and in Thursday night games (losing five in a row).  The loss left the Fighting Scots at 0-7 overall and 0-4 in PSAC West action. Gannon, the preseason favorite in the PSAC West, evened its conference mark at 2-2 while improving to 5-2 overall.
 

But not lost in the 91 points and over 1,000 yards in total offense was that a very young squad continues to displays signs of growing into a dangerous team. After trailing 42-20 entering the fourth quarter, the Fighting Scots showed that they are true to their nickname and didn't play like a winless team.

Thursday night's game, with strong winds and rain buffeting McConnell Family Stadium in the first half, began as too many have recently, with Gannon needing just three plays to take a 7-0 lead. Brock Jones scored the first of his school-record five first-half touchdowns, taking a short pass and turning it into a 53-yard touchdown pass from Liam Nadler just 69 seconds into the game.

Edinboro would knot the score at 7-7 with 4:09 left in the first period on a five-play, 77-yard march. Alex Caratelli accounted for almost all of the yardage as he caught passes of 20 and 24 yards from Jake Sisson, then capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown catch down the left sideline.

Gannon answered with the first of four straight possessions with six-pointers. The 12-play, 75-yard drive ended with Jones sprinting 32 yards straight up the middle for the touchdown with 13:20 left in the second quarter.

It took Edinboro just one play to tie the game at 14-all. Sisson found Caratelli on a deep slant and the redshirt sophomore outran the Gannon secondary to complete a 75-yard scoring play, the longest play of the season for Edinboro. Austin Reese's extra point made it 14-14 with 13:09 left in the quarter.
Gannon would tack on three more scores, all on short runs by Jones, to grab a 35-14 lead late in the half. The Golden Knights took the lead for good on the senior tailbacks' four-yard TD runto end a 10-play, 67-yard drive.

On the very next play from scrimmage Sisson made one of his few mistakes of the night, tossing an interception near midfield. Jones' eight-yard TD run made it 28-14 with 6:19 remaining.

A three-and-out gave Gannon the ball back at its own 42. Eight plays later the Knights boosted their lead to 35-14 with 1:44 left on a one-yard scoring run by Jones after Liam Nadler had hooked up with Brandon Mansell for a 53-yard pass play.

Cory Bell started Edinboro's ensuing possession with a 29-yard run, and a facemask penalty on Gannon gave the Scots an opportunity to score before the half. Sisson's would find Sean Rolick for a 22-yard touchdown pass, the first of Rolick's career, with 36 seconds left in the half. Reese's extra point attempt was blocked.

The weather subsided in the second half, and so did the scoring in the third quarter. Gannon put the lone points on the board on its first possession of the second half thanks to a nine-play, 61-yard drive. The first 55 yards came on the ground before Nadler threw his second touchdown pass of the night, a six-yarder to Mansell.

The defenses settled in after that, but the fourth quarter signaled plenty of offense. Saddled by poor field position most of the second half, Edinboro put together its longest scoring drive of the season, going 95 yards in 12 plays. The most impressive was a short pass to Darren Massey that the junior wide receiver turned into a 26-yard gain to the Gannon 24 as he hurdled a Gannon defender.

A 23-yard hookup with Caratelli gave the Scots a first-and-goal at the one, but the Scots almost came up empty-handed. Back-to-back passes were dropped in the end zone, and a third-down run resulted in a loss of two yards. On 4th-and-goal from the three, Massey made a tough catch for his 20th career touchdown reception. With 11:11 remaining in the game, Edinboro trailed 42-27.

The Edinboro defense, with four true freshmen on the field, forced a three-and-out and Edinboro took over at midfield. Five plays later the Fighting Scots were back in the end zone. Sisson's 27-yard pass to James Jackson, yet another true freshman, put the Scots at the GU 23. A 13-yard completion to Massey made it 1st-and-goal at the 10, and three plays later Sisson scrambled in from four yards out for a touchdown.  
 

Head coach Scott Browning decided to go for two. Sisson roiled to his right and just squeezed in at the pylon to make it 42-35 with 7:22 to play.
Gannon followed with its lone score of the fourth quarter, aided by a pair of Edinboro 15-yard penalties. Nadler threw his third touchdown pass, covering 18 yards to Jesstin Hamm, as Gannon boosted its lead to 49-35 with 4:02 remaining.

Edinboro wasn't finished yet, with Sisson again stepping up with several big plays. He kept the 67-yard drive alive with a 30-yard run on a 4th-and-1 play down to the GU 28. Facing another fourth down moments later, Caratelli made a spectacular catch at the front corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown, his third of the day. Following Reese's extra point, Edinboro trailed 49-42 with 1:51 remaining.

Unfortunately, Gannon recovered the ensuing onside kick. Jones broke off a 19-yard run on the first play, but he was stripped of the ball by Zuril Hendrick. Gannon fell on the fumble at the EU 23, and moments later a personal foul against the Scots ended any hopes of getting the ball back.

Edinboro finished with a season-high 519 yards in total offense, while Gannon added 507 yards, depssite the Knights running off 81 plays to 62 for the Scots. It marked the first time Edinboro outgained an opponent all year. Gannon ran for 186 yards and had 321 yards through the air, while Edinboro posted season-highs both in passing yards (364) and rushing yards (155).

Sisson, a sophomore, enjoyed the best night of his career as he completed 22 of 40 passes for 364 yards with 5 TDs and an interception. He added a career-best 71 yards rushing on eight carries to total 435 yards in total offense. The 5 TD passes ties the school record, while the 435 yards in total offense is the fifth-highest single-game total, and the 364 passing yards ranks 12th.

Caratelli posted his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. He recorded season-bests with 9 catches for 210 yards and 3 TDs. The 3 TDs ties the school record, and the 210 yards ranks fifth in a game.

Massey added 6 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown as he moved closer to becoming Edinboro's all-time leading receiver. He now has 157 career receptions, just three shy of David Bostic's school record of 160. In addition, his 20 career TD catches is tied for second, and he moved into tenth place in career receiving yards with 1,813. He has caught 51 passes in the first seven games, the eighth-highest season total.
 

Bell led the Edinboro ground game with a season-high 84 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Gannon also posted plenty of big numbers. Nadler completed 20 of 34 passes for 321 yards with 3 TDs, with Mansell catching 7 passes for 113 yards. Hamm added 5 catches for 67 yards.

A year ago Jones 212 burned the Scots for 212 yards and 3 TDs. This year, he ran for 134 yards on 29 carries with 4 TDs and caught 4 passes for 78 yards and a fifth score.

While defense took a back seat in this contest, Josh Kibbie continued to display incredible effort. The junior noseguard totaled a career-high 15 tackles, with 2 for losses and 1.5 sacks.

Edinboro has one more opportunity to snap the Thursday night jinx next Thursday, October 22 as the Fighting Scots host their other local rival, Mercyhurst.  Kickoff at Sox Harrison Stadium is 6 p.m.