GANNON Golden Knights (3-2, 0-2 PSAC West) at EDINBORO Fighting Scots (4-1, 1-1 PSAC West)  
Date: Saturday, October 8, 2016
Site: Edinboro, Pa.
Stadium: Sox Harrison Stadium (6,000)
Kickoff: 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/edinboro/football/
Radio: WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV: SportsFever Television Network/ESPN3

Edinboro Game Notes
Gannon Game Notes
 
The Game Story
 
The Justin Lustig Era is off to a fast start at 4-1 after the 2015 squad went 0-11.  Edinboro opened the season with road wins at Saint Joseph's(In.) (31-30) and at Lock Haven (44-38), followed by a classic 54-51 double overtime win over West Chester in the home opener. The Fighting Scots opened PSAC West action with a 56-28 loss to ninth-ranked Indiana(Pa.) two weeks ago, but righted themselves nicely with an impressive 62-14 win at Clarion.  The last time Edinboro got off to a 4-1 start was 2011. 

Justin Lustig was the first head coach at Edinboro to win his first three games, and is now the first head coach to win four of his first five games. Lustig and former head coach Scott Browning had been the only Edinboro head coaches to win their first two games and also their first two road games. Lustig is Edinboro's 14th head coach. 

It's Homecoming at Edinboro.  The Fighting Scots look to snap a two-game losing streak in Homecoming games, suffering an 18-8 loss to Indiana(Pa.) in 2014, and falling to Clarion, 36-23, a year ago. Gannon has visitied Sox Harrison Stadium for Homecoming on three occasions (2008, '10, '12), with Edinboro winning all three contests. The Homecoming festivities will also include an introduction of the 2016 Edinboro Athletic Hall of Fame inductees at the end of the first quarter. The eight inductees include former football standouts Sean McNicholas and Anthony Peluso. 

Gannon comes in with a 3-2 record, but is 0-2 in the PSAC West. A week ago, the Golden Knights played their second overtime game in three weeks, suffering a 38-35 loss to Mercyhurst. Gannon opened the season with three straight wins, including back to-back triumphs over PSAC?East foes Shippensburg (24-20) and Bloomsburg (30-27 in ot), but have since lost two straight games. The Golden Knights opened PSAC?West action with a 34-13 loss at Slippery Rock.

Edinboro's win at Saint Joseph's snapped an 11-game losing streak for the Fighting Scots after Edinboro suffered its first winless season since 1951 and the seventh in school history.  The Fighting Scots finished 0-11 a year ago, the most losses in school history. The win also snapped a string of eight straight setbacks on the road dating back to October 2014. Edinboro has now won three straight games road games for the first time since 2007.

While many of today's college football games are featuring aerial shootouts, the Edinboro-Gannon game will showcase a pair of teams with contrasting styles. Edinboro ranks fourth in the PSAC and ninth in Division II in passing offense (333.2 ypg.), while Gannon is one of the top running teams. The Golden Knights average 215.6 ypg. on the ground, good for secon in the PSAC and 27th in Division II.

Edinboro was picked to finish eighth in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish seventh a year ago.  Gannon was picked fifth in the Western Division.

The Fighting Scots returned a total of 15 starters from 2015 -- seven on offense, six on defense, and two specialists. However, the offense will be without leading rusher Cory Bell, who is out indefinitely with injuries.

Youth is featured on the 2016 roster, along with a touch of seniority. After having just five seniors in 2015, this year's roster has six redshirt seniors and nine seniors. However, 50 of the 83 players on the opening day roster have a year experience or less. That breaks down to 24 freshman, nine redshirt freshmen, and 17 sophomores. The youth was evident in the season opener, with two redshirt freshmen starting and a total of three true freshmen and six redshirt freshmen playing.

Edinboro has been riding an incredibly hot Jake Sisson. The junior quarterback has passed for 19 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions over the last four games, and has 21 TDs and 4 INTs on the season. He has been named the PSAC?West Offensive Player of the Week two of the last three weeks, and comes off a game at Clarion where he was responsible for seven touchdowns. Sisson currently leads NCAA Division II in points responsible for (150) and passing touchdowns (21). He ranks fourth in the PSAC and seventh nationally in yards passing (1,647) and passing yards per game (329.4), while ranking third in the conference and tenth nationally in total offense (348.6 ypg.).    
  
On Radio ...
The Edinboro-Gannon game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Drew Patrick providing the play-by-play and George Schmidt the commentary. The WFSE stream can be heard at www.edinboronow.com.  In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa. and WLOA 1470 AM in Greenville, Pa. The Keystone Sports Network streams live at www.keystonesports.net.

 
... And TV
The SportsFever Television Network will televise the game on a variety of outlets, along with the game being available on ESPN3. Edinboro will be featured in four SportsFever Game of the Week telecasts in 2016, including the Homecoming game vs. Gannon.

LIVE
ESPN 3 (Accessible at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One)
ESPN College Extra
WPNT -- Pittsburgh
WJAC -- Johnstown/Altoona/State College
BLUE RIDGE CABLE NETWORK -- Poconos, Eastern and Northern PA

DELAY
Saturday, October 8 -- 10:30 pm
SPORTS TIME OHIO -- Erie, Meadville, Sharon, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Toledo, Huntington, Charleston, Youngstown & Buffalo

The All-Time Series
Edinboro leads 7-3
The Fighting Scots won the first seven meetings, but Gannon has won the last three meetings, including a 49-42 shootout at Gannon last year.

The Last Meeting
2015 -- Gannon 49, Edinboro 42 
Edinboro came up just short of upsetting a Gannon team picked to finish first in the PSAC?West. The Fighting Scots trailed 42-20 early in the third quarter but would limit a high-powered Golden Knights offense to one touchdown the rest of the way. The offense came alive behind quarterback Jake Sisson. Sisson threw a three-yard TD pass to Darren Massey and scored on a four-yard run, and midway through the fourth quarter, Edinboro had pulled to within a touchdown at 42-35. Gannon boosted the lead back to 49-35, but Sisson answered again with a 22-yard TD pass to Alex Caratelli with 1:51 to play. Unfortunately, Gannon recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock. Sisson 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 tied the school record, while the 435 yards in total offense was the fifth-highest single-game total, and the 364 passing yards ranked 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 tied the school record, and the 210 yards ranked fifth in a game.  The Fighting Scots finished with a season-high 519 yards, while Gannon totaled 507 yards. 
 
Last Week
Edinboro 62, Clarion 14
One year after Clarion spoiled Edinboro's Homecoming, the Fighting Scots returned the favor with a convincing win. Offensively, Jake Sisson became the first player in school history to pass for a touchdown, run for a touchdown, and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. The junior quarterback threw for five scores, ran for another, and caught one. The defense turned in its finest effort of the season, recording three turnovers and five sacks. All three turnovers led to touchdowns, including a 27-yard interception return for a score by Zuril Hendrick. In addition, the defense stopped Clarion on downs at the Edinboro two and five yard lines. Finally, special teams turned in a touchdown as Ta'Nauz Gregory returned a kickoff 96 yards for six points. Edinboro scored on five of their first six possessions, and on the one they were forced to punt, the Fighting Scots recovered a fumble on the punt return.  They would score on the next play. Edinboro led 41-7 at the half. Sisson opened the scoring on a trick play, catching an eight-yard touchdown pass from Walter Fletcher. He would later score on a four-yard run. Sisson threw two touchdown passes to Alex Caratelli (16 and 52 yards) and two to James Clark (43 and 32 yards), along with a 30-yarder to Jordan Williams. Sisson completed 22 of 37 passes for 357 yards and was also the leading rusher with 38 yards. 

Mercyhurst 38, Gannon 35 ot
After trailing 21-7 at the half, Gannon suffered a heartbreaking loss in their Homecoming game. The Golden Knights tied the score at 28-28 in the fourth quarter. Mercyhurst would use a trick ply to take a 35-28 lead with 2:37 to play. Gannon would send the game into overtime as Tyler Johnson squeezed in on a one-yard run with 21 seconds to play. The Golden Knights got the ball first in overtime, and Karch Holland missed a 47-yard field goal. The Lakers claimed the win on a 39-yard field goal. Gannon ran for 224 yards and outgained the Lakers, 452 to 352 yards. Johnson led the way with 140 yards rushing on 21 carries with 3 TDs. Zach Phillips completed 18 of 25 passes for 228 yards with 2 TDs.  


The Coaches
Justin Lustig (Bucknell '00) took over as Edinboro's 14th head coach on January 11, 2016. This marks Lustig's first head coaching position after serving as an assistant coach at Ball State since 2011. A native of western Pennsylvania who played his high school football at nearby Cathedral prep, Lustig also has served as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, Eastern Illinois, Christopher Newport, and Villanova.  Lustig has been a part of four teams that earned bowl eligibility in eight years at the FBS level. He was an assistant on five teams that won conference championships in 14 years in the profession, including six NCAA playoff appearances and two bowl games. Five of the teams he has been associated with have been ranked in the top 25. Finally, he has helped develop 37 all-conference performers, including 12 at Ball State. Most recently, Lustig was the special teams coordinator/ running backs coach at Ball State since 2011, along with earning the title of assistant head coach prior to the 2015 season. The Cardinals played in two bowl games during Lustig's tenure. They faced UCF in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in 2012, then earned a spot in the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl against Arkansas State. Ball State finished with a 10-3 record in 2013 and 9-4 in 2012. In addition, Ball State posted wins over four BCS conference teams -- Indiana twice, South Florida, and Virginia.     
 
Brad Ryzczycki (Mercyhurst '95) is 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.       
    

Lustig Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"We were very pleased with our squad this past weekend. It was the first time this year that we felt our team performed to its potential in all three phases. It was also a valuable opportunity for us to get many players game reps." 

Lustig Comments ... on the Golden Knights
"Gannon is a very talented team that has playmakers in multiple positions on both sides of the ball. I know they will be ready to play after coming off a heartbreaking loss against Mercyhurst. We will get their A game."