LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — The Edinboro football team used a offensive outburst to top host Lock Haven 42-35 Saturday afternoon at Hubert Jack Stadium.
The Bald Eagles opened the game with an 89-yard drive capped by Robert Footman Jr. hitting Connor Foltz for a 28-yard touchdown at 7:49 and Caden Bauer's kick made it 7-0. The Scots' first offensive series ended with Raheem Reid's interception at 6:20, but the defense forced the Bald Eagles into a fourth-and-15 punt.
Evan Zankl returned Kevin Carrigan's kick 85 yards for a touchdown at 4:43 with
Tanner Bruzda's extra point tying the game at 7-7. The Bald Eagles drove the ball to the Scots' 9-yard line before
Montrice Webster hurried an incompletion and
Parker Hoff sacked Footman for a 10-yard loss. Bauer missed a 29-yard field goal with 23 seconds left as the first quarter ended tied 7-7.
After the Scots punted on their opening possession of the second quarter, the Bald Eagles drove to the Scots' 28. Hoff broke up a third-down pass and
Nate Deanes stopped Jake Roberts after a 1-yard completion on fourth-and-six to give the ball back to the offense. The Scots turned that stop into a 12-play, 73-yard drive, converting through the air to
Jaevon Parker and
Jeremiah Neeley before
Bo Swartz scored on a 1-yard sneak at 1:52 to put Edinboro up 14-7.
The Bald Eagles answered quickly, as Footman Jr. hit Roberts for a 76-yard touchdown at 1:34 and Caden Bauer's kick tied the game at 14-14. The frantic pace continued as the Scots responded with a 74-yard drive in the final 1:28, highlighted by a 25-yard Marchitelli completion to Parker and a 28-yard pass to Zankl. Marchitelli finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown to
Antwan Ceasar with 18 seconds left to send the Scots into the locker room up 21-14.
The Fighting Scots overcame an opening sack on their first possession of the third quarter, with Marchitelli moving the chains three times on the ground before hitting Neeley for a 48-yard touchdown at 10:38. Bruzda added the extra point to make it 28-14. The Bald Eagles started their next drive at the Scots' 48-yard line after a 42-yard kickoff return. Footman found Jaiden Huntington for an 11-yard touchdown at 7:15 to cut it to 28-21 after the extra point. The Scots answered again with another seven-play scoring drive, using
Bo Swartz's 19-yard run and Marchitelli's 16-yard completion to
Drew Parker to reach the red zone. Marchitelli connected with Neeley again for a 14-yard touchdown at 2:53 extending the lead to35-21.
The Bald Eagles moved within 35-28 early in the fourth quarter when Footman Jr. hit Roberts for a 23-yard touchdown at 14:00 and Caden Bauer added the point after. The Scots answered on the ensuing drive, using
Antwan Ceasar's 35-yard run to get into the red zone before Swartz scored from 14 yards out pushing the advantage to 42-28. After Troy Miller intercepted Marchitelli, the Bald Eagles drove to the Scots' 2, but
Nathaniel Ewell forced a fumble near the goal line that went for a touchback at 3:47. Carson Nagle later led the Bald Eagles to a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jayvon Tucker-Scott with 1:08 left, but the Scots took over after the onside kick and closed out a 42-35 win.
Marchitelli completed 17 of 22 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Neeley caught six passes for 109 yards and a pair of scores. Zankl's punt return touchdown was the first by a Fighting Scot since 2016 and he added two receptions for 33 yards.
Shamarr Joppy recorded a team-high 17 tackles.
Roberts caught eight passes for 172 yards and was credited with two total touchdowns. Footman Jr. completed 21 of 34 passes for 299 yards. Mekhi Watson added six receptions for 94 yards. Martin Wantong recorded five tackles and two sacks.
The Scots return to Sox Harrison Stadium on Saturday when they play host to Gannon at noon.
