Game Preview - Gannon

The Golden Rams' (1-0) schedule of unfamiliar foes continues as it takes on the Gannon Golden Knights (0-1) for just the third time ever. Saturday's contest at John A. Farrell Stadium will commence at noon.

Gannon is coming off a 35-32 loss to Southern Connecticut on Thursday leaving head coach Brad Rzyczycki with a career record of 34-33. In that game, the Golden Knights outgained the Owls, but were hurt by inopportune turnovers and 13 penalties. Meanwhile, West Chester is coming off a 44-6 pasting of Bentley.

Series History:

West Chester won the previous two meetings, at Farrell Stadium in 2012 by a score of 21-17 and in Erie in 2013 by a 56-41 tally.

Last Meeting:

09/15/2013 West Chester 56 - Gannon 41

Although the Golden Rams never trailed in the game, they were also never really able to put the contest out of reach. After West Chester shot out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, Gannon closed the gap to just one point twice, at 21-20 and 28-27 late in the second quarter. The offensive fireworks led to over 1,000 total yards in the game - 612 for the Golden Rams and 469 for the Golden Knights. The two teams also combined for 23 penalties for 208 yards. For the Golden Rams, Rondell White did everything - 32 carries for 245 yards and two touchdowns, seven receptions for 87 yards, in addition to throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Scouting the Golden Knights:

Everyone in the stadium should be focused on Gannon running back Marcus Jones. Last year, Jones led all of Division II in rushing touchdowns with 29 and rushing yards with 2,176 (the next best rusher had 1,740 yards). As a result, he was the runner-up for the Harlon Hill award and is a consensus All-American coming into the 2018 season. In last week's loss, Jones ran for 160 yards and a score.

Besides Jones, the offense returns eight other starters including quarterback Jimmy Keefe (112 of 206 for 1,477 yards, 10 TD's, 11 int's in 2017; 14 of 32 for 212 yards, 3 TD's, 2 int's last week). Joey Cox was the Golden Knoghts top receiver last week with seven catches for 87 yards and a score after making only eight catches in all eleven games in 2017.

The Gannon defense is not the strong point for the team, but defensive end Noah Harris-Lyles (53 tackles including 17.5 tackles for loss in 2017) and linebacker Anthony Howard (93 tackles including 9.5 tackles for loss in 2017) were both All-PSAC after last season. Linebacker Geremy Paige registered 11 tackles against Southern Connecticut last week while defensive back Tre McNeill notched eights stops and recovered a fumble.

Analysis:

Gannon is historically among the top scoring teams in the PSAC and this year figures to be no different. How their offense matches up against West Chester's defense is going to be the intriguing part of the contest. The Gannon defense usually yields a lot of points, so the Golden Rams should have no problem scoring as long as they take care of the ball. The Gannon kicking game was one of the worst in the PSAC last year (5 of 12 on field goals, 43 of 43 on PAT's). One final area that the Golden Rams need to focus on is keeping their cool and not committing or getting drawn into major penalties.

Atomic Football is predicting a double digit victory for West Chester while Massey Ratings projects a touchdown margin.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - Depth Chart - West Chester vs. Gannon

West Chester Athletic Site - Nos. 23/25 West Chester Hosts Gannon In Home Opener Saturday

PSAC Site - Football - Week 2 Notes

Gannon Athletic Site - Gannon Football Hits Road To Face West Chester

KYW Newsradio - West Chester hosts Gannon Saturday in home opener

GoErie.com - Gannon’s Jones, Edinboro’s Fletcher are back

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week 2 Preview