Overall analysis
Too close for comfort.
Gannon should have never found itself in a position to have to stop Clarion from scoring a touchdown late in the game, but the Knights did win, 31-24, in their home opener. Clarion has won only two games under its third-year coach, Jay Foster, but gave Gannon all it could handle.
With a 3-2 record, Gannon has won more games this season than it did in the last two seasons combined. The Knights will have their hands full next week when it plays at No. 24-ranked Edinboro for its homecoming. Knights will have to play better if they’re going to even stay in the game against the 4-1 Scots.

Key plays

I. With no score in the first quarter, Clarion lined up to punt from its 27-yard line. Clarion decided to fake the punt, but the snap went over the up man’s head to punter Nicholas Perla. Perla hesitated and tried to pick up a first down, but was stopped at the line of scrimmage. Gannon took possession and Jon Richardson gave Gannon an early lead late in the first quarter.

II. After Gannon went ahead, 31-17, on a 33-yard Jeremy Ditzler field goal early in the fourth quarter, it forced a turnover on Clarion’s next possession. Clarion quarterback Gino Rometo threw a deep pass to the 5-foot, 4-inch Alfonso Hoggard, but Gannon freshman cornerback Aaron Roberson intercepted the pass at Gannon’s 15-yard line. Roberson, who is six inches taller than Hoggard, made a better play on the ball to intercept his second pass of the game.

III. On the game’s final play, Rometo went to the end zone from 26 yards to tie the game and force overtime. He threw it to Matt Foradora, but Gannon had at least three defenders in the left corner of the end zone to defend the play.Roberson was credited for defending the play as time expired.

Key stats

I. Clarion went 0-for-3 on fourth down conversions including the last one on the game’s final play.
II. Gannon went 4-for-4 in the red zone, scoring three touchdowns and adding a field goal. This comes after the Knights failed to score after having the ball inside the red zone twice in last week’s loss at Slippery Rock.
III. Clarion had nine penalties for 84 yards.

Top players
I. Matt Ward (Gannon). The senior defensive end made nine total tackles with 4-½ for loss. He had 1 ½ sacks and got the defense fired up for its final defensive stand.
II. Tony Poma (Gannon). Although Roberson had two interceptions, Poma, a junior cornerback, had six total tackles and knocked down a key pass on fourth down when Clarion had driven the ball to Gannon 21 with three minutes left in the game.
III. Alfonso Hoggard (Clarion). He’s only 5 feet, 4 inches tall, but the sophomore receiver did everything he could in this one. He had 210 all-purpose yards, caught a touchdown and had a punt return for a score called back.

Flop players
I. Clarion front seven – Gannon had trouble scoring inside the red zone in its last game against Slippery Rock, but had no trouble do so against Clarion. The Knights scored three times in the red zone.

II. Gannon offensive line – With a 31-17 lead, Gannon needed to run the clock out, but struggled doing so. Jon Richardson was unable to rush for 100 yards against a Clarion team that allowed two Mercyhurst to rush for 288 yards last week. Gannon had 134 yards rushing and gave up five sacks.

III. Clarion coaching staff – Must question going for a fake punt in a scoreless game from the Clarion 27-yard line. Then the Eagles had careless penalties with some going for personal fouls. The coaches kept them motivates, but failed in other key areas.

Injury
Gannon sophomore starting quarterback Bob Bartley left the game with a left leg injury in the second half and didn’t return. Gannon coach Jim Kiernan said Bartley was jogging on the sidelines after getting injured.

They said it.
“We tried a fake punt and a freshman snapper snapped it over (the up man’s) head. That’s what happens when you’re young. You make dumb mistakes … The punter ended up with it. The punter is going, now what do I do. He probably could have punted it, but I’ll be honest with you, that’s a coaching mistake. I should have said, ‘You know something, if the snap does miss, you can still punt the ball.’ It doesn’t mean we can’t punt it. He wasn’t thinking of that and neither was I, to be honest with you. We’ve been running that play since camp and that’s what happens.” – Clarion coach Jay Foster said about the fake punt Gannon stopped that lead to a short touchdown drive to give the Knights a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

“I knew our defense was going to come through, but it’s scary because we did the same thing against Lake Erie. Close, but Clarion was closer to the end zone this time.” – Gannon junior tailback Jon Richardson comparing Clarion’s final drive to when Lake Erie nearly came back against Gannon in the season opener.

“When you’re winning games, it’s a whole different story. Especially when you come in with two wins, which is nice. I think we should have come in with at least three wins, but that’s a difference story. So I think the fans were really cheering for us and cheering hard and know we’re in every game and we can win every game. They’re going to try extra hard, cheer extra hard and be there the whole time – said Gannon junior tailback Anthony Weaver, an Erie native, about the home crowd in Saturday’s win.

“We feel like we can play with anybody and make stops against anybody. I’m a freshman so I’m not sure on how things were last year, but this year, I feel like we’re taking care of business. Just trying to hold teams to as few points as we can.” – Gannon freshman cornerback Aaron Roberson, who intercepted two passes Saturday.

“This stretch coming up is going to be huge for us. We’re going to go out and try to play with these teams. We’ve got some good teams coming down the line so I’m excited to get in there. I’m going to enjoy this one, but not for too long because we’ve got some good teams we’re going to play.” – Gannon senior defensive end Matt Ward said about Gannon’s next three games that are at No. 24 Edinboro, followed by two home games against rival Mercyhurst and No. 14-ranked California (Pa.).

“We could have put it away in the third quarter, but we kept letting them come back. That’s one thing we’ve got to work at. We’ve just got to put the game away. We can play with teams and we can get ahead of teams, but then we always seem to let them back in a little bit. That’s when we’ve got to hit the gas and take off.” – Gannon senior defensive tackle Chris Murphy about Gannon not finishing Clarion earlier in the game. The Knights led 28-10 early in the second half, but only won, 31-24.

“The biggest thing we’ve shown is the ability to persevere through stuff and hang in there and find a way to win the game. We did it at Lake Erie. We did here at home against Clarion. These guys have really stepped up this year.” – Gannon coach Jim Kiernan said about his team.

Next.
Gannon (3-2, 1-1) plays at No. 24-ranked Edinboro (4-1, 1-1) next week in a 2 p.m. PSAC West game. This will be the Scots’ homecoming game. The Knights follow that game with their rivalry showdown at home against Mercyhurst College (3-2, 2-0).