Gannon's win drops Edinboro to 3-3, eclipsing losses from 2017

The Edinboro Fighting Scots football team lost two games last year as the third ranked team in the PSAC West. The 47-25 loss against Gannon Saturday at McConnell Family Stadium already gives them three for the year. So, where does Edinboro football go from here?

Another huge performance from the Division II leading rusher and Painesville, Ohio native, Marc Jones was too much for the front seven of Edinboro. Jones ran for 261 yards and a school-record six touchdowns. For Edinboro, Walter Fletcher didn’t do too bad either, notching three touchdowns of his own and 165 yards rushing.

During the second quarter, a hit on quarterback Jake Sisson would take him out of the game, and he would not return. Sisson, a huge reason for the Fighting Scots turnaround of late, has had a rough start to the year, but has still shown the ability to spread the ball around the offense. His status for next week’s homecoming game will be worth monitoring.

The momentum was never really in Edinboro’s favor. After going up by a touchdown early, two quick scores by Jones and the Gannon offense immediately negated what the Edinboro offense was able to do to start.

Three turnovers in their own territory and an inability to prevent big plays down the field was Edinboro’s Achilles’ heel throughout the game. With a dominating back like Jones, they had to commit players to the box to stop the run, which left the secondary in a tough position, usually forcing them to defend in single coverage.

Replacing Sisson in the second quarter was redshirt freshman Andrew Tomko, who brought a little something different to the offense, handing off the ball more often than usual playcalling. After comingin and looking shaky, Tomko would return in the second half looking much more confident.

Tomko would lead his offense to open the third on a 4-play, 84-yard drive that led to Walter Fletcher’s third and final touchdown on the day. Fletcher would go for 67 yards, taking it up the middle, only to work his way outside like he so often does.

The score after this drive was 28-19. The rest of the half, not as successful.

Gannon’s Jones would score the next three touchdowns to build the score to 47-19. Gannon looked as if they were out for vengeance after the notorious “fight” game that took place at Edinboro’s homecoming last year.

After a touchdown by Kyle Galyk in the fourth quarter to close out the game, the final score would be 47-25. Edinboro has an opportunity to get back over .500 next week at their own homecoming matchup against Erie rival Mercyhurst.

Michael Lantinen can be reached at sports.spectator@gmail.com.