One year after knocking 19th-ranked Bloomsburg out of post-season contention with a 10-7 overtime victory in the regular-season finale, Gannon rallied against the third-ranked team in the region.
Down 27-3, Gannon rolled off three consecutive touchdowns in the span of eight minutes and nine seconds. The blitz came after Kutztown extended its lead to 24 points with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. The Golden Bears drove 70 yards on nine plays to assume what seemed to be a commanding lead.
However, Gannon’s 19 seniors rallied the troops during their final collegiate game. The Golden Knights woke up with a 14-play, 64-yard drive the consumed five minutes and 33 seconds. The squad converted two fourth-down plays during the drive. Tyler Batts (Homestead, Pa./Penn-Trafford) was successful on a fourth-and-two run from the Kutztown 45-yard line and Zach Boedicker (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) connected with Batts for a 14-yard pick-up on fourth-and-five from the Kutztown 32-yard line. Boedicker later capped the scoring drive with a five-yard run, cutting the deficit to 27-10 at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter.
Kutztown only managed four plays, before punting the ball away on its next possession. Gannon went right back to work, driving 80 yards on nine plays for another score. Boedicker was 6-of-7 through the air on the drive. Geoff Hicks (Buffalo, N.Y./Cleveland Hill) made the biggest play of the drive when he grabbed a pass out of the air with blanket coverage for a 39-yard gain to the Kutztown two-yard line. On the next play, Batts found the endzone seven seconds into the final quarter.
Both teams had three-and-out possessions, before two officiating calls made the ensuing Kutztown drive interesting. On the first play of the drive from the Kutztown 15-yard line, Kendell Coleman fumbled the ball as he hit the line of scrimmage and several Gannon defenders were posed to pick up the ball and rush into the endzone for a score. However, the officials ruled Coleman was either down or had forward progress. On the next play, Will Giles (Nyack, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) picked off a Golden Bear pass along the sideline while arguably landing inbounds at the 20-yard line.
Boedicker immediately connected with Hicks on a 20-yard fade pattern to the back corner of the endzone, bringing the Golden Knights within 27-24 with 12:06 showing on the clock.
Kutztown only managed two first downs on four possessions the rest of the way, but its defense turned in a bend-but-don’t-break effort. Gannon moved across midfield during consecutive possessions trying to tie the game. The Golden Knights had first-and-10 from the Golden Bears’ 31-yard line, but was pushed out of field-goal range with two incomplete passes and a four-yard sack. On fourth-and-14, a seven-yard pass play to Batts came up shy of the first down.
Gannon did get the ball back again, beginning at its 16-yard line with 5:03 left in regulation. The Golden Knights converted two third-down plays and reached the Kutztown 35-yard line, before turning the ball over with three consecutive incomplete passes.
A Kutztown three-and-out gave the Golden Knights one last miracle-finish hope, but an interception with eight seconds remaining sealed the deal.
Head coach Jim Kiernan’s squad dominated the second half, out-gaining Kutztown 297-129. In all, the Golden Knights finished with the edge in first downs (25-17), total yards (476-348), rushing yards (200-60) and time of possession (30:34-29:26). The squad posted season-highs in passing yards and total yards. It was the most total yards in a game since producing 558 yards against Slippery Rock October 17, 2009. It was the most passing yards in a game since throwing for 301 yards against Mercyhurst October 11, 2008.
Boedicker was involved in 67 of Gannon’s 87 plays. The senior quarterback was 28-of-56 for 276 yards and one touchdown through the air. In the process, he set career-highs in completions, attempts and yards. His 56 attempts were 28 more than his previous high. In addition, Boedicker recorded his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 106 yards and one score on 11 carries. He finished his career eighth all-time at Gannon with six 100-yard rushing performances. In all, his 382 yards of total offense Saturday afternoon was also a career-high and represented the 10th-highest single-game total offensive mark in school history.
Batts finished six yards shy of his third career 100-yard rushing game with 94 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. The senior tailback finished 11th all-time at Gannon in rushing yards (1,250) despite playing only two seasons. He also led the team in receiving, hauling in eight catches for 60 yards.
Defensively, Gannon recorded eight sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. The Golden Knights were three sacks shy of the school record (11) set against Alma (Mich.) in 2001.
Kevin Minor (South Euclid, Ohio/Shaw) led the way with 10 tackles, two sacks and two tackles for a loss. Keith Yager (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory), Matt Jones (Rochester, N.Y./The Aquinas Institute), Connor Kimball (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Chris Cook (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) were close behind with eight stops each. Jones tied a season-high while Kimball tied a career-high.
Gannon concluded its season with a 6-5 record for the second consecutive season, marking the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 1995. Nineteen seniors who were part of consecutive 1-10 seasons were major contributors to the winning campaigns. Kutztown improved to 10-1 and now waits to learn of its seeding for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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