ERIE, Pa. --- Andrew Kurtas booted a 33-yard field goal with just four seconds remaining in regulation, delivering the Golden Eagles football team a 48-46 road win at Gannon in a seesaw game at McConnell Family Stadium. The offensive slugfest saw both teams amass more than 500 yards of total offense, but special teams and timely defensive plays proved to be the factor in a razor-thin margin of victory.
 
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles against Gannon and was their first win in McConnell Family Stadium since 2015.
 
Clarion initially led 21-0 after one quarter of action but the Golden Knights rallied and cut the deficit to 28-19 by the halftime break. Gannon took the lead for the first time in the game with 1:33 left to play after Donell Mason caught his third touchdown pass of the day, putting the Golden Knights ahead 46-45.
 
The Golden Eagles started their final drive at their own 35-yard line, converting a 3^rd-and-6 just shy of midfield when freshman quarterback Jase Ferguson stretched for the line to gain. Two plays later Ferguson hit Davon Jones for a 25-yard strike up the middle of the field to put the ball on the Gannon 35-yard line. A key gaffe by the Golden Knights came two plays later when Sir Jerome Treadwell was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after stopping Ferguson at the line of scrimmage for a run; instead of sticking the Golden Eagles at the 29-yard line without any more timeouts, the penalty gave Clarion 15 yards of field position and stopped the clock.
 
On the next play, Ferguson rolled to his right and took a knee in the middle of the field and then spiked the ball on the next snap to stop the clock. Kurtas came in and kicked the ball through the uprights to put the Golden Eagles back on top and Will Hulea forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return by Gannon to clinch the win.
 
The story of the day were the two offenses duking it out, with both sides going over 500 yards of total offense. Clarion rushed for 180 yards on 35 attempts for a 5.1 yards per carry average, buoyed by Ferguson, who made his first career start at quarterback. The true freshman was the game's leading rusher, carrying 13 times for 81 yards, including a 37yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter. He also proved effective throwing the ball, completing 19 of 27 passes for 334 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
 
Jones was his most frequent target, with the sophomore receiver catching nine passes for 144 yards for his third straight 100-yard game. Holt Egan, meanwhile, showed off his nose for the end zone, with three touchdowns on four total receptions.
 
Clarion led 7-0 in the first quarter after Ferguson's touchdown run, and the freshman hit Egan for a touchdown pass later in the period to make it a two-score game. Khalon Simmons – who rushed 17 times for 72 yards – notched his ninth rushing touchdown of the year just before the quarter ended, scoring from one yard out to make it 21-0.
 
 An almost unnoticed key moment came early in the second quarter, when the Golden Knights scored a touchdown on a long pass from Ty Hurst to Mason but then proceeded to miss the extra point. Gannon chased that point for the remainder of the game, failing to convert two two-point conversions later in the game. The missing points proved costly in the two-point margin of victory for Clarion.
 
The Golden Eagles upped the lead to 35-19 on their first drive of the second half when Davon Jones sprinted down the right sideline on a 54-yard touchdown reception, and Kurtas tacked on the first of two field goals later in the third.
 
Defensively, Griffin Buzzell's stat sheet popped with 14 total tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. Mathew McGregor logged a sack for the fourth straight game, matching the longest streak for any Clarion player since Jake Tarburton did it in the 2021 and 2024 seasons.
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