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EDINBORO – With the game on the line, quarterback Jayden Whitaker was running the wrong way with the football and four defenders closing in on him.
When he recovered and wheeled around to start running toward the line of scrimmage, he made a throw straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Whitaker launched a 46-yard pass on the run knowing a defender was going to hit him hard into double coverage, which Tank Mason grabbed inside the 20-yard line.
A few plays later, Whitaker found Mason on a 17-yard touchdown pass with just 26 seconds left to lift Gannon (2-5 overall, 2-2 PSAC) to a 25-21 comeback win over rival Edinboro (2-6, 1-3) on Saturday at Sox Harrison Stadium.
Edinboro had taken a 21-18 lead with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left on a highlight-reel touchdown catch by Jeremiah Neeley, who graduated from nearby St. Francis in Buffalo. It was Neeley’s second touchdown of the game, but he injured his foot on the play and wasn’t available for Edinboro’s final drive.
Gannon’s ensuing drive got off to a slow start until McDowell graduate Braeden Soboleski grabbed a 15-yard pass on 3rd-and-16. Whitaker converted the fourth down with a short run, but the clock was running and Gannon was still on the wrong side of the field.
After an incompletion, Whitaker sent the Gannon crowd into a frenzy with one of the top plays of the year.
On second down, the Gannon center skipped the shotgun snap sending Whitaker the wrong way to get the loose ball. He scooped it up with two defenders right on him and two waiting for him as he wheeled around.
“The first time a bad snap happened I threw it out of bounds so I wanted to make sure I got this one out of bounds as well,” Whitaker said about the play. “I picked it up, turned around and ran away from a few guys. My eyes were wide open and I saw Tank Mason’s bright gloves up in the air.”
With the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gannon-scores-final-minute-stun-082309897.html
Author : Erie Times News
Publish date : 2024-10-27 08:23:09
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