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Lock Haven football falls to Edinboro in offensive slugfest, as win streak gets capped at three

By HENRY HUBER 7 min read

Coming off a historic win over nationally ranked IUP, many expected Lock Haven football to carry that momentum into another against an opponent deemed lesser. But that's the thing about the PSAC; expectations can often be deceiving. Just ask last week's Crimson Hawks or this week's Shepherd.

Or in this case, the 4-3 Bald Eagles.

Despite Edinboro (3-4) entering Saturday's contest without a conference win and on a four-game losing streak, it more than matched up with Lock Haven in its return to Hubert Jack Stadium. The Fighting Scots scored five straight touchdowns to take a 42-28 lead early in the fourth, a streak which propelled them to a 42-35 win to cap LHU's win streak at three.

It was a disappointing setback for the Bald Eagles, who now sit a loss back from the pinnacle of the PSAC West after previously standing tied for it. Nonetheless, head coach Joe Battaglia took pride in the team's fight throughout Saturday's contest, as the team matched Edinboro's offensive eruption after early missed opportunities.

"I was proud of the boys and how they battled throughout the course of the game," said Battaglia following the loss. "Never really felt like we had momentum at any point, which was the tricky part. But proud of the fact that they put their heads down and continued to play through all 60 minutes."

The early game was defined by those aforementioned missed opportunities, as Lock Haven failed to build on its initial 7-0 lead. After driving 89 yards to kick off the afternoon with a touchdown, two opportunities to extend its lead came and went with zilch, and another with a chance to take back the lead in the second quarter did the same.

A Raheim Reid interception three plays into LHU's first defensive possession landed the Bald Eagles in Edinboro territory, but a holding penalty and two incompletions led to a three-and-out. Then, after making it to goal-to-go on another long drive without facing a third down, the next drive stalled before ending with a missed 36-yard field goal.

That would be the last time the team led with the ball in hand, as the Edinboro offense found life that wouldn't go out until late.

Lock Haven's next opportunity to take a lead ended in a turnover on downs just outside of field-goal range. And though a 76-yard touchdown connection between Robert Footman Jr. and Jake Roberts (7 receptions, 160 yards) evened it back up at 14-14 late in the second, the Fighting Scots responded with a 73-yard touchdown drive spanning just over a minute to close out the half with a 21-14 lead.

"I think the energy was a little bit low today, and we just didn't execute. Guys didn't do their jobs, and we've got to get that fixed," said Battaglia. "When you come out and you're undisciplined, that's kind of the piece that I was most frustrated with today."

The first half's closing span - which saw Edinboro score 14 points in less than two minutes - became a trend that carried into the fourth quarter. Each time the Lock Haven offense put took a successful drive, it seemed like the Fighting Scots had an immediate answer.

After throwing an early interception, Edinboro quarterback Nico Marchitelli bounced back by completing 14 of his next 17 passes while consistently picking up first downs with his legs. Marchitelli threw three touchdowns, including 48 and 14-yard scores in the third to Jeremiah Neeley that showed off the receiver's versatility. And gadget quarterback Bo Swartz left his mark in the red zone, scoring on runs of one and 14 yards.

An 85-yard punt return from Evan Zankl got the Fighting Scots on the board in the first, and both quarterbacks did the rest. While Lock Haven outgained Edinboro by over 100 yards, its counterpart made the most of every opportunity it created, and the Bald Eagles saw three drives make it past the Edinboro 30-yard line and finish with zero points.

"It's tough to give a full answer right now without watching the film from the sky above, but I think (Edinboro) did a really good job exploiting a lot of things," said Battaglia on the team's defensive struggles. "They knew what they wanted to pick on going into this game, and I thought they did that at a high level."

The most devastating red zone miss for Lock Haven was the last.

With just under seven minutes to carve into Edinboro's 42-28 lead, a Troy Miller interception gave it new life, setting the offense up at the Edinboro 41. The Bald Eagles proceeded to make it to the goal line. But a designed run for Footman ended in a fumble just before he broke the plane, injuring the quarterback in the process.

That fumble cost Lock Haven multiple crucial minutes.

While backup quarterback Carson Nagle led a great drive to cut the deficit to 42-35, going 5-of-6 for 78 yards and finishing the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jayvon Tucker-Scott, the Bald Eagles failed to recovered the necessary onside kick. Next time Nagle had the ball, it was with one second, insufficient time to lead an 81-yard touchdown drive.

Though the loss stings, it does little to diminish what the team accomplished in its previous three games. It heads into next week's road contest against No. 8 Slippery Rock holding the No. 2 slot in the PSAC West standings and will look to usurp the top dog in The Rock to get back on track.

"I told the guys, 'It's one of two things,'" said Battaglia. "You can either let this break you, or we can continue to go 1-0 every week. So, I think these guys, they're going to come together, and I'm really excited to see how we're going to come out next week."

Edinboro 42, Lock Haven 35

Edinboro 7 14 14 7 – 42

Lock Haven 7 7 7 14 – 35

1st Quarter

LH – Robert Footman Jr. to Connor Foltz 39 pass (Caden Bauer kick), 7:49.

E – Evan Zankl 85 punt return (Tanner Bruzda kick), 4:43.

2nd Quarter

E – Bo Swartz 1 run (Bruzda kick), 1:52.

LH – Footman to Jake Roberts 76 pass (Bauer kick), 1:34.

E – Nico Marchitelli to Antwan Ceaser 3 pass (Bruzda kick), :18.

3rd Quarter

E – Marchitelli to Jeremiah Neeley 48 pass (Bruzda kick), 10:38.

LH – Footman to Jaiden Huntingdon 11 pass (Bauer kick), 7:15.

E – Marchitelli to Jeremiah Neeley 14 pass (Bruzda kick), 2:53.

4th Quarter

LH – Footman to Roberts 23 pass (Bauer kick), 14:00.

E – Bo Swartz 14 run (Bruzda kick), 10:49.

LH – Carson Nagle to Jayvon Tucker-Scott 12 pass (Bauer kick), 1:08.

TEAM STATISTICS E LH

First Downs 19 26

Rushes-yards 35-124 25-91

Passing yards 215 384

Comp-Att-Int 17-22-2 26-40-0

Total yards 339 475

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 6-75 9-80

Punts-yards 3-45.7 2-49.0

TOP 29:00 13:40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING: Edinboro, Antwan Ceasar 10-46; Bo Swartz 4-32, 2 TDs; Nico Marchitelli 17-29; Teige Berger 4-6. Lock Haven, Ezequiel Johnson 8-62; Tucker Teats 5-21; Robert Footman Jr. 7-5; Careem Hathcock 2-3.

PASSING: Edinboro, Marchitelli 15-19-2 177 yards, 3 TDs; Bo Swartz 2-2-0 38 yards. Lock Haven, Robert Footman Jr. 17-30-0 282 yards, 3 TDs; Carson Nagle 6-7-0 85 yards, TD.

RECEIVING: Edinboro, Jeremiah Neeley 6-95, 2 TDs; Jaevon Parker 4-46; Evan Zankl 2-33; Drew Parker 1-16; Clayton Bezon 1-11; Naseim Harrison 1-11; Antwan Ceaser 2-7, TD. Lock Haven, Jake Roberts 7-160, TD; Mekhi Watson 6-91, TD; Connor Foltz 1-39, TD; Jaiden Huntington 5-38, TD; Jayvon Tucker-Scott 3-22, TD; Ezequiel Johnson 2-11; Tayden Mines 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS: Lock Haven, Raheem Reid 1, Troy Miller 1.

RECORDS: Edinboro 3-4 (1-3 PSAC); Lock Haven 4-3 (3-1 PSAC).

Starting at /week.