MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville had just pulled within six points and had Gannon backed up on its own 1-yard line with time ticking away in the fourth quarter. But Gannon's rushing attack, which it relied on all afternoon, flipped field position with one big run from Antonio Wright and effectively eliminated any hope Millersville had of a late rally. Gannon improved to 2-0 by escaping the Marauders, 16-10. 

Gannon leaned heavily on running backs Melvin Blanks and Antonio Wright as the two combined for 223 yards on 48 carries. The Golden Knights held the ball for nearly 15 minutes more than Millersville. Outside of a 52-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Butler to Mekhi Alexander in the fourth quarter, Millersville struggled to move the ball with consistency. Butler, filling in for the injured Jack Stagaard, went 13-for-23 with 121 yards. The running game managed 22 net yards, and Millersville totaled seven first downs to Gannon's 20. Only three of Millersville's 13 drives gained more than 10 yards. 

Even with an inability to move the ball, Millersville had a shot to win until the final whistle. But for the second week in a row, key mistakes on special teams cost the Marauders dearly. In the first quarter, a blocked punt resulted in a safety, and in the third quarter, a muffed punt return set up Gannon in advantageous field position. The Golden Knights needed to navigate just 36 yards for a touchdown.

The six-play drive ended with Kory Curtis' 10-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Freeman, and it gave the Golden Knights a 16-3 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth. Both teams traded punts before Millersville set up on its own 48-yard line with 13:06 left in the game. On second-and-10, Butler found a wide open Alexander down the Gannon sideline. Alexander hauled in the pass at the 20 then broke a pair of tackles, spinning out of one defender's grasp before crossing the goal line. 

The Marauders forced another Gannon punt but could not overcome a sack that pushed them to their own 18. A 67-yard punt from Zach Banta was downed by a hustling Hakim Melvin at the 1 with 7:01 to play. An offside penalty on the Marauders pushed Gannon out of the shadow of its own end zone, and after Blanks was stuffed for a two-yard gain, Wright took a handoff toward the Millersville sideline, turned the corner, and raced up the sideline until Omar Ba made a TD-saving tackle at midfield. Gannon converted two more third downs, one of which came on a pass interference penalty on third-and-nine. Time melted off the scoreboard until the Marauders stopped a Curtis scramble on fourth-and-seven. 

Millersville needed 77 yards in 23 seconds, but Butler was sacked on first down. Butler spiked the ball to stop the clock but under duress on third down, he could only manage a short dump off to Jaheim Morris for nine yards as time experience.  

POSTGAME REACTION FROM J.C. MORGAN
• On the defensive effort: "Proud of the way the defense battled. We gave up a few more rushing yards than we would have liked, but they gave us a chance. Unfortunately, too many breakdowns at the end."
• On special team mistakes: "The breakdowns are hurting us. It's the second week in a row we've muffed a punt. We had a personal foul penalty two weeks in a row. We've got to get out of our own way. The kids are playing hard but it's unfortunate. We've got to find a way out of it, minimize it. If we do we can be pretty good." 
• On how to improve the offense: "We've got some players. We've got to look at what is getting us off the field on third down. Dropped pass, fumbled snap, errant pass. Some of that we are doing to ourselves. We've got some guys who can make plays. It starts with me. I have to get us better prepared for that."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Randy Okungu recorded a strip sack in the first quarter. The recovery went to Connor Snyder. Nick Romano also recovered a muffed punt in the second quarter, which led to Christian Makanoeich's 30-yard field goal and Millersville's first points. 
• Alexander's 52-yard touchdown reception was the longest of his career. 
• Banta's 67-yard punt was a career long, and he landed four of hits eight punts inside the 20 and two inside the 5. 
• Matt Frauen received a career-high nine carries, totaling 23 yards. Redshirt freshman Kam Taylor made a career-high three catches, including the first of his collegiate career. 
• Millersville's defense made a season-high eight tackles for loss. Okungu recorded two. Rafael Lozada made 10 tackles and one TFL. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville hosts No. 18 Slippery Rock on Sept. 17 at 12 p.m.