September 5, 2025/Midnight
Erie, PA. – The Gannon Golden Knights football team kicked off the regular season against the Davenport Panthers. Gannon fell in the home opener 21-12, despite dominating possession. The Golden Knights struggled with three turnovers, which resulted in a touchdown shortly after.
The first play of the new campaign began with running back Tristen Kenan’s 14-yard rush. Following a false start penalty, quarterback Anthony Harris, on second down, would find 11 yards of his own on the ground. Gannon’s first drive stalled and would result in a punt.
After allowing a couple first downs to start the game, the Golden Knights held firm, forcing three incomplete passes and a punt. Gannon’s second drive started with a fumble from a miscommunication lateral toss to Donell “Tank” Mason, who couldn’t catch the ball. Davenport recovered and immediately scored on the first play in the red zone.
Harris and the Golden Knights caught fire shortly after. The senior red-shirt completed five of six passes including a throw to Mason, who had a catch-and-run touchdown. The extra point was blocked. Ifaenyi Ijezie would record his first sack of the season as both teams would trade punts to close the first quarter.
Gannon’s Delvon Beam intercepted quarterback D’Wan Mathis to start the second quarter. While the original drive stalled out, the Golden Knights recovered their own punt to keep possession. With Gannon on the goal line, Harris’ pass was intercepted for a 100-yard pick six touchdown to extend the deficit to eight. This ended a 14-play possession that took up 11 minutes of the clock. The Golden Knights missed a field goal before the half and trailed 14-6.
After forcing a punt to start the second half, Gannon had a solid drive that led into enemy territory. Davenport’s Kennedy Nelson forced and recovered a fumble for the Golden Knights’ third turnover of the game. The Panthers’ Cephus Harris scored his second rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 21-6.
Gannon’s offense started the fourth quarter in the red zone but failed to capitalize converting on fourth down. Davenport’s next drive resulted in a punt. The Golden Knights then ran 16 plays and found the end zone for a second time. Harris found freshman receiver Darien Fowlkes for a 16-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion made it 21-12 Panthers. Davenport would run the clock while Gannon suffered its first loss of the 2025 regular season.
Quarterback Anthony Harris had a solid debut throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 101 yards on the ground. Head coach Erik Raeburn felt the team “played well enough to win on defense” but felt “turnovers and down in the red zone not punching in those opportunities were killer.”
The Golden Knights fell to 0-1 in the new season. The team will hit the road next week for a battle against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. in University Center, Mi.
