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 two defenders in front of him just feet from lighting him up, Whitaker threw caution to the wind.
“I just let it fly hoping it didn’t get picked,” Whitaker said with a smile. “I felt a lot of pain right after but I saw him catch it and knew we were getting ready to score.”
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Mason, who had six catches for 94 yards, leaped up to grab the catch between two defenders at the 20-yard line. A few plays later, the Edinboro defense lost track of Mason as he caught a wide-open pass in the right flat, juked a defender and scored for the Golden Knights.
“Coach (Erik) Raeburn dialed up a great play and we work on those end-of-game plays all the time,” Whitaker said. “As soon as he popped open I found him. I t was a little weird him being that wide open but I’ll take it.”
Whitaker does it all
In addition to throwing for 191 yards and the game-winning touchdown, Whitaker, who was questionable to play because of injury, ran for 68 yards and three touchdowns as the offensive line continued to open up lanes in the middle of the field.
“Jayden played great and he’s played good all season,” Raeburn said. “He made some incredible plays and we didn’t do a good job handling the pressure so he was always under pressure. The wind was also crazy but once he figured that out he played incredibly not just passing but with his feet as well.”
The last time a Gannon quarterback ran for three touchdowns in a game was Joey Cox in 2019. The wide receiver filled in at quarterback because of injuries and ran for three scores in a 28-27 loss at Lock Haven on Nov. 16, 2019.
Quarterbacks on the run
The two defenses stacked up sacks on Saturday as both quarterbacks were under constant pressure. Zach Malpica had 2½ sacks and Cory Gross had ½ of a sack for Edinboro, while David Francis had 1½ sacks, Charles Calhoun, Jerome Treadwell and Zaire Allen each had one sack and Rasheed Frederic had ½ of a sack for Gannon.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Gannon scores in final minute to stun Edinboro in football thriller
