Bald Eagles go out with a win

Written by: William Albright on Saturday, November 16th, 2019. Follow William Albright on Twitter.

Gannon-LHU football – LHU senior day game

By BILL ALBRIGHT

EasternPAFootball.com Senior Writer

LOCK HAVEN — Although there were only four, the Lock Haven University football team was hoping to send the seniors out on a winning note Saturday when the Bald Eagles hosted Gannon University in the season finale at Hubert Jack Stadium.

Getting out of the starting gate at a fast pace, the Bald Eagles saw things get rather dicey late in the game as they literally hung on in the final 2.1 seconds for a 28-27 win to close out the season.

“We (the coaches) made a choice in the off-season to try and improve the character of our program,” said LHU head coach Dave Taynor. “Today we saw some of those freshmen show their resilience in becoming great young men. We were pretty much outmatched in every game we played, but I am extremely proud of them for the way they battled. We were playing with some deficits such as experience and scholarships. When you look at the culmination of the season, this is the first time that LHU had the offensive totals we had. Although they are young, the defense showed some resiliency today. They took a big step forward as young men and I am very proud of them.”

The Bald Eagles featured a balanced offense en route to the win.

Quarterback Kyle Knight put the lid on his outstanding season as he went 17-for-21 for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Chantz Swartz finished with another 100-plus game, the former Juniata High School product finishing with 15 carries for 127 yards and one score.

On the receiving end of Knight’s passes were former Bald Eagle Area speedster Bryan Greene with 6 catches for 104 yards, while Alex Lantz caught four balls for another 69 yards and one score.

Former Williamsport Jalen Jackson was only targeted once for nine yards, but it was good for a touchdown.

The Bald Eagles took a 13-0 lead on two first-quarter touchdowns, a 16-yard scoring strike from Knight to Lantz and Jackson’s TD reception that covered nine yards.

Gannon cut the LHU lead to less than three minutes into the second period, but that is when Swartz ripped off a 15-yard jaunt to the house.

Gannon came back with a pair of touchdowns to cut the LHU lead to 21-20, but Knight made it 28-21 with a 31-yard run with 3:57 left on the clock.

Making their way down the field for a 75-yard score with 2 seconds left, the Knights weren’t going to go away easy. Having the decision to make as to whether to kick the PAT or go for two, they decided to go for the win, but the pass for the two-point conversion failed and when LHU recovered the onside kick, the victory was all but into the books.

Participating in their final game as an LHU gridder on Senior Day were Stevie Pugh, Christian Rumerty, Ryan Herrera and Alex Welch.

For Welch, a former standout athlete while playing his high school ball for Hughesville, the contest closed out an outstanding season in his solid collegiate career. As for his future, that is currently up in the air because if he wants to take it, he has another year of eligibility.

“I have the decision to make before next year,” said Welch. “I will graduate before next season, but with the extra year of eligibility, if we can work out a master’s program, I might come back. My mother wants me to play one more year, but right now that is up in the air.”

“Alex Welch is a man,” said Taynor. “He is going to graduate here as a leader and an extraordinary student. I would love to see him come back and play another year because he can.”

Despite the 2-9 record, the 2019 LHU offensive unit recorded a major milestone as it became the first offense in school history to finish the season with over 2,000 yards rushing (2,175 yds.) and passing (2,165 yds.).

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