LHU Football secures first winning season in 44 years with victory over Gannon in season finale
Bald Eagles dominate start to finish on the way to 49-28 win; The victory pushed Lock Haven to sixth win of season to secure first winning season since 1981
Box Score
https://www.lockhavenathletics.com/sports/football/stats/2025/gannon/boxscore/12919
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven football team secured its first winning season in 44 years behind a dominating 49-28 victory over visiting Gannon (1-10, 1-5 PSAC West) today (Saturday, Nov. 15) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East-West clash.
The Bald Eagles dominated the game from start to finish – much to the delight of the home Hubert Jack Stadium crowd.
The victory, Lock Haven’s sixth of the season helped the Bald Eagle clinch their first winning season since 1981.
The Bald Eagles finished the season 6-5 overall after going 4-3 in PSAC Eastern Division action. The victory today on the home turf helped The Haven finished 3-3 at home this season.
Today also marked Lock Haven’s 2025 Senior Day and prior to the start of the game, the Bald Eagles honored: Jackson Ostrowsky, Rhys McDonald, Tyler Merwarth, Damir Green, Jimmy O’Brien, Cole Transue, Blake Griesemer, Izaiah Scott, Markel Morgan, Ethan Fike, Rob Footman Jr., Evan Sylstra, Davien Vernon, Elijah Alexandre and Devante Embrey-Banks.
The Bald Eagles jumped on Gannon early and led 21-0 at halftime on the way to the thrilling victory.
Once again, it was the play from Ostrowsky at quarterback that sparked the offensive surge. He threw for 459 yards (31-for-43) and five touchdowns.
Mekhi Watson and Jaiden Huntington combined for four TD catches as each hauled in a pair. Justin Popovich also had a touchdown grab. All three targets finished with over 100 receiving yards.
Watson also rushed for a score as he combined for a notable three touchdowns in the win.
Green – a running back who was celebrated in pregame – also rushed for a score.
Watson finished with 169 yards on 10 receptions (2 TDs), while Popovich hauled in seven catches for 128 yards (1 TD) and Huntington finished with 104 receiving yards (7 REC., 2 TDS) to cap the monster day. Jake Roberts added four catches.
Ostrowsky’s five TD passes matched a career-high.
Green rushed for 85 total yards (1 TD) on 11 carries.
Vernon celebrated senior day by leading the Lock Haven defense with six tackles.
Rocco Daugherty’s stellar outing certainly help cement the lopsided win. He finished with five tackles and two interceptions.
Raheem Reid added five tackles for the Bald Eagles.
Ostrowsky and Popovich opened the scoring with 2:27 left in the opening period when they connected on a 26-yard pass play. Watson made it 14-0 when he scored on a 20-yard run early in the second quarter. Green pushed his way into the end zone from one yard out and Lock Haven led 21-0 at halftime.
The offense continued to soar in the second half, and Ostrowsky and Huntington connected from 21 yards out to make it 28-0 just 1:15 into the third quarter.
The Bald Eagles scored 14 points in both the third and four quarters as they pulled away for the historic victory.
The winning season was secured in large part because of tremendous play during the second half of the season.
After a 1-3 start, Lock Haven won five of the last seven games on the schedule.
The 5-2 run down the stretch put an exclamation point on an all-around sensational season for first-year head coach Joe Battaglia and his coaching staff. The six wins are believed to be the most for a first-year Lock Haven head coach since H.J. Kaiser led Lock Haven to seven wins in 1931.
After back-to-back five-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, the six wins this season push Lock Haven’s three-year run to 16, the most since 16 wins from 1980-82.
With a winning season in hand, the Bald Eagles remain “locked in” for the future as the remarkable turnaround for the program continues.
