EXPRESS BLANK SAINTS TO REMAIN UNBEATEN

by Erie Express Media

Pittsburgh, PA: The Erie Express came into Pittsburgh the same way they left, perfect on the season. The 2019 Xtreme West Division Champions faced off against the Saints who were 2019 division champions as well in the PAFL. The Saints were looking for their first win of the 2021 season after a tough road loss last week to the Fire.  

Pittsburgh won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Corey McWilliams again filled in at quarterback for Brandon Hanna who was out with coaching obligations, and led the opening drive down to the Saints 15 before a tipped ball resulted in a Saints interception. Erie would force a punt and on the next possession McWilliams would find Bud Brown on a 10 yard pass to open the scoring. Adam Scarpino added the extra point and Erie took the lead 7-0 with 3:34 in the first. The Express executed an onside kick recovered by Mark Johnson. McWilliams would then hit Terry Jackson on 9yd pass the extra point was blocked and Erie led 13-0 after the first.      

At the 5:38 mark of the second quarter Express running back Donte Harden, a former Saint himself (NFL-New Orleans) ran it in from 2 yards out. The extra point snap was bad and Erie led 19-0. The Express defense would add the next points of the game when linebacker Youssef Barakat sacked the Saints quarterback in the end zone adding 2 points to the scoreboard at the 4:53 mark. McWilliams would find Koran Williams on an 18 yard pass, Scarpino's kick was good. Defensive back O'Sha Jackson would intercept the Saints on their next possession and the Express took a 28-0 lead into the half. Erie's offense racked up 206 first half yards while the defense held the Saints to 9 yards and recorded 6 first half sacks. 

On the second play of the second half Express defensive lineman Dajuan Smith recorded the 100th sack of his career. He would finish the day with 2 sacks. The Saints were forced to punt, the ball was mishandled in the end zone and Zsolt Bonyai and Micah Glus would tackle the Saints punter at the 1yd line. At 10:58 of the third Harden would again find the end zone from a yard out, the extra point snap was mishandled and Erie led 34-0. McWilliams would call his own number on the Express next possession and punched it in from 4 yards out with DeAngelo Levert adding the 2 point try to end the scoring at 42-0. The Express made it to the Saints 3 yard line on their next possession but the Saints came up with a big interception on another tipped ball to end that drive. Erie would force another Saints punt and again marched the ball to the Saints 1 yard line. An altercation between the Saints coaches and refs resulted in the game being called with 9:47 remaining in the 4th quarter. Erie finished the game with 244 yards of offense while holding the Saints to -45 yards. The Express defense was led by Linebacker Mike McKinnon and Defensive End Kristopher Ford who recorded 8 of the Express 13 sacks for the game. 

Erie News Now | WICU & WSEE in Erie, PA

Erie is off this week but will be in action again on July 10th as they host the Cleveland Cobras at Saxson Stadium on the beautiful campus of Mercyhurst University. Kickoff is set for 5pm with intros starting at 4:45. We hope to see you there but if you cannot make there will be a live broadcast of the game available on our Facebook channel. GO EXPRESS!

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LB-Mike McKinnon on being named the Rebright Exterior Cleaning Defensive Player of the Week. In last week's 42-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Saints, Mike had a team high 8 tackles including 5 tackles for loss for -38 yards and tied teammate Chris Ford with a team high 4 sacks. Mike currently is in a tie for the sack lead in the GDFL with 8.  

WR-Corey McWilliams on being named the Rebright Exterior Cleaning Offensive Player of the Week. For the second week in a row filling in for Brandon Hanna as our quarterback, McWilliams led us to a 42-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Saints. On the day McWilliams was 9/18 passing for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns. Corey added another 55 yards and a TD on the ground. 

K-Adam Scarpino on being named the Rebright Exterior Cleaning Special Teams Player of the Week. In last week's 42-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Saints, Scarpino was 2 for 2 on extra points and had a successful onside kick.  

The Express will be in action again July 10th as we host the Cleveland Cobras at Saxson Stadium on the beautiful campus of Mercyhurst University. Kickoff is set for 5pm with intros starting at 4:45. Admission is $10 with children 12 and under FREE. We hope to see you there but if you cannot make it there will be a LIVE broadcast of the game available on our Facebook page. GO EXPRESS!

 

CLICK BELOW AND SAVE 20% ON ALL TICKETS! 

AT CHECKOUT USE PROMO CODE: EXPRESS20