TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Lock Haven’s Ezequiel Johnson (7) celebrates following Saturday’s football vs. Gannon on Saturday at Hubert Jack Stadium. The Bald Eagles won 49-28 to clinch their first winning season since 1981.

History was made last Saturday, as the Lock Haven Bald Eagles clinched their first winning season since 1981 in emphatic fashion. The Bald Eagles took to Hubert Jack Stadium for the final time in 2025, beating the Gannon Golden Knights, 49-28, on senior day.

Here are my five takeaways from the game:

BREAKING THE CURSE

It has been a point talked to death at this point in Lock Haven circles, but the big story going into Saturday’s game was that Lock Haven had the chance to finish a season over .500 for the first time since 1981. In that 1981 season, led by the late Jack Fisher, Lock Haven finished 6-4, ending their season on a two-game win streak.

The Bald Eagles had a chance to break the curse two years ago against Edinboro, a game they ended up losing 36-30. Then last year Lock Haven got to five wins for a second year in a row, but once again fell short of a winning season. It felt like for two years they were flirting with destiny, but just couldn’t get over the hump.

Finally, on Saturday, the Bald Eagles were able to capture the moment they had been waiting for, doing so in a big way. From the opening kick to the final whistle, the Bald Eagles were in full control, dominating offensively and smothering the Gannon offense for much of the game.

Playing the role of curse breaker is not an easy one, and this 2025 group is one who will go down in history as the ones to finally put the narrative to bed.

OFFENSE FIRED ON ALL CYLINDERS

It had been an up-and-down ride for the Lock Haven offense at points during the season, especially early on.

But over the last five weeks, it’s felt like they’ve been almost unstoppable, saving the best for last. It was a day to remember on the offensive side for the Bald Eagles, totaling 687 yards of total offense, the most they have had in a single game this season by a wide margin.

Rushing wise, it was a great day for Damir Green, who ran for 85 yards and one touchdown. Tack on to that 30-plus yards on the ground for Lorenzo Robinson, Ezequiel Johnson, and Cureem Hathcock and in total, the Bald Eagles tallied 228 yards in total rushing.

While the ground game may have shined on Saturday, the Lock Haven passing offense went supernova.

In his final game in the Crimson and White, quarterback Jackson Ostrowsky delivered his best performance of his career, totaling 459 passing yards and five touchdowns. That marks the third time in four weeks Ostrowsky threw for four or more TDs (Shippensburg, Millersville).

Receiving wise, Lock Haven had some standouts as well, with Mekhi Watson, Justin Popovich, and Jaden Huntingdon all going over 100-yards receiving with five touchdowns combined.

EMPTIED THEIR BACK OF TRICKS

In the last game of their season, the Bald Eagles were not shy to unload all of the trick plays they had set going into the season.

For Lock Haven, they have been a fan of running flea flicker trickery this year, almost once every two weeks bringing out a variation of the same set and have found great success. Well Saturday they ramped it up another notch, scoring three touchdowns on fake reverse plays.

The first score of the game came thanks to a flea flicker, as a fake handoff to Johnson led to a pitch back to Ostrowsky, who found a wide-open Popovich in the end zone. Then, Watson found a score of his own, this time on a reverse play as he was able to find the edge and walk in a 20-yard score. And in the third quarter, Ostrowsky found Huntingdon on another flea flicker play.

Offensive creativity has been the name of the game for Lock Haven under Joe Battaglia, as some may remember the viral flea-flicker Hail Mary game winner against Clarion a few years ago. Battaglia was the offensive coordinator that season, but now in his first year as a head coach, his offense has taken trickeration to another level.

SENIORS SHINED, AS THEY HAD ALL SEASON LONG

On top of all the history that Saturday’s game had, it was also Senior Day.

In total, Lock Haven had 11 seniors walk before the game as Ostrowsky, Green, Rhys McDonald, Tyler Merwarth, Jimmy O’Brien, Cole Transue, Blake Griesemer, Izaiah Scott, Markel Morgan, Ethan Fike, Rob Footman Jr. Evan Sylstra, Davien Vernon, Elijah Alexandre, Jakai Bogertey and Davante Embrey-Banks all took the field for the final time as Bald Eagles.

All eleven of those names made big impacts for Lock Haven during their careers, and made their mark during this curse breaking season. After the game, both Morgan and Vernon talked about what it meant to be the leaders of this Haven team, as two seniors who have been with the program through thick and thin.

“It means a lot.” Vernon said after the game when talking about what the win on senior day meant to him. “I trusted the process, I trusted my teammates, I trusted the love and the community that we have, I’m happy I did.”

“It feels great.” Morgan added, “I’ve been here since 2021, to get here, it feels good.”

A NEW BAR HAS BEEN SET

After the game Lock Haven head coach Joe Battaglia put it simply, he was glad to be the coach to guide this team to six wins, but also, he knows that the bar has been set higher now than it has been in some time.

“It’s good to get the monkey off the back” Battaglia said when asked about his thoughts on the win and how the trajectory of the program is going up. “I told the guys in the locker room it’s the last time we ever talk about a six-win season, the standard is rising at Lock Haven football, the future is bright and we are ready to roll.”

The Bald Eagles have gotten better each of the last four years, and there is no reason to believe that this program – with this group at its helm – won’t continue to rise to new heights over the coming years.