Gannon’s Marc Jones (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) has been named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Football Offensive Player of the Week after his record-setting performance last Saturday against No. 21 Slippery Rock.

Jones broke the PSAC record for rushing yards in a game with 354, finishing 64 yards shy of the NCAA Division II record. The junior tailback also broke school records for rushing yards and all-purpose yards (449) while tying program records for rushing touchdowns (4) and total touchdowns (5). He finished with 354 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, four receptions, 95 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown, 449 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns.

The NCAA Division II rushing leader has generated 878 yards through the first four games, sitting 217 yards ahead of the next best rusher. His ground total is better than any player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Division, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and NCAA Division II.

Jones recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game and fifth in 15 games as a Golden Knight last Saturday. He is the second Gannon player in program history to open a season with four consecutive 100-yard games. Only Brock Jones has performed the feat in 2014. Jones’ 878 rushing yards are the most by a Golden Knight during the first four games of a season since at least 1998. He needs only 36 more yards to enter Gannon’s all-time top-10 in single-season yards despite not being at the season’s halfway point yet.

The Painesville, Ohio, native was consistent throughout the game that was played in steamy conditions with sunny skies and temperatures in the 80’s. Jones rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns during the first half. He had 77 yards and one touchdown during the first quarter, before adding 82 yards and one touchdown during the second quarter. Jones then came out of halftime with 113 yards and one touchdown during the third quarter. He ended the game with 83 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 51 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown during the fourth quarter. In all, he totaled 196 rushing yards and three total touchdowns during the second half.

Jones gave Gannon the lead on three different occasions with touchdowns. He had a 51-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving Gannon a 38-33 lead after previously trailing 27-13. Jones’ most important run of the day came with 2:38 left in regulation when he ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run that gave the Golden Knights a 45-42 lead.

Gannon (1-3, 0-1) returns to action Saturday, September 30 at rival Mercyhurst. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. The contest can be seen live locally on The CW and ESPN College Extra, as well as with the ESPN3 online stream.