Oct. 28, 2006

Stats

ERIE, Pa. - Richard Stokes ran for 121 yards and a pair of scores and Brandon Hill caught two touchdowns on a wet and windy day at Tullio Field in a 32-7 win over Northern Michigan.

Mercyhurst (3-6, 3-6 GLIAC) rushed for a season-high 196 yards on a day that featured a 30-minute lightning delay to open the second half, had temperatures in the low 40s, rain, snow, hail and winds gusting over 30 miles per hour.

The defense also came up big for the Lakers, holding the GLIAC's leading passer, Buddy River, to just 12-of-35 and limited the Wildcats to just 88 yards on the ground.

The Lakers got on the board near the end of the first quarter after a punt by Thomas Labuz got hung up in the wind and traveled just 12 yards and Adam Brown recovered the ball at the Northern Michigan (2-6, 2-6 GLIAC) 37. After a pair of rushes by Stokes picked moved the chains, Hill hauled in a 27-yard pass in the back of the end zone for a 6-0 lead.

Near the end of the first quarter, Stokes blocked his second punt of the year and Frank Ziegler recovered to give Mercyhurst great field position at the Northern Michigan 16. On third and 13, Phillis connected with Hill, who scampered down the sideline for a 19-yard touchdown, his second of the game with 14:46 to play to take a 13-0 lead.

After another Wildcat punt, Mercyhurst took over at their own 20 and marched 80 yards in 14 plays. The drive grinded 8:13 off the game clock and featured 13 runs, including 53 yards on 10 carries by Dave Stallard. Stallard fittingly capped the drive with a three-yard run as Mercyhurst took a commanding 20-0 lead with just over 4:00 left in the half.

The Wildcats had an opportunity to score late in the half after an interception gave Northern Michigan the ball at the Mercyhurst 27. A holding penalty backed the Wildcats up, but a 25-yard pass from Rivera to Wells got Northern Michigan into the red zone at the Laker 17. The Laker defense held up, forcing four straight incompletions to end the half. Bryan Boyce had a pass breakup on first down and Charlie Gleisner and Grant Meczka hurried Rivera on second an fourth downs.

When the two teams emerged from the locker rooms, lightning forced them back before the opening kick.

Northern Michigan recovered an onsides kick to open the half when play finally resumed and drove for its lone score of the game. Rivera hit Joseph Ahrndt for 37 yards and Mark Bossuah ran for a three-yard score.

The Lakers wasted no time answering back to take a 26-7 lead. Stokes' 32-yard touchdown run up the right sideline after side-stepping a defender finished off an eight-play, 80-yard drive.

Stokes ran for his second touchdown with 4:14 left after the defense forced a turnover on downs in Wildcat territory. Phillis hit Ziegler for 17 yards on the drive and Stokes ran it in from the seven for the 32-7 lead.

Stokes rushed for his 121 yards on 24 carries. Stallard added 67 yards on 16 rushes and scored once.

With the running game firing on all cylinders, Mitch Phillis attempted just 11 passes, completing seven for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He ended the game with 3,501 yards, becoming just the fifth Laker to top the 3,500 career yard mark.

Hill hauled in both scores and had 62 yards on four catches.

Boyce led the defense with 11 tackles. Jimmy Kokrak added eight stops and a sack. In all, the Lakers sacked Rivera twice, hurried him eight other times and forced him to fumble once.

Rivera entered the game first in the conference in passing yards and second in completion percentage, but threw for just 191 yards on 12-of-35 passing. Rivera also led the team in rushing with 32 yards. Fred Wells caught five passes for 106 yards. Nicholas Bloch and Pete Tuccini tied Boyce with a game-high 11 tackles.

By limiting the Wildcats to 279 yards, the defense fell a yard shy of its best performance of the season. The Lakers gave up only 278 yards to Findlay on October 14.

The game marked Senior Day at Tullio Field. Mike Bukky, Andrew Cisan, Alan Dailide, Brooks Davidson, Owen Evans, Doug Kastner, Roger McClinton, Grant Meczka, Michael Moore, Jeff Nowling, Dan Salupo, Phil Scanlon, Dan Schuler, Goran Soldo, and Mark Watson were honored before the game.

Mercyhurst closes its season with at Indianapolis on November 4 at 1:00 PM.