Boxscore

CLARION, Pa. – Behind a 22-point fourth quarter, Clarion rallied from a 13-7 halftime deficit to complete a 29-25 come-from-behind victory in front of 1,101 fans at Memorial Stadium. 

Clarion improves to 5-3 overall, 4-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division while Mercyhurst drops to 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the PSAC West. 

Mercyhurst dominated the first half, gaining 177 yards of total offense while limiting Clarion to just 119 yards, but the Lakers could not contain the Golden Eagles offense in the second half. Clarion finished with 374 yards of total offense, including 241 during the fourth-quarter rally. 

After a Ben Jennings 1-yard run at the end of the third, the Lakers led 19-10 midway through the final stanza before the Golden Eagles Alfonso Hoggard hauled in a 36-yard pass from Tyler Huether to cut the Mercyhurst lead to 19-17. 

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Andrew Bailey raced 93-yards to give the Lakers a 25-17 lead with 8:14 remaining after a Robert Giambra kicked failed. 

However, the Golden Eagles held the ball for 6:09 of the remaining minutes and used a Jacques Robinson 25-yard touchdown reception, followed by a Hoggard 22-yard touchdown run, to take the victory from the Lakers. 

Mercyhurst got on the board first in its second drive of the game with a 10-yard catch by Max Khuri from Joe Laffey to cap off a seven-play, 68-yard drive that took 3:44 off the clock. 

Laffey was perfect on the drive, connecting with Khuri on the first play for a nine-yard catch. Ben Jennings then totaled eight yards on back-to-carries. On 2nd-and-6 from the Lakers own 49-yardline, Laffey hit Jennings for a 4-yard pass but a facemask penalty on Clarion surged the drive forward 15 yards and set up a first down from the Clarion 32-yardline. Laffey then connected with tight end Josh Szeluga for a clutch 19-yard gain, and two plays later Khuri added his third receiving touchdown on the year. That total leads all Mercyhurst receivers. 

Giambra's point after attempt failed, giving the Lakers a 6-0 lead. 

Mercyhurst added another score thanks Leon Gallup's first career touchdown after Clarion's Robert Mamula left short a 49-yard field goal. 

Gallup was in the right place at the right time for his first trip to paydirt. On 2nd-and-11 from the Clarion 11, Laffey fired to Trevor Kennedy, who caught the ball at the 2-yardline and fumbled the ball high into the air after being hit by Clarion's David Dunn. Luck was on the Lakers side as Gallup was able to snatch the ball from midair and enter the end zone, giving Mercyhurst a 13-0 advantage. 

The Golden Eagles answered with a touchdown in their next possession after Hoggard hit paydirt with a 1-yard rush on third down. Hoggard played an integral part of that 10-play, 66 yard drive, participating in seven plays, including a 17-yard reception on 2nd-and-18 one play after Tim Herbener and Bryan Boyce dropped quarterback Tyler Huether for a loss of eight yards. 

The Lakers had another chance to score with 14 seconds left in the half but Giambra's 25-yard attempt went wide left, sending Mercyhurst to the locker room with a 13-7 lead. 

In team statistics, Mercyhurst finished with 288 yards total offense, including 185 through the air. Meanwhile, Clarion finished with 374 yards of offense, with 283 yards through the air. 

Laffey completed 15-of-27 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns while his counterpart Huether completed 20 passes in 33 attempts for 283 yards and two scores. 

Robinson led all receivers with game-highs, catching seven passes for 96 yards and a score. For the Lakers, Kennedy led the squad for the fourth-straight game as he collected four catches and 74 yards. 

Defensively, Tim Herbener posted a game-high 11 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss.

Next up for Mercyhurst is the final home game of the regular season this Saturday, Oct. 24 when the Lakers host rival and nationally-ranked No. 12 Edinboro. Kickoff is set for 12 noon. Viewers in the Erie/Edinboro area can watch the game live on WSEE-35. 

**Notes
The Lakers fall to 1-2-1 on games played on Oct. 17 

Mercyhurst moves to 1-3 on the road in 2009. 

The 29-25 setback is the first loss at Memorial Stadium. 

Josh Szeluga becomes the fifth player in Mercyhurst history to total 100 or more receptions with his three catches. He now owns fourth-place on the all-time receptions chart with 102 and moves into seventh all-time in receiving yards with 1,244. 

Bailey's 93-yard kickoff return was the first since Chris Williams went 42 yards against Northern Michigan on Sept. 4, 2004. 

Kennedy has led the team in receptions and yards for the past 4 games.