Video credits: Photography, video and production by Ethan Magoc
Narration by Tyler Frey and John Baranowski, WCME 88.5 FM
Music by Alex Pauken
No. 5 Bloomsburg 17, Mercyhurst 7
ERIE, Pa. – A strong defensive effort by Mercyhurst held No. 5 Bloomsburg scoreless for nearly the entire first half, but an interception by the Huskies defense with just over a minute left in the second quarter proved to be the momentum changer as Bloomsburg defeated the Lakers, 17-7.
Bloomsburg improves to 3-0 while Mercyhurst falls to 1-2 on the season.
Both teams were forced to punt in their opening series as the Laker and Husky defenses foreshadowed the battle that would follow, and the Lakers defense turned up the intensity on the next two Bloomsburg drives, forcing the Huskies to turn the ball over on downs deep in Mercyhurst territory.
Bloomsburg faced a 4th-and-2 from the Mercyhurst 24-yardline but could not convert as linebacker Kevin Williams stopped running back Kenny Domzalski while on the next series, defensive lineman Stew Myers stuffed Latorre for no gain on 4th-and-4 from the Lakers 37-yardline.
Meanwhile, the Bloomsburg defense was just as tough and did not allow the Lakers past midfield in the opening stanza.
The second quarter was much of the same, with Bloomsburg punting on its first possession and Mercyhurst handing the ball over on downs at the Huskies 24-yardline with 5:55 remaining in the half after punting in its first series.
In its next possession, Bloomsburg got on the board first as the Huskies used a career-long 47-yard field goal by Jon Koenig to cap an eight-play, 46-yard scoring drive and take a 3-0 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
However, the Lakers could not answer in their next possession as Huskies linebacker Anthony Smith picked off Joe Laffey for his first career interception at the Mercyhurst 28-yardline and returned it 15 yards to the Lakers 23-yardline.
From there, Bloomsburg used three plays and 44 seconds off the clock to make it a 10-0 advantage at halftime on a 1-yard run by quarterback Dan Latorre.
In the third quarter, the defenses again held strong with neither team putting points on the scoreboard. Bloomsburg had a chance to stretch the lead, but Koenig's 45-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right to end the Huskies only threat of the quarter.
Mercyhurst advanced to into Bloomsburg territory just once in the third but the Huskies picked off Laffey for the second time, this time thanks to the efforts of defensive back Jesse Cooper at the Bloomsburg 11-yardline.
Bloomsburg scored its final touchdown of the day with 14:53 remaining in the fourth quarter after Latorre connected with Chris Tressler for 41 yards to set up a Kenny Domzalski 1-yard touchdown rush.
For Mercyhurst, the Lakers avoided their first shut out at home since 1996 thanks to a nine-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown strike from Laffey to senior tight end Josh Szeluga who was alone in the home corner of the south endzone. Prior to the Szeluga reception, Laffey hit Trevor Kennedy for a 21-yard gain on 1st-and-10.
The Lakers offense had another shot at scoring after Latorre fumbled on 3rd-and 3 from the Mercyhurst 47-yardline and an alert Alex Trouten recovered the ball for the Lakers. However, the Huskies defense came up big to force change of possession on downs to halt the Lakers last real scoring attempt.
A defensive battle from beginning to end, neither team had over 300 yards total offense and of the 32 possessions in the game, 20 ended in either punts or turnover on downs, including 10 of 14 in the first half.
Bloomsburg finished with 245 yards total offense (133 rushing, 112 passing) while Mercyhurst finished with 192 total yards (62 rushing, 130 passing).
Latorre completed 12-of-24 passes for 112 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions while his counterpart Laffey ended with career-high 19 completions in 36 attempts for 130 yards a touchdown but surrendered three interceptions on the day.
Szeluga paced the receivers with game-highs in receptions (6) and yards (42), moving him into ninth-place all-time in both categories.
Defensively, Tim Herbener and Smith posted a shared-game high with 11 tackles. Herbener also added a sack and three tackles for loss. Ian Wild added nine stops and a tackle for loss while Williams added eight tackles, including a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
