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ERIE, Pa. – Behind a stifling defensive performance, No. 24 Mercyhurst College posted a 21-13 victory over Slippery Rock in front of 1,237 fans at Tullio Field to remain alive in the hunt for a berth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship game on Nov. 13. 

The Lakers, who have now won four straight, improved to 7-2 overall, 5-1 in the PSAC West while Slippery Rock fell to 6-3 overall, 3-3 in the division. The win avenges a 17-16 defeat at The Rock a year ago, but more importantly it keeps the Lakers in a tie with California (Pa.) for first place in the PSAC West after the Vulcans narrowly defeated Indiana (Pa.) in overtime, 18-15. 

With one game remaining in the division, the Lakers can clinch the PSAC West regular-season title with a win against Clarion. Cal clinches the division and a berth in the championship with a win against Edinboro and a Mercyhurst loss. If the Lakers do not qualify for the championship contest they will host Shippensburg as scheduled on Nov. 13. 

Against The Rock, Mercyhurst controlled play for most of the afternoon, with the final score indicating a much closer game than the statistics. 

The Lakers rolled up a huge advantage in time of possession, keeping the ball for 42:05 in comparison to The Rock's 17:55. That led to a nearly 300-yard advantage in total offense as the Lakers put up 367 yards (210 passing, 157 rushing) while SRU garnered just 47 yards of total offense (46 passing, 1 rushing). 

A dominating defensive performance, the Lakers forced The Rock to punt nine times and allowed just six first downs. Mercyhurst held SRU to drives of four plays or less in 13 of its 14 possessions as The Rock ran just 45 offensive plays. 

The Lakers opened the scoring in their first series with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Travis Rearick to Trevor Kennedy that capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive. Kennedy and his defender both ended with their hands on the ball in the north endzone, but Kennedy was able to wrestle the ball free and maintain possession on the bullet from Rearick. 

A pivotal play in the drive for the Lakers came on 4th-and-2 from the SRU 37-yardline. Rearick connected for a nine-yard pass to keep the drive alive, then two plays later Gerald Anderson rushed for 17 yards to set up Kennedy's catch. 

Both teams would trade punts in their next two possessions before The Rock added a 25-yard field goal from C.J. Bahr to cut the lead to 7-3 with just under nine minutes in the second quarter. 

The Lakers responded with a touchdown in their next drive, this time on a three-yard run by Anderson that highlighted a 74-yard drive. Rearick converted on another fourth-down play in the scoring drive, this time hitting Terrence Coon for a 10-yard gain on 4th-and-10 from the SRU 24-yardline. 

After forcing a three-and-out, the Lakers looked poised to threaten again but The Rock was able to force a fumble at the Slippery Rock 40-yardline and return it all the way to the Mercyhurst 21-yardline with just over a minute to play in the first half. It seemed as though The Rock had finally swung the momentum in its favor, but credit a swarming Mercyhurst defense again as the Lakers were able to hold The Rock to a 38-yard field goal and preserve a 14-6 halftime lead. 

Neither team would score again until late in the third quarter when the Lakers capped off a 63-yard, nine-play drive with a 29-yard touchdown strike from Rearick to Coon. Facing a critical fourth down once more, Rearick hit Coon for the score on 4th-and-8 following a Mercyhurst timeout. For the game, the Lakers finished 3-of-4 in fourth-down conversions while holding Slippery Rock to 0-for-1 in fourth-down conversions and 0-for-12 in third-down conversions. 

Rearick finished with 210 yards on 22 completions in 28 attempts and no interceptions. His favorite targets were once again Kennedy and Coon. Kennedy collected a game-high nine receptions for 74 yards while Coon finished with six catches for 84 yards. Jeff Groene also added four receptions.
Anderson quietly amassed 161 yards rushing on the day to lead the Lakers. 

The Rock scored its only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter thanks to its defense. Brandon Burley forced Anderson to fumble at the Mercyhurst 32-yardline where an alert Rock teammate scooped up the free ball and returned it to paydirt. 

From there, the two teams combined for seven possessions in the final 10:47 with no drive lasting longer than five plays. 

The Rock never threatened in any of its final drives, with the Lakers Tim Herbener intercepting Rock quarterback Ryan Sabo in the next to last series. Sabo finished 7-of-26 for 46 yards. 

For the Mercyhurst defense, linebackers Bryan Boyce and Kevin Williams posted a shared team-high six tackles. Boyce also had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and a forced fumble. 

The Lakers pass defense played consistently throughout the afternoon, totaling five pass breakups.
Mercyhurst returns to action on Nov. 6 when the Lakers host Clarion in the PSAC West regular-season finale. Kickoff is set for 12 noon.