Boxscore

INDIANA, Pa. -- With 26 seconds remaining, Travis Rearick fired a 28-yard touchdown strike to Trevor Kennedy that gave Mercyhurst College a 28-27 come-from-behind victory over Indiana (Pa.) in front of 4,861 fans celebrating the Crimson Hawks Homecoming. 

The Lakers (4-2, 2-1 PSAC West) trailed 27-21 after IUP's Craig Burgess kicked his second field goal of the game from 36 yards out with 1:52 left. Mercyhurst then marched 68 yards on just six plays, including a 21-yard pass to #R.J. Miller# on 3rd and 4, to set up the game-winning score. 

The Lakers' Ryan Taylor secured the upset on IUP's (4-2, 2-1 PSAC West) final drive when he intercepted Bo Napoleon at the Crimson Hawks' 37-yardline on their first play. 

In his first career start, Rearick torched IUP for 344 yards and three touchdowns on 32 completions in 53 attempts, all of which set career-highs for the red-shirt junior. He also added the Lakers first score of the day with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to mark the first of his career in that category. 

A stellar performance from start to finish, Rearick was perhaps most effective when the Lakers needed him the most. With 1:46 remaining in the game and the Lakers down 27-21, Rearick was nearly perfect as he willed Mercyhurst down the field on the strength of his passing. He threw for all 68 yards in the drive and completed 5-of-6 passes, including two passes for more than 20 yards. 

The Laker defense aided the comeback effort in the second half, holding the Crimson Hawks to just 10 points. The Lakers stalled IUP's running game in its drive prior to the Mercyhurst game-winning touchdown and forced a 36-yard field goal from Craig Burgess. 

Facing a 1st-and-10 from the Mercyhurst 14-yardline, IUP's standout running back Harvie Tuck was held to just one yard before Kevin Williams and Tim Herbener stuffed him for no gain on 2nd-and-9. Williams came up big on the next play as he caught Roy-al Edwards for a 6-yard loss the Mercyhurst 19-yardline and forced the Crimson Hawks to settle for a field goal. 

The Crimson Hawks' field goal was the only offensive points for IUP in the second half and their first score since the 7-minute mark of the third quarter when Johnny Franco intercepted Rearick at the Mercyhurst 30-yardline and returned it for a touchdown. All told, the Lakers defense forced three punts and recorded an interception in the second half to stymie the IUP offense. 

The Lakers added their only other score in the second half just before the IUP defensive touchdown when Terrence Coon's 18-yard touchdown catch with 8:44 remaining in the third gave the Lakers a slim 21-17 advantage. 

The drive took just over six minutes off the clock as Mercyhurst went 78 yards in nine plays, and IUP committed two past interference penalties. The Lakers held the ball for nearly 11 minutes in the third quarter and racked up an 11-minute advantage in time of possession (35:30-24:30). 

Coon was one of two primary targets for Rearick on the day as the red-shirt freshman collected career-highs with 12 catches for 112 yards and his first career touchdown. 

Rearick's other favorite target was Kennedy, who grabbed career-highs in catches (9) and yards (115) while recording his first two receiving touchdowns for the first time in his career. 

Kennedy's first touchdown strike came with 3:24 remaining in the first half to help turn a 17-7 deficit into a slim 17-14 halftime advantage for IUP. That drive lasted for just over five minutes as the Lakers again methodically plodded 70 yards down the field in 10 plays. 

IUP broke open the scoring quickly as Napoleon hit Mychal Skinner for a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game. Then, just over five minutes later the Crimson Hawks rolled to a 10-0 advantage on Burgess' 25-yard field goal. 

Rearick's five-yard scamper with 1:43 remaining quarter broke the Lakers' scoreless streak.
IUP answered to start the second quarter as Napoleon directed the Crimson Hawks to a 17-7 advantage when he found Nate Morrow for a two-yard touchdown pass. 

Tuck led all rushers with 160 yards on 278 attempts while the Lakers Anderson was held below 100 yards rushing for the first time in five games, collecting just 15 yards on 13 carries against one of the league's dominant run defenses. 

Bryan Boyce led the Lakers defense with nine tackles while Dan Kruper and Williams each added eight stops.  Kruper had two tackles for loss while Williams recorded one.  Taylor and Ian Wild each had an interception.

Franco led IUP with 13 tackles, including 11 solo.

Next up for the Lakers is its final road game of the season, and sixth in seven games, when Mercyhurst travels to county-rival Edinboro on Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., and it will be regionally televised on WFXP-66. 

Notes:
In his first career start, Travis Rearick registered career-highs in attempts (53), completions (32), yards (344) and passing touchdowns (3). The red-shirt junior also posted his first career rushing touchdown of the game. 

The Lakers 344 passing yards is the most since a Sept. 29, 2007 loss against Ashland in which Mercyhurst threw for 455 yards in a 59-43 setback, with Mitch Phillis throwing for 324 yards. It is the highest passing total since Jeff Nowling threw for 382 in 2004 in a 43-37 loss against Gannon. 

Mercyhurst wide receiver Terrence Coon posted his first career touchdown and recorded career-highs with 12 catches for 112 yards. 

Another wide receiver in Trevor Kennedy posted career-highs with nine catches for 115 yards. He also caught two touchdowns in a single game for the first time in his career. 

The last time a Mercyhurst receiver totaled 100 or more yards came against IUP a year ago when Max Khuri registered 154 yards on nine catches in a 20-16 upset of then-ranked No. 21 IUP. 

The last time two Mercyhurst receivers posted 100+ yardage efforts came in 2005 when Calvin Kelly posted 4-for-114 and Dan Schuler added 6-for-168 in a 40-35 loss at Northern Michigan on Sept. 3.
Contributing to Rearick's career-day, Matt Mohr registered a new career-high in yardage (27) while tying his personal-best mark for catches (3). 

Punter Chad Tibbitts saw his first collegiate action at the position, booting the ball four times for 147 yards with a long punt of 40 and one inside the 20-yardline. 

Gerald Anderson moved into ninth all-time with 1,282 career rushing yards.

Trevor Kennedy moves into 19th-place all-time with 788 receiving yards.

Bryan Boyce takes over 14th-place all-time with 254 career tackles.

Mercyhurst won for the first time at Miller Stadium and improves to 2-1 in the all-time series, including winning the last two contests.