Complete Game Notes

INDIANA, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University football team (6-1, 4-0 PSAC West) will put its six-game winning streak on the line against the 20th-ranked Crimson Hawks of Indiana (Pa.) (6-1, 3-1 PSAC West) on Saturday afternoon from George P. Miller Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The six-game winning streak ties the 1985 squad, under head coach Tony DeMeo, for the second-longest in program history. The 2010 PSAC Championship team rattled off seven straight victories.
 
Mercyhurst is coming off a 38-29 victory at crosstown rival Gannon last Saturday, snapping a two-game skid against the Golden Knights in the process. Mercyhurst forced five Gannon turnovers and got 192 yards and a touchdown from redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes in the victory. Senior L.J. Stevens was a thorn in Gannon's side all afternoon, recovering a fumble on the Golden Knights' first drive of the game and then intercepting a pass on Gannon's nex possession. Stevens also returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter to snap a 14-14 tie and put the Lakers ahead for good.

Stevens, for his efforts, was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week and was honored by Beyond Sports Network as the kick returner of the week in Division II.

Earlier in the week, Mercyhurst received votes in the American Football Coaches Association poll for the first time since week four of the 2011 season. The Lakers are the fifth team listed in the AFCA poll, joining Bloomsburg (#4), Shippensburg (#13), California (#14), and Indiana (#20).

IUP is coming off a 26-10 victory over Edinboro last Saturday to improve to 6-1 and 3-1 in the PSAC West. The Crimson Hawks boast the second-best running back in the country, senior Harvie Tuck, who rushed for 178 yards against Edinboro. Tuck averages 167.6 yards per game this season, second only to Bloomsburg's Franklyn Quiteh. IUP also has the nation's best scoring defense (9.29 points per game) and the nation's best defense, in terms of yardage (218.14 yards allowed per game).

The Lakers and Crimson Hawks have split four previous meetings in the all-time series, with IUP winning in overtime at Tullio Field last season by a 35-28 final.

You can hear all of the action on Mercyhurst's radio station, WMCE 88.5 FM, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:45 p.m. from George P. Miller Stadium.

NOTES

Last Week
Mercyhurst snapped a two-game losing streak against its cross-town rivals, Gannon University, last Saturday by the final of 38-29. Mercyhurst forced five Golden Knight turnovers and received 192 yards rushing from redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes in the victory. It was the Lakers' sixth straight victory and they improved to 10-5-1 against Gannon.

Bounce Back From Brown-Dukes
After being held to a season-low 39 yards on 18 carries against Lock Haven, redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes bounced back in a big way against Gannon. He carried the ball a career-high 30 times for 192 yards and a touchdown in the Laker victory. His 37-yard run to essentially close out the third quarter put Mercyhurst ahead 38-21. It marked his fifth 100-yard game of the season and his fourth of 150 yards or more.

Brown-Dukes has rushed for 899 yards, just 101 yards shy of becoming the fourth player in program history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. His 10 rushing touchdowns is three shy of tying the school record of 13 held by Tim Ruth (1985) and Richard Stokes (2007 and 2008).

In just his second career start, Brown-Dukes became the fifth player in program history to rush for more than 200 yards in a game, finishing with 213 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Millersville. He was the first played to rush for more than 200 yards since Gerald Anderson rushed for 237 against LIU Post in 2010. His yardage output was the fifth-highest total in program history. All told, Mercyhurst had 379 yards rushing in the victory over the Marauders, the most by the Lakers in a game since rushing for 402 yards in a 48-0 win over Pace on November 6, 1993.

Jones-ing For More
Junior Allen Jones II rushed for 111 yards against Lock Haven to become the 12th player in school history to record 1,000 career rushing yards. Jones has three 100-yard games over the last six contests and now has 1,047 rushing yards at Mercyhurst in just 18 games. He needs 225 yards to pass Brian Haberstock (1987-90) to crack the school's top ten.

Into The Top Ten
With 114 yards receiving against Slippery Rock, senior wide receiver Paris Bruner became the 12th player in school history to record 1,000 career receiving yards.

With his 66 yards against Gannon on Saturday, Bruner moved ahead of Calvin Kelly for tenth on the school's all-time list with 1,183 career receiving yards. He needs 36 yards to pass Mercyhurst Hall of Famer Craig Zonna (1,218 from 1981-85) for ninth on the list.

Just For Kicks
Junior placekicker Steven Wakefield has had a fantastic season handling all of the kicking duties for Mercyhurst. Wakefield currently leads the PSAC in punting, averaging 42.7 yards per punt on 24 attempts, including a long of 77 yards against Millersville - the second-longest kick in school history. Wakefield also handles the kickoff duties and has had 18 touchbacks in 43 kickoffs (41.9%). He averages 61 yards per kickoff.

Wakefield is also perfect on field goal attempts (6-for-6) including a career-long of 46 against Millersville. He is also 26-for-29 on PATs, giving him 44 points this season. His 164 career points is one point away from tying the school's all-time record for points by a kicker. Phil Scanlon (2002-06) scored 165 points while at Mercyhurst. 

Safety First
Against Cheyney, Mercyhurst redshirt freshman T.J. Latimer blocked a Wolves' punt that ended up resulting as a safety for the Lakers. It was Mercyhurst's first safety since August 27, 2005 against Gannon.

Even Stevens
Senior L.J. Stevens was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week and was honored by Beyond Sports Network as the Kick Returner of the Week for Division II after his performance against Gannon last Saturday. Stevens recovered a fumble on Gannon's first possession which led to Mercyhurst's first touchdown. He then intercepted a pass on Gannon's next possession. After Gannon tied the game at 14-14 late in the second quarter, Stevens returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown - the seventh-longest return in school history - which put the Lakers ahead for good. He finished the day with five tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one pass break up, and 103 kick return yards.

Record Paces
Brandon Brown-Dukes has 899 yards this season through seven games, an average of 128.4 yards per game. On his pace, Brown-Dukes would finish the season with 1,412 yards, 99 yards ahead of the school record of 1,313 held by Gerald Anderson in 2010.

Through seven games, Mercyhurst has scored 240 points (34.3 points per game), marking the second-highest point total in school history to start a season. The 1985 Lakers, under head coach Tony DeMeo, racked up 252 points in their first seven games, including a school-record 82 points in an 82-0 win over Niagara (September 14, 1985). The 2010 team holds the record for most points in a season with 354, while the 2007 squad holds the record by averaging 32.1 points per contest.

Near Record Paces
Mercyhurst has rushed for 1,651 yards this season, an average of 235.9 yards per game. On its current pace, Mercyhurst would finish with 2,595 rushing yards, just 114 shy of the school's record of 2,709 set back in 1985.

Mercyhurst also averages 389.6 yards per game of total offense, which would give them 4,286 yards at its current pace. The 2000 Laker squad finished with 4,473 yards of total offense.

Three-Peat
Brown-Dukes tied a school record against Slippery Rock with three consecutive games of 150 or more rushing yards. He tied the school's all-time rushing leader, Richard Stokes, who also rushed for 150 yards or more in three straight contests back in 2007. Despite not reaching the mark three weeks ago against Cheyney, Brown-Dukes tied his career high with three rushing touchdowns. He also accomplished the feat against Millersville in week two.

Vendemia Also Hits Milestone
With 141 yards of total offense in the Lakers' win over Slippery Rock, redshirt junior quarterback Anthony Vendemia became the 16th player in school history to record 2,000 yards of total offense. He has 2,515 for his career - 11th on the all-time list. He trails Greg Haski (1985-88) by 41 yards to move into the top ten.

Vendemia earlier became the 10th quarterback to throw for 2,000 career yards in week three's victory over Clarion. He has 2,555 passing yards for his career - eighth on the all-time list. He needs 719 yards to catch Mac McArdle (3,274 from 1999-01) for seventh.