Mercyhurst Game Notes

Slippery Rock Game Notes

ERIE, Pa. - After a rough season-opening loss at Notre Dame College back on August 30, the Mercyhurst University football team has turned it around in a big way and will look to make it three straight victories on Saturday afternoon against Slippery Rock University. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. from Tullio Field and is part of the annual Homecoming Weekend festivities at Mercyhurst.

The Lakers (2-1, 1-0 PSAC West) allowed 59 points, 543 yards of total offense, and turned the ball over eight times in their season-opening setback at Notre Dame College. Since then, however, over the last two games, Mercyhurst has outscored Millersville and Clarion 67-21, has allowed just 540 yards combined, and has committed just one turnover in getting the season on track.

Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock (2-1, 1-0 PSAC West) have split four previous meetings with each win in the series being recorded by the home team. In fact, the Rock has not posted a victory in the city of Erie since knocking off Gannon back in 2002. Since Mercyhurst and Gannon joined the PSAC in 2008, Slippery Rock is 0-4 in games played in Erie.

Last season, the Rock earned the PSAC West title and posted a 28-21 over Mercyhurst, which, at the time, extended the Lakers' losing streak to five consecutive games. Mercyhurst held a 21-14 lead on the Rock last season, but Slippery Rock scored 14 points in the final 5:27 to knock off the Lakers.

Prior to kickoff, the men's and women's rowing teams will be presented with a trophy for winning the Dad Vail Regatta last April. Then, at halftime, in addition to the annual King and Queen ceremony, Rosemary Anderson will be presented the keys to the "House That 'Hurst Built" - the project that the Mercyhurst community has been working on since August in conjunction with Habitat For Humanity.

NOTES

This Week
Mercyhurst entertains the defending PSAC West Champions, Slippery Rock University, for the annual Homecoming Weekend game. The Lakers and The Rock have split four games in the all-time series with each team going 2-0 on their home field. Last season, Slippery Rock scored two touchdowns in the final 5:27 to defeat Mercyhurst 28-21 in Slippery Rock.

Much Better
After a rough start to the season at Notre Dame College on August 30, a game that saw the Falcons score 59 points and have 543 yards of total offense and the Lakers turn the ball over eight times, Mercyhurst has regrouped in a big way by posting back-to-back victories over Millersville and Clarion. Mercyhurst has outscored the two teams 67-21 and have outgained its last two opponents 844-540. Even more importantly, however, Mercyhurst has turned the ball over just once in the last two contests.

Running Wild
Over the course of the last two games, Mercyhurst has rushed for 612 yards and six touchdowns on just 93 attempts (6.6 yards per carry). Redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes has taken over the reins as the lead back and, after rushing for just 39 yards in his first collegiate start against Notre Dame College, he has rushed for 370 yards and four touchdowns on just 42 carries (8.81 yards per carry) over his last two games. He currently ranks 10th among Division II players in rushing yards per game (136.3).

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.

The record for rushing yards in a game by an individual was Brian Haberstock with 282 yards against Buffalo in 1990. For the team, the 1983 Lakers rushed for 469 yards against Gallaudet.

Brown-Dukes On A Record Pace
Through the first three games of the season, nobody in program history as gotten off to a better start running the football than Brandon Brown-Dukes. His 409 rushing yards through the first three games is an all-time record. Gerald Anderson, who broke the school record in 2010 with 1,313 rushing yards, started the season with 403 yards through the first three games.

Brown-Dukes can also tie the school record of three consecutive 150-yard games on Saturday. The record of three is currently held by Richard Stokes in 2007.

Don't Forget About Me
Junior running back Allen Jones II is also having a career start to the season. After rushing for 478 yards in his first season as a Laker last year, Jones has already rushed for 256 yards and two scores this season. Against Millersville, he posted his first career 100-yard game, rushing for 132 yards in the Laker win. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry last season, which was the third highest total in school history. This season, he is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He has moved into the top 20 among rushers in school history with 734 career yards. Next up on the list is Bill Prencipe, who is 19th with 759 from 1984-86.

Points At A Record Pace
Through three games, Mercyhurst has scored 109 points (36.3 points per game), tying the third-highest point total in school history to start a season. The 1985 Lakers, under head coach Tony DeMeo, racked up 165 points in their first three games, including a school-record 82 points in an 82-0 win over Niagara (September 14, 1985). The 1984 Lakers scored 120 points in the first three games, while the 1999 squad, under current Director of Athletics Joe Kimball, posted 109 points.

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.

Yards Coming Fast And Furious Too
Mercyhurst, through two games, has accumulated 1,227 yards of total offense, an average of 409 yards per game - again, on record-setting pace after only two weeks. The 2000 Lakers hold the record with 4,473 yards - an average of 406.6 per contest.

Off The Blocks
Mercyhurst blocked a school-record three punts on Saturday against Clarion, two by junior Vladmir Rock and one by sophomore Chris Lyle in the Lakers' 22-14 win over the Golden Eagles. One of the blocked punts resulted in a touchdown run by Brandon Brown-Dukes that put Mercyhurst up 19-7 at the end of the third quarter. The NCAA Division II record is five blocked punts in a game (Winston-Salem State in 1986 and Southeastern Louisiana in 1978).

Rock Earns ECAC Award
Junior wide receiver Vladmir Rock earned the ECAC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his performance against Clarion last Saturday. Rock blocked two Golden Eagle punts, one of which resulted in a 29-yard touchdown run by Brown-Dukes, putting Mercyhurst ahead 19-7, to end the third quarter. Rock also recovered a third blocked punt by the Lakers, this time from sophomore Chris Lyle, midway through the first quarter. Offensively, the junior from Coconut Creek, Florida also had one catch for 12 yards in the victory.

Brown-Dukes, Wakefield Honored
With their performances against Millersville two Saturdays ago, Brandon Brown-Dukes and Steven Wakefield picked up some weekly accolades. Brown-Dukes was awarded Division II Player of the Week by both Beyond Sports Network and the ECAC for his 213 yards and three touchdowns. He was the co-running back with Notre Dame College's Pedro Powell. Wakefield, meanwhile, earned the ECAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts handling all of the kicking duties. He had a career-long 77-yard punt and a career-long 46-yard field goal in the win over Millersville.

Wakefield now has 137 career points, second on the all-time list in points by a kicker, and trailing only Phil Scanlon's 165 points from 2002-06. His 95 PATs trails only Scanlon's record of 96 and his 14 field goals ranks fifth on the all-time list, two behind George Paydock (1991-94) for fourth.