Mercyhurst Game Notes

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ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University football team will be looking to snap its two-game losing streak when it hosts Cheyney University on Saturday afternoon at Tullio Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and is a part of the annual Homecoming Weekend festivities. If you can't make it to the game, you can hear all of the action on WMCE 88.5 FM or online at wmce.fm.

Mercyhurst is 3-0 lifetime against Cheyney and has outscored the Wolves 116-25 in those three contests. Last season, the Lakers only led 13-10 at halftime in Cheyney before outscoring the hosts 23-0 in the second half to win by a 36-10 final.

The Lakers (1-3, 0-2 PSAC West) enter Saturday's contest having lost two road games in a row against Westerrn Division rivals Clarion (20-13) and Slippery Rock (58-34). It marks the first time since Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008 that the Lakers did not win its conference opener. It's also the first time since 2006 that Mercyhurst has started the season by losing three of its first four games.

Last Saturday, the Lakers started the scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run by redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Vendemia on the team's first drive of the game. However, Slippery Rock would score 31 straight points from that point and knocked off the Lakers by a 58-34 final. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Brown-Dukes finished with his third consecutive 100-yard rushing effort, ending the night with 119 yards on a season-high 23 carries. It was his ninth career 100-yard rushing game, tying him for second-most in program history.

Vendemia, by the way, needs just 12 passing yards on Saturday to become the third quarterback in school history to throw for 4,000 yards in his career.

Defensively, Mercyhurst allowed 609 yards of total offense against the high-powered Rock, with 499 of those coming through the air. Slippery Rock quarterback Nigel Barksdale threw for 439 of those yards, establishing a new opponent record against a Laker team. The previous record was 431 by Martin Hankins of Southeast Louisiana back in 2004. The team total also tied the opponent record - Southeast Louisiana in 2004.

The highlight on defense was again courtesy of junior defensive back Colin Kimball, who picked off Barksdale in the third quarter and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown. It was the fourth-longest interception return in program history. Kimball now has two pick-sixes this season, establishing a new school record, and he also has 144 interception return yards this year - also a new program record. Kimball, who also led the Lakers with nine tackles last Saturday, leads the PSAC, and is second nationally, with four interceptions.

Mercyhurst ranks tenth out of 16 teams in the PSAC in both total offense and total defense.

The Wolves (0-4, 0-2 PSAC East), meanwhile, have not won since defeating Lincoln in last year's season opener, 34-21. Since then, they have lost 14 consecutive games, including a 40-6 loss at home against East Stroudsburg last Saturday.

Cheyney ranks 13th in total offense in the conference, which includes a last-place number in passing. Cheyney quarterbacks have combined to throw for just 406 yards in four games, with no touchdowns and seven interceptions. However, despite Cheyney's offensive struggles this season, the Wolves bring the conference's fourth-best defense to Tullio Field on Saturday. Cheyney allows less than 100 yards per game on the ground and opponents average just three yards per carry against the Wolves' defense.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

MERCYHURST

Redshirt sophomore running back Brandon Brown-Dukes
Brown-Dukes has three straight 100-yard efforts on the ground and currently ranks fourth in the conference with 478 rushing yards. He needs 29 yards to pass Justin Gibson (1996-00) for fifth on the all-time list and needs 143 yards to pass Gerald Anderson for fourth. Brown-Dukes is 227 yards shy of becoming the fourth running back in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards.

Junior defensive back Colin Kimball
Kimball picked off his fourth pass of the season last Saturday, returning it 58 yards for his second touchdown of the season. He has tied or broken the following school records this season - interception return yards in a game (86 vs Millersville), interception return yards in a season (144), interception returns for touchdowns in a season (2), career interception returns for touchdowns (2). By the way, Kimball is also tied for the team lead with 23 tackles through four games.

Redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Vendemia
Vendemia will be looking to bounce back after two sub-par performances in back-to-back weeks (18-of-44, 207 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT). He is currently 12 yards away from becoming the third quarterback in program history to throw for 4,000 yards in his career. He also needs 24 yards of total offense to become the fifth player in school history to reach the same milestone. This season, Vendemia has completed 54.9% of his passes for 530 yards and three touchdowns.

CHEYNEY

Senior running back Marcus Jones
Jones enters the game 11th in the PSAC with 251 yards rushing through the first four games of the season. He has also rushed for a pair of scores. Last season, Jones rushed for 110 yards on just 18 carries in the game against Mercyhurst in Cheyney.

Senior running back Nahum Purdie
Purdie ranks second to Jones on the team in rushing, but leads the Wolves by averaging nearly six yards per carry. He is 14th in the PSAC with 239 yards on the ground and leads Cheyney with four rushing touchdowns.

Junior linebacker Isaiah Fleming
Fleming is currently tied for sixth in the conference with 37 total tackles through four games this season. He has also contributed four tackles for a loss and one quarterback sack on the season. Last year, Fleming led the Wolves with 12 total stops against Mercyhurst.