Mercyhurst Game Notes
Clarion Game Notes

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CLARION, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University football team, fresh off its first victory of the season last Saturday, will look to make it two wins in a row when it travels to Clarion University for the PSAC West opener against the Golden Eagles. Kickoff time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Memorial Stadium, with the pre-game show beginning at 5:45 p.m. on WMCE 88.5 FM or online at wmce.fm.

Mercyhurst has won four of the first five meetings between the two schools, including a hard-fought 22-14 win at Tullio Field last season. The Lakers jumped out to a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter before hanging on for the win. The last time these teams met at Memorial Stadium was back in 2011 when Clarion led 38-14 late in the third quarter but saw Mercyhurst rattle off 28 unanswered points for the biggest comeback win in program history.

Mercyhurst (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West) earned its first win of the season, 49-7, in the team's home opener against Millersville. The Lakers scored three touchdowns in the opening 4:27 of the contest and never looked back. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Brown-Dukes carried the ball 15 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-long 66-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage. It was his seventh career 100-yard game and his third career three-rushing touchdown contest.

Meanwhile, the Laker defense sacked Millersville quarterbacks six times and forced four turnovers, including two interceptions by junior defensive back Colin Kimball, one of which he returned for his first career touchdown in the third quarter. Kimball was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week with his two picks and five tackles. His 86 interception return yards last Saturday broke the school record for most interception yards in a game.

Clarion (2-0, 0-0 PSAC West) enters the game in the midst of a four-game homestand to start the season. The Golden Eagles knocked off Kutztown 39-38 in overtime in the season opener two weeks ago and then defeated former West rival Lock Haven 30-13 last Saturday. It marks the first time since 1996 that Clarion has started the season with a 2-0 record - it advanced to the NCAA Division II Semifinals that season.

Last week, Clarion rushed for 293 yards against the Lock Haven defense, led by Bobby Thomas' 147 yards and one score. Travis Day added 77 yards and a touchdown on the ground in the victory. However, senior quarterback Ben Fiscus left the game with an injury in the second quarter of last week's win and is questionable for Saturday's game. He was a Third Team Football Gazette Super Region 1 selection and an All-PSAC West First Team selection last season. If Fiscus is unable to go, redshirt freshman Darelle Carson will get the nod under center. He ran 11 times for 38 yards and a touchdown last Saturday and also completed 4-of-8 passes for 30 yards.

Mercyhurst was picked to finish second in the PSAC West according to the annual preseason coaches' poll in early August. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish seventh.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

MERCYHURST

Redshirt sophomore RB, Brandon Brown-Dukes (5-8, 195, Orlando, Fla./Winter Park)
Brown-Dukes recorded his seventh career 100-yard rushing game last Saturday, carrying the ball 15 times for 142 yards. He also got into the endzone three times against Millersville, his third career three-touchdown game. On the first play from scrimmage last Saturday, Brown-Dukes scampered 66 yards into the endzone - his longest career run. In his 13 career games, Brown-Dukes has rushed for 1,514 yards and 20 touchdowns. His yardage total ranks seventh on the school's all-time list, as he passed Justin Adams (2001-04), Brian Hamlin (1994-97), and Ben Jennings (2006-09) last week to move into seventh. He became the seventh Laker in history to eclipse 1,500 career rushing yards and now, in his sights, is former Laker quarterback Matt Golga (1993-96), who rushed for 1,669 yards in his career. He is 33 yards behind his pace through two games last season.

Junior DB, Colin Kimball (5-11, 160, Erie, Pa./McDowell)
Kimball was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week last Sunday after he picked off two passes in the win over Millersville, giving him three interceptions through the first two games of the season. He leads the PSAC and ranks second in the country with his three picks. His first interception came on Millersville's first drive of the game. With the Lakers already up 14-0 just over two minutes into the game, Kimball picked off a pass thrown by the Mauraders' Connor Casey and returned it 41 yards to the Millersville 10-yard line, setting up a touchdown. He then picked Casey off again with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter and ran the interception back 45 yards for his first collegiate touchdown to end the scoring on the afternoon. It was Kimball's first career multiple interception game as he became the first Laker to record more than one interception in a game since Brandon Harper had three picks in a loss at Kutztown on September 11, 2010. He also became the first Laker since Linnell Robinson in last year's win over California (Pa.) to return an interception for a touchdown. In the process, Kimball set the school record for most interception return yards in a single game, finishing the contest with 86 yards. The previous record was 85 by Casey Williams in a loss against Grand Valley State on October 21, 2000. Kimball now has five picks for his career, tying him for 30th on the school's all-time list.

Redshirt senior QB, Anthony Vendemia (6-3, 210, Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional)
Vendemia climbed up the Lakers' passing charts in 2012 and has put himself in elite territory. After the loss at Bentley, Vendemia moved to fourth on the all-time list with 3,665 career passing yards, despite only being the starter for a year-and-a-half. He passed Brian Rostek (1984-87), Jeff Nowling (2002-06), and Travis Rearick (2007-11) against Bentley. Last Saturday, Vendemia threw for 116 yards, and now trails Matt Golga (1993-96) by 184 yards for sole possession of third on the all-time list. Meanwhile, on the total offense list, Vendemia ranks sixth on the all-time list with 3,768 yards. He trails Rearick by 23 yards for fifth on the list, then has a ways to go to get to Rostek's 4,457 for fourth place.

CLARION

Junior RB, Bobby Thomas (5-11, 205, Reading, Pa./Exeter Township)
Thomas had 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground in last Saturday's win over Lock Haven. Through two games this season, Thomas has 199 yards and a score, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Last season, he played six games (missed five due to injury) and rushed for 524 yards and three touchdowns. He had 71 yards on 18 carries in last season's meeting against Mercyhurst.

Sophomore DL, Andrew Fragale (6-1, 280, Emporium, Pa./Cameron County)
Fragale leads the conference with six-and-a-half tackles for a loss (28 yards) through two games this season. He had three tackles for a loss in the season-opening win over Kutztown and then added 3.5 last Saturday against Lock Haven. He had five-and-a-half tackles for a loss in eight games as a freshman last season.

Sophomore DB, Cory McNamara (5-9, 175, Ontario, N.Y./Wayne)
McNamara leads the defense with 20 tackles through two games this season. He had 31 tackles in all 11 games as a freshman last season. He had 11 tackles (eight solo stops) in the season-opening victory over Kutztown.