Mercyhurst Game Notes
Slippery Rock Game Notes

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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University football team will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss last Saturday at Clarion when it travels to Slippery Rock this Saturday to battle The Rock. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. You can catch all of the action on Mercyhurst's radio station, WMCE 88.5 FM, or online at wmce.fm, beginning with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m.

Mercyhurst leads the all-time series with Slippery Rock 3-2. However, the road team has never won during the series - Mercyhurst is 3-0 against The Rock at Tullio Field while Slippery Rock is 2-0 against the Lakers at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Lakers (1-2, 0-1 PSAC West) fell behind 20-0 last Saturday against the Golden Eagles on a rainy night in Clarion. Mercyhurst mounted a comeback thanks to the legs of senior Allen Jones II, who scored with 26 seconds left in the first half on a five-yard run, and redshirt sophomore Brandon Brown-Dukes, who broke a career-long 77-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. However, that is as close as the Lakers would come as the Clarion defense stiffened, picking off redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Vendemia four times on the evening.

Brown-Dukes, aided by his 77-yard touchdown run (the fourth-longest run in school history), finished the evening with 140 yards on just 11 carries. Jones II added 78 yards on 13 carries in the loss. For Brown-Dukes, it was his eighth career, and second consecutive, 100-yard game. He pulled to within 16 yards of passing Matt Golga (1993-96) for sixth place on the career rushing list at Mercyhurst. Jones II, meanwhile, moved past Brian Haberstock (1987-90) and into 11th place on the school's all-time chart.

The four interceptions by Clarion marked the first time all season that Mercyhurst had turned the ball over. The Golden Eagles picked Vendemia off twice in the fourth quarter, including once in Clarion territory. Mercyhurst did manage to force two Clarion turnovers and the Lakers are now a +3 in the turnover margin through the first three games of the season.

The Rock (2-1, 0-1 PSAC West) is also coming off of a disappointing loss last Saturday, at the hands of Gannon, 38-27 in Erie. Slippery Rock, which had scored 109 points over its first two games, was "held" to 27 points by the Golden Knight defense.

Slippery Rock currently leads the PSAC in passing yards per completion (16.6) and ranks second in total offense (535.7 yards per game), passing offense (342.0 yards per game), scoring offense (45.3 points per game), and defensively in third-down conversion rate (.228). The Rock is seventh nationally in the latter category, tenth nationally in both total offense and scoring offense, 12th in passing yards per completion, and 13th in passing offense.

Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale leads the Slippery Rock offense and currently ranks in the top 12 nationally in seven different categories. He leads the PSAC in touchdown passes (12), ranks second in passing yards (1,019), ranks second in passing yards per game (346.7), and ranks second in total offense yards per game (375.3).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

MERCYHURST

Redshirt sophomore RB, Brandon Brown-Dukes (5-8, 195, Orlando, Fla./Winter Park)
Brown-Dukes recorded his eighth career, and second consecutive, 100-yard rushing game last Saturday, carrying the ball 11 times for 140 yards and one touchdown. He broke off a 77-yard touchdown run in the third quarter - the longest run of his career and the fourth longest in program history. For the season, Brown-Dukes has rushed for 359 yards on just 42 carries (8.5 yards per carry). In his 14 career games, Brown-Dukes has rushed for 1,654 yards and 21 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) two weeks ago 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 50 yards behind his pace through three games last season.

Junior DB, Colin Kimball (5-11, 160, Erie, Pa./McDowell)
Kimball had a season-high six tackles and forced a fumble last Saturday against Clarion, one week after he was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week after he picked off two passes in the win over Millersville. He currently is tied for the PSAC lead and is tied for the national lead with his three picks in three games. His second pick against the Marauders was a 45-yard return for a touchdown - the first of his career. 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 DB, Mike Brown (6-0, 200, Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford)
Brown has been all over the field for the Laker defense during the first three games of the season. He is currently tied for fourth on the team with 14 total tackles, ten of which have been solo stops. He leads the team with four-and-a-half tackles for a loss (19 yards), ranks tied for second with one sack, and is tied for second with one interception. He has also forced a fumble. Coming into his senior year, Brown had just two-and-a-half tackles for a loss in his career (35 games).

SLIPPERY ROCK

Senior QB, Nigel Barksdale (5-10, 170, San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto)
Barksdale leads the Slippery Rock offense and currently ranks in the top 12 nationally in seven different categories. He leads the PSAC in touchdown passes (12), ranks second in passing yards (1,019), ranks second in passing yards per game (346.7), and ranks second in total offense yards per game (375.3).

Senior P, James McCombie (6-0, 170, Nicktown, Pa./Bishop Carroll)
McCombie is tied with Kevin Van Voris of West Texas A&M for the top yards per punt average in the nation. Both booters average 48.6 yards per punt. McCombie booted a career-best-tying 74-yard boot in week one, legged a 63-yarder last week at Gannon, and had three 50-plus-yard punts in week two against Shippensburg. McCombie has had 27 punts that have traveled 50-plus yards during his career.

Redshirt senior, WR, John Schademan (6-0, 195, Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park)
Schademan is tied for the conference lead in touchdown receptions with four and ranks second in both pass receiving yards (340) and pass receiving yards per game (113.3). He trails only Shippensburg's Trevor Harman in both categories. He also ranks 10th in total receptions with 17. Schademan became the first Rock receiver since All-American Devin Goda in 2011 to have 100 yards receiving in three games.