Box Score

WALTHAM, Mass. - In the first-ever matchup between Mercyhurst University and Bentley University on the football field, it came down to the final moments on Saturday afternoon.

Mercyhurst trailed by one and had the ball with 1:22 left, but thoughts of a last-second win did not come to fruition as the Lakers could not get a first down on a fourth-and-two with 34 seconds to play. The Falcons held on for a thrilling 17-16 victory over the visiting Lakers as Bentley starts the season 1-0 while Mercyhurst starts 0-1 for the second consecutive year.

The Lakers started their final drive at their own 19-yard line after a 51-yard punt by Bentley freshman Tyler Ford. After two incompletions by redshirt senior QB Anthony Vendemia, he found redshirt senior Ozzie Lumpkin for a 12-yard gain on third-and-ten to keep the drive alive. On another third-and-ten play, Vendemia hit redshirt junior tight end R.J. Miller for an eight-yard game to the Mercyhurst 39-yard line, setting up the fourth-and-two play.

The Lakers called timeout and then called a counter-draw play for redshirt sophomore Brandon Brown-Dukes. Bentley, however, was not fooled, limiting the reigning PSAC Freshman of the Year to just a yard on the play, then taking over on downs to run out the clock.

Brown-Dukes was held in check for most of the day, finishing with 77 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. However, he had only 16 yards on six carries in the first half.

"We played a very good football team that didn't make very many mistakes today," said Mercyhurst head coach Marty Schaetzle after the one-point loss. "I think we're a good football team, we just made too many mistakes today - a lot of which you can't see on the box score."

While the Lakers did not turn the ball over on Saturday, Mercyhurst was penalized eight times for 64 yards, most of which came at very inopportune times. The Lakers also dropped several balls, hurting an excellent day by Vendemia, who completed 20-of-34 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown.

Vendemia and the Lakers started the scoring after the defense held Bentley to a three-and-out on its first possession. The redshirt senior capped off a seven-play, 52-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to senior fullback Jeff Groene with 10:13 left in the opening quarter. Freshman kicker Jordan Spangler added the point-after for a 7-0 Mercyhurst lead.

The hosts would score the next ten points to take a 10-7 advantage. Michael Baron nailed a 27-yard field goal, after missing one from 39 earlier, with 12:30 left in the first half, and then Jet Kollie caught an 18-yard strike from Danny Guadagnoli on a fourth-and-six with 6:08 left in the half.

But, Mercyhurst responded with a 17-play, 82-yard drive that took 5:57 off the clock, capped off by a Brown-Dukes three-yard touchdown run. However, Spangler's point after sailed wide right, giving Mercyhurst a 13-10 lead heading to the locker room. The score was aided by a nine-yard pass from redshirt sophomore Brendan Boylan to Groene on a fake field goal, setting up a first-and-goal.

Mercyhurst received to start the second half and put three more points on the board, thanks to a 31-yard field goal by Spangler with 8:56 left in the third, capping off a 12-play, 76-yard drive.

But, Kollie scored his second touchdown of the game, this time on a six-yard run, with 2:49 left in the third. Baron added the point after, which proved to be the difference.

Ten different Lakers caught a pass, led by sophomore Jaquan Williams' five catches for 49 yards. Miller added four for 44 in his first game since November 2011. Brown-Dukes led the rushing attack with 77 yards while senior Allen Jones II added 35 yards on 11 carries.

Kollie had a big game for the Falcons, rushing nine times for 48 yards and a touchdown and adding four catches for 36 yards and another score. Guadagnoli completed 20-of-28 passes for 162 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Defensively, redshirt junior Pat Behm led the way with six tackles. Juniors Michael Foster and Keith Polson, along with sophomore Joe Dever, had five tackles apiece. Junior defensive back Colin Kimball forced the only turnover of the game with an interception in the third quarter - his third career pick.

Kyle Young led Bentley with 14 tackles.

The Lakers will play their home opener next Saturday, September 14 when they host Millersville at Tullio Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.