ERIE, Pa. - Coming off its first victory of the 2014 season, the Mercyhurst University football team returns to action on Saturday, October 11 when it makes the short trip north on State Street to square off against longtime-rival, Gannon. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m from Gannon University Field.

The Lakers (1-4, 1-3 PSAC West) earned their first win of the season in convincing fashion last Saturday, shutting out the Golden Eagles of Clarion University, 28-0. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights (4-1, 3-1 PSAC West) suffered their first setback of the season, dropping a hard-fought 31-28 decision at #19 Slippery Rock.

Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against its nemesis, 11-5-1, including a 51-21 win over Gannon last season at Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium. In that contest, the Lakers broke a 27-year-old school record by racking up 628 yards of total offense with 407 of those coming on the ground. The team's rushing total was the program's Division II record and marked the third-highest mark in school history.

The Lakers have won two straight against Gannon after the Golden Knights won both meetings in 2010 and 2011. Head coach Marty Schaetzle sports a 6-4 record against the Golden Knights since becoming the Laker boss in 2002.

Last Week ...

Mercyhurst earned its first victory of the 2014 season with a 28-0 shutout of Clarion at Tullio Field on Homecoming Weekend. The Lakers had a career-high 241 yards passing from redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Boylan, which included a 78-yard touchdown connection to sophomore running back Drew Robinson. Robinson later added a 17-yard touchdown run.

The Laker defense held Clarion to 191 total yards of offense and posted a season-high nine tackles for a loss and four quarterback sacks.

Mercyhurst improved to 5-2 lifetime against the Golden Eagles.

Wild Earns PSAC West Defensive POTW Award ...

Senior linebacker Garrett Wild earned last week's PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping the Lakers to a 28-0 win over Clarion. Wild had five total tackles (four solo), two tackles for a loss, and a blocked punt in the victory. The two tackles for a loss were a career-high in a game and his first two of the season. Meanwhile, his blocked punt in the third quarter led to Mercyhurst's final points of the afternoon. It was his third career blocked kick.

Wild is tied for fifth on the team with 21 total tackles through the first five games, 18 of which have been solo stops.

DEE-Fense ...

Last Saturday, Mercyhurst earned its first shutout since blanking Lock Haven, 41-0, on September 25, 2010, with a 28-0 victory over Clarion. It was the 15th shutout in program history, but just the fourth since blanking Pace, 48-0, on November 6, 1993 under then-head coach Joe Kimball.

The Lakers allowed just 191 yards of total offense to the Golden Eagles last Saturday, the fewest since giving up 148 yards to Edinboro last November 2. It was just the fifth time since Mercyhurst's 2010 championship season that the Lakers have held a team to under 200 yards in a game.

Clarion was also limited to 4-of-17 on third-down conversions and 0-for-3 in trips to the red zone. Mercyhurst had season-highs in both tackles for a loss (nine) and quarterback sacks (four).

Here's To You, Mr. Robinson ...

Sophomore running back Drew Robinson recorded the first multiple-touchdown game of his career on Saturday when he caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior Brendan Boylan and then had a 17-yard carry for a score - both coming in the second quarter. Robinson finished the day with 14 carries for 46 yards and two catches for 89 yards.

The 78-yard touchdown pass was the longest by a Laker since Travis Rearick hooked up with Trevor Kennedy on an 81-yard score in Mercyhurst's PSAC Championship victory over Bloomsburg on November 13, 2010. The hookup between Robinson and Boylan was tied for the eighth-longest pass play in school history.

In the season opener at Bentley, Robinson made his presence felt in the return game, finishing with three kickoffs for 135 yards (45.0 average), including an 83-yard return, late in the second quarter, that led to Zach Emerick's six-yard touchdown run. Robinson's 83-yard return was tied for the ninth-longest return in school history, but was the longest in program history that did not result in a touchdown.

Robinson leads the Lakers in all-purpose yards this season with 494, an average of 98.8 per game.

Boylan Has Career Day ...

Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Boylan threw for a career-high 241 yards and a career-best three touchdowns in Saturday's 28-0 win over Clarion. The outing snapped a streak of eight consecutive games that a Mercyhurst quarterback failed to reach 200 passing yards in a contest - the prior time was Anthony Vendemia throwing for 221 yards in the Lakers' 51-21 win over Gannon last October 17.

Boylan has thrown for 599 yards and six touchdowns in four games (three starts) this season.

Who Is Brendan Boylan? ...

Boylan has been on the Mercyhurst roster since 2011 and played just one series at quarterback prior to his action against West Chester. He had attempted just one pass in his collegiate career - a nine-yard completion to Jeff Groene on a fake field in last season's opener at Bentley. He had appeared in 16 games since 2011, primarily as the team's holder on field goals and extra points.

Prior to joining Mercyhurst, Boylan attended Holy Name High School where he was a First Team All-League selection and was voted as the team's MVP.

Stay On The Field ...

Through the first two games of the season, Mercyhurst was 6-for-26 on third downs (23.1%) - 13th out of the 16-team PSAC. However, the Lakers have fared much better over the last three weeks, converting 16-of-41 third-down opportunities to improve their season's rate to 32.8% (10th in the PSAC). Last season, Mercyhurst was 55-of-137 on third downs (40.1%).

In contrast, opponents are 27-of-72 on third down conversions (37.5%) against the Lakers this season. However, over the last three games, opponents are just 12-of-40 (30.0%) on third downs.

It Had Been A While ...

Prior to Saturday's win over Clarion, the Lakers dropped to 0-4 after a 41-7 loss at Indiana (Pa.). It was the first time that Mercyhurst has started a season 0-4 since 2005 when the Lakers were still part of the GLIAC. That season, Mercyhurst dropped seven consecutive games to start the year before winning two of its last three to finish 2-8. Saginaw Valley, which was part of the opening seven losses, would later forfeit its win against the Lakers.

Rough Start ...

Against IUP, sophomore Drew Robinson fumbled the opening kickoff and things snowballed from there as IUP jumped out to a 27-0 lead after the first quarter. Robinson would later fumble on a rush attempt in IUP territory later in the quarter, which led to another Crimson Hawk touchdown.

In that forgettable first quarter, IUP had ten first downs and 203 yards of total offense. By comparison, Mercyhurst had ten first downs and 151 yards of offense the entire contest.

Ground Game Stuck ...

After averaging nearly 240 rushing yards per game last season, Mercyhurst dropped to 67 yards per game after rushing for just 63 yards on 32 carries against Clarion. The Lakers have had just one game where it has racked up more than 100 yards on the ground (151 against Bloomsburg on September 20). In the other four contests, the Lakers are averaging 46.0 yards per game on the ground.

Mercyhurst's 67 yards per game on the ground ranks second to last (Edinboro) in the PSAC this season. The Lakers were second in the conference only to Bloomsburg a year ago.

Blocking Kicks ...

Redshirt senior Pat Behm made things interesting with under two minutes left at Bentley. Trailing 27-14, Behm blocked a punt attempt by Bentley's Tyler Ford and took it to the Falcon one-yard line, setting up a one-yard touchdown pass from Zach Emerick to redshirt junior fullback T.J. Latimer. Mercyhurst, however, was unable to recover the onside kick and the hosts ran out the clock.

Mercyhurst's special teams have blocked four kicks in each of the last two seasons. It was Behm's first career blocked kick.

Last Saturday, senior Garrett Wild blocked a punt that led to Mercyhurst's final touchdown of the day. It was Wild's third career blocked kick and gave Mercyhurst three blocks on the season - Deonte Huggins has the other on a blocked field goal attempt at West Chester.

Offensive Struggles ...

Mercyhurst has struggled to move the football on offense through the first five games of the season. In just two of the Lakers' five games has Mercyhurst gone over 300 yards of total offense. Mercyhurst had a season-high 368 yards against Bloomsburg and then totaled 304 last Saturday against Clarion. By comparison, the Lakers have been held to under 200 yards twice - at Bentley and at IUP.

The 150 yards against Bentley marked the fewest by a Laker squad since getting 133 total yards in a 42-10 loss at Indiana (Pa.) on October 18, 2008. It marked the first time that Mercyhurst was held under 200 yards in a game since Gannon held the Lakers to 193 yards on October 6, 2010 - a 14-10 Gannon victory.

Meanwhile, the 44 rushing yards against Bentley were the fewest since rushing for just 31 yards against Edinboro on October 15, 2011 - a 30-20 loss to the Fighting Scots. The Lakers had just 34 yards on the ground at IUP two Saturdays ago.

Turnovers Costly ...

The Lakers turned the ball over six times in the loss to Bloomsburg - three fumbles and three interceptions - which led to 28 Bloomsburg points. The six turnovers were the most by a Laker team since recording eight turnovers in a 59-42 loss at Notre Dame College to start the 2012 season. Two Saturdays ago, the Lakers turned the ball over twice, both resulting in IUP touchdowns.

Two of the three interceptions against Bloomsburg resulted in pick-sixes for the Huskies on back-to-back Mercyhurst drives in the second quarter. That marked the first time that had happened against Mercyhurst since Indianapolis' Chris Volz had two pick-sixes in the third quarter on September 30, 2000.

The Lakers have now committed 11 turnovers in five games, which includes three interception returns for touchdowns. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst has forced just five turnovers through five games.

Return To Sender ...

Senior Colin Kimball returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter against Bloomsburg to give the Lakers a 14-0 lead at that point. It was Kimball's first career punt return for a touchdown and marked the longest punt return of his career.

Last season, Kimball also had two interception returns for touchdowns, setting a school record for most pick-sixes in a season.

A preseason All-American by three different publications, Kimball is second on the team with 30 tackles this season. He also leads the team with two interceptions, giving him 10 in his career. He is tied with Glenn Novak for seventh on the school's all-time list.

The Punting Game ...

Another bright spot in the opening four games has been sophomore punter Jordan Spangler, who has been busy. Spangler averaged 46.7 yards on three punts, with two being downed inside the 20-yard line in the season opener at Bentley. He followed that up by averaging 40.4 yards per punt on seven attempts (two inside the 20) in the visit to West Chester. Against Bloomsburg, Spangler averaged 46.5 yards on four punts, which included a career-long 63-yard boot in the fourth quarter.

Through five games, Spangler ranks third in the PSAC, averaging 41.4 yards per punt. The Mercyhurst school record for punting average is 42.8 set by Jim Schuler in 2004.

Fumble Recoveries ...

Redshirt senior Michael Foster scored the Lakers' first points of the game at West Chester when he recovered a fumble and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown with 4:10 left in the second quarter. It was the first time since Ian Wild recovered a fumble in the endzone against Gannon on October 10, 2009 that Mercyhurst recorded a touchdown on a fumble.

Mixed Reviews On Boylan's First Start ...

Redshirt junior Brendan Boylan made his first collegiate start at quarterback against Bloomsburg on September 20 and moved the offense fairly well against the Bloomsburg defense. However, Boylan contributed to five Mercyhurst turnovers (two fumbles, three interceptions) in the loss.

He finished the day completing 18-of-32 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 11 times for 35 yards, picking up a number of first downs on quarterback sneaks.

Slonac Making Noise On Defense ...

Redshirt sophomore Nick Slonac, who was a tight end last season, has started at middle linebacker in each of the first five games and has played well. He leads the team with three tackles for a loss and has recorded one sack. He is fourth on the team with 24 total tackles, 15 of which have been solo stops.