ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University football program had not seen a passing performance like the one it got on Saturday afternoon since the days of all-time leading passer, Matt Kissell, in 1999.

Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Boylan completed 28-of-44 passes for a career-high 446 yards and a personal-best four touchdowns to lift Mercyhurst to its second consecutive victory – a 45-38 shootout win over crosstown-rival Gannon at Gannon University Field in front of a packed house on Gannon's Homecoming Weekend. With the win, the Lakers improved to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the PSAC West standings. The Golden Knights fell to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

Mercyhurst has now won three straight against Gannon and improved to 12-5-1 lifetime against the Golden Knights.



The 446 passing yards by Boylan marked the first time since Travis Rearick threw for 424 yards against Kutztown in 2011 that a Laker quarterback surpassed the 400-yard mark in a game. His total was the third-highest mark in program history, trailing only Kissell's 512 yards against Hillsdale in 1999 and his 478 yards against Grand Valley State that same year. It also marked just the seventh time in school history that a quarterback had gone over 400 yards, with four of those performances coming from Kissell, who was inducted into the Mercyhurst Hall of Fame in 2005.

All told, the Lakers racked up 608 yards of total offense against the Golden Knights, who came into the contest leading the PSAC in both scoring defense and total defense. It was just the second time in school history that Mercyhurst had eclipsed 600 yards of total offense in a game, with the other coming in last season's 51-21 victory over the Golden Knights (school-record 628).

Coming into the contest, Mercyhurst was 13th out of the 16-team conference in scoring offense (18.4) and was 15th in total offense (245.6). But all of those numbers were thrown out the window on Saturday.

Redshirt junior Brandon Brown-Dukes, who had averaged just 47.6 yards per game on the ground entering play Saturday, hit his season average on the Lakers' first touchdown. The Orlando, Florida native scampered 47 yards to paydirt, by far his longest run of the season, with 12:32 left in the second quarter to put Mercyhurst in front 7-0 after sophomore Dylan Kondis drilled the point after attempt.

Brown-Dukes had his best day of the season, finishing with 133 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 28 carries. He also had two catches for 13 yards out of the backfield. It was his second 100-yard game of the season and the 13th of his career – one shy of tying the school record of 14 set by the program's all-time leading rusher, Richard Stokes.

On Gannon's ensuing possession, the Golden Knights answered with a long play of their own to tie the score at 7-7. On a 3rd-and-15, quarterback Liam Nadler found Jesstin Hamm for a 79-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass with 11:30 left to play in the second quarter to give the home crowd something to cheer about.

But, Mercyhurst responded. On the Lakers' ensuing drive, the Lakers drove down the field, getting the ball to the Gannon 11-yard line on a 20-yard run, on a reverse, by junior wide receiver Jaquan Williams. Two plays later, Boylan found redshirt junior fullback T.J. Latimer for an 11-yard touchdown to recapture the seven-point lead for the Lakers.

Latimer had his best collegiate day from the fullback position, finishing with career-highs in catches (5), receiving yards (82), and touchdowns (2).

The Lakers took a ten-point lead, at 17-7, with 3:33 left when Kondis booted a 30-yard field goal. After missing on his first two attempts of the season, it marked the first three-pointer of Kondis' career. Gannon responded with a 47-yard field goal by Karch Holland with 1:26 left in the first half to cut the Laker lead to 17-10.

But, then head coach Marty Schaetzle and the Lakers came up with, arguably, the biggest play of the game on Mercyhurst's ensuing possession.

After Holland sent the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, Mercyhurst drove to the Gannon 11-yard line with six seconds to play in the half. The opportunity was set up by a huge pass play from Boylan to redshirt senior Stephen Yarbrough, good for 48 yards, on a 3rd-and-13 play from the Laker 37-yard line to keep the drive alive. Then, on a 4th-and-6, instead of calling on Kondis for a short field goal attempt, Schaetzle kept the offense on the field. Boylan rolled to his right and connected with Williams in the endzone, with two seconds showing on the clock, to put Mercyhurst ahead 24-10 at halftime.

Gannon came out recharged in the third quarter, scoring on its first drive of the second half to cut the Laker lead to 24-17. Then, after forcing a Mercyhurst three-and-out, Gannon scored again with 7:38 left, this time with Nadler calling his own number for a three-yard touchdown run. However, senior linebacker Garrett Wild, the reigning PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week, blocked the extra point, his second blocked kick in two weeks, to keep the Lakers in front by a 24-23 score.

Mercyhurst, which scored on its next three possessions, answered on its next drive. The Lakers drove 11 plays and 65 yards in just under five minutes, capped off by a Brown-Dukes one-yard plunge into the endzone, to take a 31-23 lead with 2:41 left to play in the third quarter.

But, the Golden Knights would not go quietly. Alex Papson put the home team to within two points with a two-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third quarter, setting up a two-point conversion try. Nadl wanted to throw, but then tucked it away, lowered his shoulder, and barreled his way into the endzone to tie the contest at 31-31 heading to the fourth quarter.

It did not take long for Mercyhurst to respond. Boylan went 4-for-4 for 78 yards on the Lakers' next drive, hooking up with Latimer on a 32-yard touchdown pass, to reclaim a seven-point lead with 13:05 left. Mercyhurst forced Gannon to a three-and-out, and then went up by two scores when Boylan hit Yarbrough from 28 yards out with 7:31 left.

Gannon answered on a three-yard touchdown run by Nadler with 4:58 left in regulation, cutting the Mercyhurst lead to 45-38.

But, Mercyhurst would not relinquish the ball the rest of the way, picking up three first downs, all on third-down plays. The biggest play of the game came with 1:44 left and Gannon holding one timeout. After a penalty negated a long run by Brown-Dukes that would have sealed the game, Mercyhurst was left with a 3rd-and-20 from its 25 yard line. Schaetzle called a timeout and drew up a play that resulted in a 25-yard connection from Boylan to Williams to seal the victory.

The teams combined for 83 points and 1,070 yards of total offense with the Lakers holding a 608-462 edge. Helping Boylan to his career afternoon were plenty of big plays by the Laker receivers. Williams finished with seven catches for 109 yards, the second time in his career he went over 100 yards receiving. Yarbrough had the biggest day of his career, hauling in five passes for 128 yards.

Nadler finished 18-of-36 for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Caliste had seven catches for 59 yards while Hamm led with 149 yards receiving and two scores on five catches. Brock Jones had 121 yards on 19 carries to lead the Gannon ground game.

Defensively, senior Michael Foster led the Lakers with 10 total tackles while junior Joe Dever had eight stops and a tackle for a loss. Mike Zanders and Mike Phillips led Gannon with 12 stops apiece.

Mercyhurst will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan next Saturday to play Slippery Rock in the Big House Battle. The Lakers and The Rock have split the first six meetings between the two schools. Kickoff from Michigan Stadium is slated for 1:00 p.m.