LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - For the third time since joining the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Mercyhurst University head football coach, Marty Schaetzle, was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year to highlight Mercyhurst's honorees on the All-PSAC selections, which were announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. Schaetzle also won the honor in 2008 (Mercyhurst's first year in the conference) and in 2010 (Mercyhurst's PSAC Championship season).

Mercyhurst had a total of ten players named to the All-PSAC West First or Second Team, with four Lakers earning First Team accolades. The ten award winners ties the program record for the most recipients of a First or Second Team selection since joining the conference in 2008. The 2010 and 2011 squads also had ten members on the All-PSAC First or Second Teams. 

Redshirt junior running back Brandon Brown-Dukes was named to the First Team for the third consecutive season while redshirt senior tight end R.J. Miller and redshirt senior offensive guard Ben Gysin were named to the First Team for the second straight time. Miller was also a Second Team member in 2011. Senior free safety Colin Kimball was the only member of the Mercyhurst defense to be named to the First Team. It was his first selection on the First Team after earning a Second Team nod a year ago.

On the Second Team were all first time recipients - redshirt senior wide receiver Stephen Yarbrough, junior linebacker Joe Dever, senior linebacker Garrett Wild, redshirt senior safety Michael Foster, sophomore return specialist Drew Robinson, and sophomore punter Jordan Spangler.

In his 13th season as the head coach of the Laker program, Schaetzle guided the Lakers to seven consecutive victories to close out the regular season after the team started 0-4. It was Mercyhurst's third consecutive winning season, after finishing 7-4 in 2013 and 9-2 in 2012, to mark the longest such string since the program had seven consecutive winning seasons from 1983 to 1989. Mercyhurst had the best record against Western Division opponents in 2014, finishing with a 6-1 record, and, had it not been for a rule change over the summer to count all PSAC contests (divisional and non-divisional) as part of the overall conference record, would have hosted the PSAC Championship against Bloomsburg. However, the Lakers lost their two crossover contests as part of their 0-4 start, which allowed Slippery Rock to be the western division representative in The State Game.

Mercyhurst, under the direction of Schaetzle, was the only team in the country this year (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) to start the season with four losses in its first four games and then win out the rest of the season to finish with a 7-4 overall record.

Schaetzle is now 69-74 in his 13 seasons as the Lakers' head coach, with a 48-31 overall mark since Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008.

Despite having his worst season statistically in 2014, Brown-Dukes still finished third among Western Division running backs by averaging 77.4 yards per game on the ground. He finished with 774 yards rushing and five touchdowns and added career-highs in receptions (18), receiving yards (129), and receiving touchdowns (2) to earn First Team honors for the third consecutive season. He ranked 13th in the conference in all-purpose yardage per game (90.3) and had four 100-yard rushing contests during the season. His fourth 100-yard game, against Seton Hill, gave him the all-time record for most career 100-yard games in program history (15).

His 774 rushing yards moved him into second place on the school's all-time rushing list with 3,077 yards, which trails only Richard Stokes' 3,381 yards from 2005-08 for most on the program's all-time list.

A native of East Palestine, Ohio, Gysin earned First Team honors for the second straight season after anchoring an offensive line that allowed just ten sacks in 11 games this season. In his four seasons, Gysin never missed a start - 44 consecutive games. This season, Mercyhurst averaged 401.0 yards of total offense in its 11 games - finishing with 4,411 total yards of offense, which was just shy of breaking the school record of 4,473 established in 2000. The Lakers also averaged 31:05 in time of possession - fourth in the conference.

Miller, a native of Pittsburgh, had his best season as a Laker and earned First Team honors for a second straight season. The tight end led Mercyhurst with a career-high 45 receptions and finished third on the team with a career-high 485 receiving yards. He also tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches in 2014. He caught at least one pass in all 11 games and posted career-highs in catches (9) and receiving yards (90), while tying a career-high in touchdowns (2) in his final collegiate game against Shippensburg on November 15. Prior to his 45-485-7 season in 2014, he previous season bests were 16 catches, 186 yards, and three touchdowns.

He finished his career with 91 catches for 1,013 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The final First Team honoree, Kimball anchored the Laker defense in 2014. While finishing third on the team with a career-best 63 tackles, including 53 solo stops, Kimball established career-highs with seven interceptions, 184 interception return yards, and tied a career-high with two interception returns for touchdowns. He had at least three tackles in all 11 games and ended with five interceptions over the last three games to break the school record with 15 career interceptions. Against Shippensburg in his final game, Kimball broke a school-record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown (previous high was 85 by Casey Williams against Grand Valley State in 2000).

In addition to becoming the career leader with 15 interceptions at Mercyhurst, Kimball also established new school records, breaking his old marks, in interception return yards in a game (120), in a season (184), and in a career (335). He also tied his record with two pick-sixes in a season and extended his record with four career interception returns for touchdowns. He led the PSAC in picks, interception return yards, and pick-sixes and ranks in the top five nationally in all three categories.

Yarbrough was the only player on the offensive side of the ball from Mercyhurst to earn Second Team honors. He posted career-highs in receptions (31), receiving yards (761), and touchdowns (7) during the 2014 season. He led the team in receiving yards and tied for the team lead, with Miller, in touchdown catches. He also finished second in the conference in yards per catch (24.5).

A native of Beachwood, Ohio, Yarbrough also established a new school record by hauling in 238 yards receiving in the 59-49 victory over California on November 8.

Mercyhurst had three defensive players named to the Second Team - Dever, Wild, and Foster. Dever, who hails from Cleveland, Ohio, finished second on the team with a career-high 66 total tackles but led the squad with a career-best nine tackles for a loss. Wild, a native of Pittsburgh, posted a career-best 47 total tackles while registering 2.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, two pass breakups, and blocked two kicks. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Foster led the Lakers with 77 total tackles including a career-high 16 stops in his final game against Shippensburg. He also had 3.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, one interception, six pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery that he took 43 yards for a touchdown against West Chester.

The Lakers had two specialists on the Second Team as well - Robinson at return specialist and Spangler at punter. Robinson, a native of New Castle, Pa., was second in the PSAC by averaging 28.5 yards per kickoff return. On 21 returns, he had 599 return yards, including an 87-yarder for a touchdown in the win over Seton Hill on November 1. He also had an 83-yard return against Bentley to open the season - the longest return that did not result in a touchdown in school history. His 87-yarder against the Griffins was the first touchdown of his career and was the second-longest kick return in the PSAC this season and was the sixth-longest in Mercyhurst history.

Meanwhile, Spangler, a native of Johnstown, Pa., finished second in the conference in punting average at 40.6. On 47 punt attempts, Spangler had 16 downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line and had five boots of at least 50 yards, including a career-long of 63 against Bloomsburg on September 20.