ERIE, Pa. - The PSAC Western Division still has many questions that will be answered on the final Saturday afternoon of the 2014 regular season. Part of the logjam atop the standings will be on display at Tullio Field when the Mercyhurst University football team will play against the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
Winners of five consecutive games, Mercyhurst still has an opportunity to represent the PSAC West in the conference title game next Saturday, which, this year, will be held at the West representative's home field. The Lakers (5-4, 5-3 PSAC West) would need a victory on Saturday against the Vulcans (7-2, 6-2 PSAC West) and then would need IUP to knock off Gannon and Clarion to defeat Slippery Rock for a chance to play for the PSAC crown.
The Vulcans would need a win on Saturday and a loss by Gannon to secure their spot in the title game.
The Lakers and the Vulcans have split six previous meetings with Mercyhurst winning the last two and three of the last four. Last season,
Steven Wakefield booted a field goal with 40 seconds left in regulation to lift the Lakers to a 23-20 win in California - the first-time ever that Mercyhurst had defeated California on its home turf.
Last Week ...Mercyhurst won its fifth consecutive game last Saturday, defeating Seton Hill, 49-32, in a wild game at Offutt Field in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The Lakers have now won both meetings between the two schools, both on the road, in the all-time series.
The teams combined for 81 points, 1,150 yards of total offense and 14 turnovers - eight by Seton Hill and six by Mercyhurst.
Records Were Made To Be Broken ...Last Saturday, Mercyhurst set a program record by picking off Seton Hill quarterbacks seven times in the 49-32 win over the Griffins. Mercyhurst had one interception by seven different players. The Lakers' previous record was six at Ferris State on October 14, 2000. On the flip side, however, Seton Hill set Mercyhurst opponent records passes attempted (72), completed (43), and passing yards (568).
Redshirt junior
Brandon Brown-Dukes became the school's all-time leader in career 100-yard games rushing with 15 when he ran for 158 yards and two scores against the Griffins. It was his fourth 100-yard outing of the season and snapped a tie with Richard Stokes for most all-time.
Senior free safety
Colin Kimball also had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown, setting the school record for most career pick-sixes with three.
Turnovers A-Plenty ...Last Saturday's game at Seton Hill saw 14 combined turnovers which included one play that featured two turnovers. Seton Hill committed eight turnovers while Mercyhurst turned the ball over six times for the second time this season.
Entering play last Saturday, Mercyhurst had forced just six opponent turnovers through the first eight games of the season, including just three interceptions for zero return yards. The Lakers forced Seton Hill into eight turnovers, seven of which were interceptions by seven different players. The Lakers turned those interceptions into 128 return yards, including a 41-yarder for a touchdown by
Colin Kimball and a 42-yarder by redshirt freshman
Jakob Plonski.
Brown-Dukes PSAC West Offensive POTW Award ...Brandon Brown-Dukes was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against Seton Hill. He ran the ball 22 times for a season-high 158 yards and a season-high tying two touchdowns in the victory over the Griffins. He also added a catch for three yards in the win.
Here's To You, Mr. Robinson ...Sophomore running back
Drew Robinson was named the ECAC Division II Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown in the win over Seton Hill. It was his first collegiate kickoff return for a touchdown and was the longest kick return of his career. He had an 83-yarder against Bentley in the season opener, which stands as the longest return in school history that did not result in a touchdown. His 87-yarder on Saturday was the sixth-longest in history. He finished the day with 136 yards on three returns - becoming the first Laker to record three games of at least 100 kickoff return yards in a season since Theo Hall had six in 2007. His 567 return yards this season is the seventh-most in school history.
Earlier in the year, Robinson recorded the first multiple-touchdown game of his career on against Clarion when he caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from
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.
Robinson leads the Lakers in all-purpose yards this season with 874, an average of 97.1 per game.
Spread It Around ...Mercyhurst has eight players with at least ten receptions this season and 13 players who have caught at least one pass from Laker quarterbacks. In last Saturday's win at Seton Hill, Mercyhurst only completed 14 passes, but eight different receivers had at least one catch.
Jaquan Williams (92 yards) and
John Matarazzo (29 yards) led the way with three catches apiece.
What A Stretch ...Over his last five starts (all victories), redshirt junior quarterback
Brendan Boylan has completed 97-of-168 passes (57.7%) for 1,641 yards and 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Prior to his pick in the second quarter against Edinboro on October 23, he had not thrown an interception in his previous 127 pass attempts dating back to the Lakers' 38-22 loss against Bloomsburg on September 20. He had, arguably, his worst game of the stretch last Saturday at Seton Hill, completing 13-of-29 for 248 yards and two scores, but was picked off three times. However, Boylan added 68 yards on the ground on just four carries in the win.
Boy Oh Boylan ...Boylan did it again against Edinboro, posting another huge effort in the Lakers' 31-10 win at Veterans Memorial Stadium. After posting the third-highest single-game passing yardage total in school history against Gannon (446), Boylan shredded The Rock defense to the tune of 385 yards and four touchdowns at the Big House. He completed 24-of-37 passes and also added 27 yards rushing on six carries. Against Edinboro, Boylan went 19-of-33 for 321 yards and two touchdowns passing. He also rushed for his first two collegiate scores in the win. He set the school record with three consecutive 300-yard passing efforts. He was tied with four other quarterbacks (Matt Kissell, Mac McArdle, Mitch Phillis, and Travis Rearick) prior to the three-game stretch.
Emerick Still Contributing ...Despite seeing limited action since week three of the season due to the emergence of
Brendan Boylan, backup quarterback
Zach Emerick is still contributing. He has thrown just two passes in the last three games but both have resulted in short touchdown strikes. Against Slippery Rock, Emerick replaced Boylan for one play and connected with
Donny Holl on a six-yard score. Then, last Saturday, Emerick replaced Boylan for the last few minutes and threw just one pass - a four-yard touchdown to
John Matarazzo.
Big Play Yarbrough ...Redshirt senior wideout
Stephen Yarbrough has emerged as the big play receiver for the Lakers this season. After entering the season with 25 catches for 305 yards and one score in his first three seasons, Yarbrough has hauled in just 13 catches but for 358 yards and four touchdowns. He is currently second in the PSAC in yards per catch (27.5).
The Mercyhurst record for yards per catch in a season is 26.7 set by Sam Scarpaci in 1981 and again by Marcus Snipes last season.
Slow Starts ...Even after outscoring Seton Hill 7-6 in the opening quarter last Saturday, the Lakers have been outscored 67-28 in the opening quarters of games this season. It was just Mercyhurst's fourth touchdown in the first quarter of a game this season when Boylan hooked up with
R.J. Miller on an 11-yard strike with 39 seconds left in the first quarter last Saturday. In the other three quarters, Mercyhurst has outscored the opposition 234-180.
Second Halves ...Mercyhurst trailed entering halftime in back-to-back games against Slippery Rock and Edinboro. However, in those two games, Mercyhurst outscored both The Rock and the Fighting Scots 28-0 in the second halves en route to victories in both games.
Mercyhurst held Slippery Rock to 83 yards and no points in the second half of the Big House Battle, while, against Edinboro, the Fighting Scots mustered 182 yards of offense but could generate zero points on the scoreboard.
Offense Is Rolling ...After struggling to find its identity through the first four games of the season, Mercyhurst has found its way during the last five. Mercyhurst averaged just 16 points and 231 yards over the first four games of the season (Bentley, West Chester, Bloomsburg, IUP), but those numbers have skyrocketed to 39.6 points and 474.8 yards during the five-game winning streak (Clarion, Gannon, Slippery Rock, Edinboro, Seton Hill).
After posting just one game of over 300 yards of offense during their first four games, the Lakers have gone over 300 in each of the last five and went over 500 in back-to-back wins over Gannon and Slippery Rock.
Just For Kicks ...Sophomore
Dylan Kondis entered the season with some big shoes to fill as the Lakers' placekicker after having to replace the graduated
Steven Wakefield who broke nearly kicking and scoring record in program history. Kondis, however, has filled in nicely. After missing his first two career field goal attempts, he has drilled his last three (30, 30, 21). He is also a perfect 35-for-35 in extra points this season and has made at least one in every game to this point. He is the first Laker kicker in at least the last ten seasons to make his first 35 extra point attempts.
Dever Posting Big Numbers ...Linebacker
Joe Dever is once again posting huge numbers on the defensive side of the ball. The junior linebacker leads the squad with a career-high 57 tackles and also leads the team with a career-best eight tackles for a loss. Dever has also broken up four passes this season.
He is one of three Lakers (
Michael Foster,
Colin Kimball) to record at least two tackles in all nine games this season. He has also recorded a tackle for a loss in all three of Mercyhurst's home games this season.
Boylan PSAC West Offensive POTW Award, Again ...Boylan was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week for his second consecutive week after his performance in The Big House against Slippery Rock. He completed 24-of-37 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns in the Lakers' 45-23 win. He also rushed for 27 yards on six carries to give him 412 yards of total offense.
Fun Facts About Boylan's Performance At The Big House ...Boylan's 385 yards passing against Slippery Rock at The Big House has only been topped by one Michigan quarterback at Michigan Stadium (Devin Gardner threw for 501 against Indiana and 451 against Ohio State in 2013). His 385 yards has only been surpassed by two Michigan quarterbacks in the history of the program (Gardner's 501 against Indiana, Gardner's 451 against Ohio State, and John Navarre's 389 at Iowa in 2003). Tom Brady only had one career 300-yard passing game in The Big House (307 against Illinois in 1999). Only 12 times in the history of Michigan football has a Wolverine quarterback gone over 300 yards passing at Michigan Stadium.
Defense Impressive ...Slippery Rock came into The Big House Battle averaging 43.2 points and 514.7 yards in its first six games. However, the Lakers held The Rock to 23 points and 361 yards of offense on Saturday. What was more impressive - Slippery Rock had no points and 83 yards in the entire second half of the contest.
Where Did That Come From? ...Entering the game at Gannon, Mercyhurst was 13th in the PSAC in scoring offense (18.4), 15th in the PSAC in total offense (245.6), and 11th in the conference in passing offense (178.6). On the flip side, Gannon entered with the top scoring defense (14.6) and the top total defense (253.0). Mercyhurst had accumulated more than 300 yards on offense in a game in two of its first five games and had not scored more than 28 points (28-0 win against Clarion) through the first five weeks.
However, the Lakers dropped 45 points, racking up 608 yards of total offense, including 446 through the air in a 45-38 victory at Gannon.
Brendan Boylan threw for a career-high 446 yards and four touchdowns while redshirt junior
Brandon Brown-Dukes rushed for a season-high 133 yards and two scores in the victory.
Boylan Wins PSAC West Offensive POTW Award ...Boylan established career-highs in attempts (44), completions (28), passing yards (446), and passing touchdowns (4) against Gannon to earn both the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week and the ECAC Division II Offensive Player of the Week honors.
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.
Gutsy Calls ...Head coach
Marty Schaetzle drew up some play calls in huge situations that played a significant role in deciding the outcome of the game against Gannon. On a 4th-and-6 from the Gannon 11-yard line with under ten seconds remaining, instead of attempting a field goal, the Lakers went for it and Boylan hit
Jaquan Williams in the endzone to close the first half with a 24-10 lead. Then, on 3rd-and-20 with under two minutes left in regulation, instead of running the football to force Gannon to use its final timeout, the Lakers again went for the big play and Boylan and Williams hooked up again for 25 yards and then ran out the clock from there.
Against Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst was 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions with the Lakers scoring on a 4th-and-4 from the Slippery Rock 21-yard line (Boylan to Brown-Dukes) to get on the scoreboard. Mercyhurst was 1-for-2 on fourth-down tries last Thursday and is 9-of-19 on the season.
600 Against Gannon ...Mercyhurst has had two games in its history in which it has racked up at least 600 yards of total offense - and both have come against Gannon in the last two seasons. Last year, Mercyhurst broke a 27-year-old school record by picking up 628 yards of offense in a 51-21 victory over the Golden Knights. Mercyhurst had 608 yards of offense in its win over Gannon on October 11.
Last year, Mercyhurst had 407 yards on the ground, setting a Division II program record and third-highest total in school history overall. Last week, Mercyhurst had 446 yards through the air, also the third-highest total in program history. Mercyhurst also had 30 first downs, one shy of the school record set against Brockport State in 1985 and had 20 passing first downs, one shy of the school record of 21 against Michigan Tech in 1999.
Receivers Set Career Highs ...Redshirt senior
Stephen Yarbrough and redshirt junior
T.J. Latimer established a number of career-highs in the victory over Gannon. Yarbrough had a career-best five catches for a career-high 128 yards. He tied a career-high with one touchdown catch. Meanwhile, Latimer set career-highs in receptions (5), receiving yards (82), and receiving touchdowns (2).
Junior
Jaquan Williams finished with seven catches for 109 yards - just the second time in his career he has gone over 100 yards receiving in a game.
On October 23, Yarbrough did it again, breaking his career-high with two touchdown catches (57 and 55) in the win over Edinboro
Wild Earns PSAC West Defensive POTW Award ...Senior linebacker
Garrett Wild earned the 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. He also blocked a point-after attempt in last week's win over Gannon for his fourth-career blocked kick.
DEE-Fense ...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, 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).
Boylan Snaps QB Streak ...Boylan threw for a then-career-high 241 yards and a then-career-best three touchdowns in the 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.
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 seven weeks, converting 43-of-97 (44.3%) third-down opportunities to improve their season's rate to 39.8% (7th in the PSAC). Last season, Mercyhurst was 55-of-137 on third downs (40.1%).
It Had Been A While ...The Lakers dropped to 0-4 after a 41-7 loss at Indiana (Pa.), 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.
Ground Game Improving ...After averaging nearly 240 rushing yards per game last season, Mercyhurst is averaging 110.6 yards per game (11th in PSAC) this season. However, during the current five-game winning streak, Mercyhurst is averaging 144.6 yards per game on the ground and has recorded four straight games of over 100 yards. In the first five contests, Mercyhurst had only one 100-yard effort on the ground. The Lakers were second in the conference only to Bloomsburg a year ago.
Blocking Kicks ...With
Nick Kurpakus blocking a point after attempt in the win at Seton Hill, Mercyhurst's special teams has now blocked six kicks through nine games this season. The Lakers had blocked four kicks in each of the last two seasons prior to this year.
Garrett Wild has two blocked kicks while
Pat Behm,
Deonte Huggins,
James Karasek, and Kurpakus have the others.
Turnovers Costly ...The Lakers have committed 18 turnovers in nine games, which includes three interception returns for touchdowns. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst has forced 14 turnovers through nine games, eight of which came last Saturday at Seton Hill.
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.
The Punting Game ...Another bright spot through nine games has been sophomore punter
Jordan Spangler. Through nine games, Spangler ranks fourth in the PSAC, averaging 40.1 yards per punt. The Mercyhurst school record for punting average is 42.8 set by Jim Schuler in 2004. He has punted 39 times this season with 13 of his boots being downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He has also had four kicks of at least 50 yards, including a career-long 63-yarder against Bloomsburg.
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.
What Can Brown-Dukes For You ...Redshirt junior
Brandon Brown-Dukes has continued his torrid ascent up the school's all-time rushing leaderboard. The Orlando, Florida native became the first running back in school history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns after finishing with 1,008 last season. With his 58 rushing yards in the season opener at Bentley, Brown-Dukes surpassed Craig Woodard (1992-95) for second on the school's all-time list. He has 719 rushing yards through eight games this season, giving him 3,022 in his career and making him the second player in school history to record 3,000 career yards on the ground. He trails only Richard Stokes (3,381 from 2005-08). Brown-Dukes was the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2012 and has been an All-PSAC West First Team selection in each of his first two seasons.
He also ranks third on the school's all-time list in rushing touchdowns with 29, tied for third in total touchdowns with 31, fourth on the school's all-time all-purpose yardage list with 3,283 yards, and ranks third in all-purpose yards per game during his career (109.4 ypg).
Welcome To The Club ...With 146 all-purpose yards against Slippery Rock at Michigan Stadium, Brown-Dukes became the fifth player in school history to accumulate 3,000 all-purpose yards in his career. Last week, he passed Scott Gorring for fourth on the school's all-time list with 3,283 all-purpose yards. He now trails only Ed Bailey (4,026), Trevor Kennedy (4,249), and Richard Stokes (4,744).
He also became the second member of the 3,000-yard rushing club at Mercyhurst with his 158 yards against Seton Hill last Saturday. With 3,022 yards, he now trails Richard Stokes by 360 to take over the top spot in the record book.
Another Record ...Brown-Dukes rushed for 100 yards against Slippery Rock to give him 15 career 100-yard rushing games, breaking a tie with Richard Stokes for most in school history. Stokes had 14 100-yard efforts in 42 career games while Brown-Dukes has reached 15 in just 30 contests.
How He Fares Against California ...In his first, and only, game against California as a redshirt freshman, Brown-Dukes carried the ball 21 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-7 win over the Vulcans. Brown-Dukes missed the game last season in California with an ankle injury.
Receiving Threat ...In his first two seasons, Brown-Dukes was not included much in the passing games, catches just 15 passes for 95 yards. However, this season, the redshirt junior has caught at least one pass in all nine games and has totaled 17 catches for 123 yards and his first two career receiving scores. He had career-highs of four catches for 46 yards in the win against Slippery Rock.
Hitting Triple Digits ...The Lakers are 11-4 in the 15 contests that Brown-Dukes has rushed for at least 100 yards. Meanwhile, he has recorded more than 200 yards in a game twice - setting a school-record for most career 200-yard games. Mercyhurst has had only six games in which a runner has had at least 200 yards - Brian Haberstock (282, at Buffalo, 1990), Richard Stokes (244, at Ferris State, 2007), Gerald Anderson (237, at LIU Post, 2010), and Craig Woodard (222, vs Canisius, 1992) are the others.
Hitting Paydirt ...Brown-Dukes has scored at least one touchdown in 19 of his 30 career games wth the Lakers. He is the school's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns in a season, when he rushed for 16 scores in 2012. The Lakers are 15-4 lifetime when Brown-Dukes reaches the endzone at least once.
Up Next ...Mercyhurst is scheduled to host Shippensburg at Tullio Field next Saturday, November 15, in the final game of the regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and will also serve as Senior Day for the Lakers. The Lakers and the Raiders have split two meetings in the all-time series with Shippensburg winning the last meeting by a 40-16 final on November 12, 2011.
Mercyhurst, however, is still in the running to be the Western Division participant in the PSAC title game next Saturday, which would be at Tullio Field. For that to happen, Mercyhurst would need to defeat California, IUP would need to defeat Gannon, and Clarion would have to knock off Slippery Rock. In the event that all three of those would happen, Mercyhurst would play Bloomsburg next Saturday at Tullio Field for the PSAC Championship.
