Mercyhurst Game NotesLive StatsLive VideoLive AudioERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University football team will play, for the first time in 2014, at the friendly confines of Tullio Field on Saturday, September 20 when it hosts 15th-ranked Bloomsburg University. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
The Lakers (0-2, 0-1 PSAC West) and the Huskies (2-0, 1-0 PSAC East) have met four times in the all-time series with each team winning twice. Bloomsburg won the first two meetings, in 2008 and 2009, by a combined score of 41-7. However, Mercyhurst won the next two to even the score. Both Laker victories came in the playoff year of 2010 and were two weeks apart. Mercyhurst knocked off Bloomsburg 56-37, on November 13, to win the program's first-ever conference championship. Two weeks later, the Lakers defeated the Huskies 28-14 in Mercyhurst's first-ever NCAA playoff game.
Mercyhurst has started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2006 when the Lakers were still a part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Last Saturday, ninth-ranked West Chester defeated Mercyhurst at John A. Farrell Stadium by a final of 38-14, scoring 21 points in the opening quarter to knock off the Lakers. Mercyhurst generated 255 yards of total offense against the Golden Rams, but 114 of those came in the final quarter when West Chester was leading 35-7. Redshirt sophomore
Zach Emerick started at quarterback for the second consecutive week but was replaced at halftime by redshirt junior
Brendan Boylan. Emerick finished 8-of-16 for 86 yards and one interception while Boylan was 9-of-20 for 126 yards and one touchdown.
Redshirt junior running back
Brandon Brown-Dukes and the Laker ground game struggled to the tune of 43 yards on 22 carries. Brown-Dukes finished with 39 yards on 15 totes and now has 97 rushing yards in two games this season. The Orlando, Florida native entered the 2014 campaign averaging nearly 110 yards per game over his first two seasons.
The Lakers will be hoping to turn things around, especially on offense, on Saturday. Mercyhurst is averaging 202.5 yards per game of total offense - 15th in the 16-team conference. The rushing attack is dead last in the league, averaging 43.5 yards per game. Last year, Mercyhurst averaged 237.8 yards per game on the ground, second only to Bloomsburg.
Bloomsburg enters the contest not having fared much better on the offensive side of the ball. The Huskies are 14th in the league in total offense (228.0) and are dead last in passing (40.5 yards per game). However, Bloomsburg enters with a perfect 2-0 mark thanks to its defense forcing nine turnovers over the first two contests. The Huskies defeated Stonehill by a 24-7 final in the opener before holding off California (Pa.), 24-21 in overtime, last Saturday.
Senior running back Eddie Mateo is fourth in the PSAC with 211 rushing yards through two games. However, Bloomsburg quarterbacks Tim Kelly and Brady Knerr have combined to complete 7-of-34 passes for 81 yards in the first two weeks.
