ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst football team suffered their second consecutive PSAC West loss on Saturday afternoon. This time falling to tenth-ranked Slippery Rock University by a score of 45-14 at Saxon Stadium.
The Rock jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead after one quarter on as Roland Rivers III found Colton Richards and Jermaine Wynn on touchdown passes of three as well as eight yards. Jake Chapla added a 37-yard field goal with 38-seconds remaining in the frame. In the opening 15-minutes the Lakers were held to just 29 yards on 15 plays, while Slippery Rock totaled 134 on just 18 plays.
With Mercyhurst having the ball to begin the second they looked to get back in the game, unfortunately after a
Doug Altavilla pass compeltion to
Jason Armstrong set up a 4th and 13 the ensuing
Brendan Cole punt was returned 70-yards for the visiting touchdown extending the margin to 24-0 just 1:36 in. The Lakers finally cracked the scoreboard later in the period when Rivers pass was picked by
Joseph Scro who scampered 18-yards into the endzone. The
Mark Shafer Jr. kick made it 24-7 with nine minutes remaining. After the defense forced the Rock to go three-and-out Mercyhurst closed the gap to ten engineering a four-play, 41-yard drive that took all of 23-seconds culminating in a 41-yard strike from Altavilla to
Garrett Owens on fourth-and-ten which made the score 24-14. The Lakers hoped to keep the score there heading into the locker room, but a one-yard run by Rivers stretched it back to 31-14 at half.
The remainder of the scoring occurred in the third as Rivers found Henry Litwin for an 11-yard score, and Qaadir Dixon on an eight-yard pass for the 45-14 final.
On the day Mercyhurst was outgained 416-162, including 211 to -12 on the ground.
Altavilla went 13-23 for 93 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Owens was the leading reciever with 54 yards on five grabs, while
Clay Waldron and
Cortez Watson each totaled three catches for a combined 74 yards. Defensively,
Alex Zacharyasz racked up a game-high 13 tackles, with
Jake Tarasovitch and
Corbin Kessler posting nine apiece.
Rivers was 23-31 through the air for the Rock recording 206 yards and four touchdowns with a pair of interceptions. Wynn led the receiving core with seven grabs for 82 yards and a td. Charles Snorweah carried the ball 15 times for 79 yards. Khadir Roberts and Trysten McDonald had five tackles each.
The Lakers return to action next Saturday, October 12th when they make the short trip down to Edinboro University to continue PSAC West play. Kick-off is set for 2pm.
