CALIFORNIA, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst football team makes the trip to Cal U on Saturday for a 3 p.m. kickoff against the Vulcans.

Keeping it Clean 
The Lakers are one of the least penalized teams in the PSAC. They rank second in the conference and 43rd in the nation with just 21 penalties through four games.

In the Red 
The Laker offense will look to get rolling this week after a couple of tough matchups against PSAC East opponents. A place where Mercyhurst has found success is in the red zone getting points on 9-of-10 opportunities. The only non-score for the Lakers in the red zone led directly to a safety in the opener against Alderson Broaddus.

Punt, Pass and Kick 
Brian Alsobrooks has had a strong start kicking the football this season. He is 6-for-6 on field goals am and ranks 12th in field goals per game. He averaged 38.5 yards per punt on the season and ranks 53rd in Division II. Alsobrooks has also taken a few snaps at quarterback going 10-of-17 for 70 yards.

Time to Start Again 
For the second straight week, the Mercyhurst defense was held without a sack. The Lakers had recorded at least one sack in each of the previous nine games including five in the 2021 season opener against Alderson Broaddus. Bradley Burrows currently ranks 29th among active players in Division II with 14.0 career sacks. He ranks 11th among active players with .64 sacks per game. 

Holding on to the Ball 
Mercyhurst ranks 19th in the nation in time of possession. The Lakers average 33:16 of possession time per game aided by a dominant performance in Week One in which they held the ball for over 43 minutes.

Schaetzle's Final Season 
Marty Schaetzle announced that he would retire at the end of the season. In his 20th season, Schaetzle has led the Lakers in two conferences and one PSAC title. Assistant Head Coach Ryan Riemedio has been tabbed the next head coach of the Laker program.

Scouting the Vulcans 
Cal U enters the match up with a 4-0 overall record and 1-0 mark in PSAC West play after a 20-12 victory over Edinboro last week. Noah Mitchell has led the Vulcan offense with 1,200 passing yards over four games. He has tossed six touchdowns and three interceptions. JaQuae Jackson has 26 catches for 388 yards and three scores. Noah Dillow is a disruptive force on defense recoring 32 tackles, five for a loss including a pair of sacks. Matt Tobey checks in second in total tackles with 24.