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Mercyhurst University Athletics

Jacob Hall Preplay
Ed Mailliard
20
Winner Slippery Rock SRU 7-1 , 4-1
17
Mercyhurst MER 2-6 , 1-4
Winner
Slippery Rock SRU
7-1 , 4-1
20
Final
17
Mercyhurst MER
2-6 , 1-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SRU Slippery Rock 0 10 7 3 20
MER Mercyhurst 7 7 0 3 17

Game Recap: Football | | Craig Butler, Director of Athletic Communications

Football’s Upset Bid of No. 17 Slippery Rock Comes Up Just Short

ERIE, Pa. -- On a wet day at Saxon Stadium, the Mercyhurst football team dropped a hard-fought 20-17 decision to No. 17 Slippery Rock in PSAC West action. 

The Lakers came out of the gate fast, using a gadget kick return to set up good field position. Rylan Davison took the opening kick and returned it to the 15-yard line then tossed it back to David Alize who found a seam and took the ball to the Slippery Rock 15.  

Three plays later, Joe Carter found Jason Armstrong from nine yards out to put the Lakers up 7-0. Mercyhurst held the 7-0 advantage after the first, but Slippery Rock answered with a five-yard touchdown rush by Chris D'Or with 14:23 left in the second. 

The defense put the Lakers back in the lead when Ryan Funa separated Tim Smith from a lateral. Jehrod Gregory scooped up the football at The Rock 30 and raced to the endzone to make it 14-7 at the 10:33 mark of the second. 

DJ Opsatnik capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal with 26 seconds to play in the first half to make it 14-10 Lakers at the break. 

Henry Litwin gave Slippery Rock their first lead with a 42-yard touchdown catch with 9:25 to play in the third quarter. 

With 5:11 to play, Brian Alsobrooks hit a 21-yard field goal to level the game at 17-17. The Rock used 3:40 to go 52 yards to set up Opsatnik for a 30-yard field goal to take a 20-17 advantage. 

The Lakers had a chance with 1:24 to play and advanced the ball to their own 42 before Carter was intercepted at midfield. 

The Mercyhurst defense forced six fumbles and recovered three while also recording an interception. Jacob Holl recorded 19 tackles, three for a loss, two sacks and force two fumbles. 

Thomas Zacharyasz added 12 stops. Bradley Burrow had eight tackles, 2.5 for a loss and a .5 sack. 

Carter finished the day 15-of-29 for 111 yards a touchdown and three interceptions. Armstrong hauled in six passes for 32 yards and a score. David Alize led the rushing attack with 55 yards on 12 carries. 

The Lakers slip to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West. They are back in action next Saturday when they travel to Clarion for a noon kickoff.  

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