Erie, Pa. - The Lakers returned home for their homecoming game against Edinboro on Saturday with Mercyhurst unable to get the win. A close contest all the way through finished with the Fighting Scots winning the game with a field goal in the final minute to take home the 16-13 win.
How it Happened
After the two teams punted on their opening possessions, Edinboro fired the opening salvo with a field goal to take the lead. The Fighting Scots began the drive on their own 30 and used a balanced run-pass attack to help them get into range and bang through the 34-yard attempt with 7:49 left in the first half. Edinboro then added on with a pick-six coming courtesy of JR Tellington to make it a 10-0 game with just over seven minutes to go in the opening canto.
The two teams went back and forth with neither squad able to score for some time afterward. It wasn't until the Fighting Scots nailed their second field goal of the opening half at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter to make it 13-0 that either team found the scoreboard. Mercyhurst ended up stopping the string of unanswered points late in the first half as they scored with just three seconds to go before halftime. Mercyhurst leaned on their running back, Dustin Shoaf, to help them score as he accounted for 36 of the team's 49 yards on the drive, giving Joseph Bronco a good look at the uprights, hitting it from 34-yards out to make it a 13-3 game with three seconds on the clock.
During their first possession of the second half, the Lakers moved closer to the Fighting Scots, scoring a touchdown. A 34-yard connection between Joe Carter and Darin Mizgorski proved to be the spark Mercyhurst needed in the early going of the drive. Another big pass play moved them closer to the end zone as Carter looked for Cameron Barmore, but Edinboro's defense was called for pass interference which put the ball at the 13 where Shoaf did the rest of the work. The junior broke a handful of tackles before pushing past the pylon for his sixth rushing TD of the year. With Bronco's extra point splitting the uprights, Mercyhurst had pulled to within three at 13-10 with 10:07 to go in the third. The Lakers then tied things up at 13-13 on their next possession with a 22-yard field goal from Brian Alsobrooks with less than three minutes to go in the game.
Edinboro began the final drive of the game on their own 33 and used a handful of short passes to help them drive the ball down the field. The first six plays of the Fighting Scot's final drive were completed passes, helping them move the ball to the Laker's 18. From there, Edinboro lined up the kick and banged it through to take a 16-13 lead with nine ticks remaining. Mercyhurst tried to do all they could to find the end zone on the ensuing kick-off, but to no avail as they fall to 2-3 in 2022
By the Numbers
The Laker's defense held strong, giving up no touchdowns on the day. The team was unwilling to give up anything on the ground, holding Edinboro to just 37 rushing yards. That mark is the fewest the team has given up since the season opener of 2021 when they allowed only 21 yards to Alderson Broaddus. Dustin Shoaf recorded touchdown number six of the season as he continues to prove to be one of the best runners in the PSAC, holding sole possession of second place in rushing scores.
What's Next
The Lakers look to regroup next week when they play Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst travels to face the Rock in that one on Saturday, October 8th, as the two teams play under the lights with a 6:00 p.m. start.
