Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Football was back in action Saturday night with them hosting the Golden Eagles of Clarion. The Lakers were unable to get the win on their home turf as a last-second field goal by Clarion sealed the 23-21 win.

How it Happened

The first period proved to be an offensive show with the two teams trading blows. Clarion opened up the scoring with a 30-yard field goal from Jarrett Esposito at the 11:33 mark of the first quarter with the Lakers able to respond with the first TD of the game. Mercyhurst drove the ball down the field on a dozen pays for 65 yards, eating up over six minutes on the clock. Joe Carter connected with Cameron Barmore twice on the drive for big plays with the first being a 21-yard reception down the middle of the field while the second ended up in the end zone to give the Lakers a 7-3 lead.

After the Golden Eagles jumped ahead 10-7, Mercyhurst responded with their second touchdown of the first period. Sophomore running back David Alize broke off a big run for 33 yards to help energize the Lakers and get them close to their end zone. It was once again Barmore and Carter connecting for the score as the Laker QB hit Barmore in the back of the end zone to give Mercyhurst a 14-10 lead.

The Golden Eagles found their rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 10 points to take a 20-14 lead into the halftime break. After a 32-yard field goal from Esposito made it 14-13, Clarion used a strong option attack to help them move the ball. Their biggest play came from their quarterback, Zach Benedek, who rushed for 55 yards up the middle to put the Golden Eagles at the 18 before taking it in for the score four plays later to put Clarion ahead by six.

The third period ended up belonging to the Lakers with them able to finish ahead 21-20. Mercyhurst used the ground game to help them take the lead with their final scoring drive of the game lasting five plays with all of them coming on the ground. The biggest of those plays was a 36-yard run from Diondre Cooper who finished the game with a season-high 84 yards rushing. The final run of the five was a nine-yard scramble from David Alize as the Lakers ended up taking a one-point lead with 5:23 to go in the third quarter.

Neither team was able to gain much momentum in the final stanza as the score held at 21-20 until the very last second. Clarion began their final drive of the game with 2:38 showing on the game clock at their own 35-yard line. The two big plays of the drive were a pair of passes from Benedek to Khalil Owens totaling 52 yards. The second pass went for 18 yards, putting Clarion at the 10-yard line as the Golden Eagles were now well within field goal range. With one second on the clock, Clarion called timeout with Mercyhurst following with one of their own to try and ice Esposito, but the Clarion kicker knocked the ball through the uprights to give the Golden Eagles a dramatic win.

By the Numbers

Dustin Shoaf and Diondre Cooper made for a dynamic duo in the backfield for Mercyhurst with a combined 170 yards on the ground on 33 carries. Shoaf's 86 yards is his second-most this season while Cooper's 84 is the most of his career. Cameron Barmore had his best performance of 2022 with a season-high five catches, 94 yards, and two touchdowns. On the defensive side of things, Jacob Holl and Thomas Zacharyasz led the way, combining for 29 tackles. Holl finished with a dozen total tackles to give him double-digit tackles in four straight games and in five of the team's seven games this season. Zacharyasz had a night he won't soon forget with 17 tackles for a new career-high. Thomas has been a major reason for the Laker's stout defense in recent weeks, accumulating 50 tackles over the last four games and his light shone at its brightest tonight. 

What's Next

Mercyhurst searches for their third win of the season next Saturday, October 22nd, when they take the short trip to Gannon to visit the Golden Knights at noon.