Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Football is back on the road for week six of 2022 as they are set to travel to face Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst looks to get back to their winning ways and improve to .500 on the year while grabbing conference win number one in enemy territory over the Rock.
1. New Trends
When looking at the history between these two teams, Slippery Rock has had the advantage, winning nine of the previous 13 matchups. The Rock has had major success in the series of late with wins in each of the six previous games played as they have outscored the Lakers 209-129 for an average margin of victory of 13.3 points. Mercyhurst seeks to turn the tide with their first win since a 45-23 defeat of Slippery Rock in 2014 and their first-ever win while on the road.
2. Running Amok
Laker running back Dustin Shoaf continues his strong campaign after a stellar performance against Edinboro last week. The junior rushed for a career-high 103 yards on 29 attempts with a touchdown to his line to help him solidify himself as one of the best runners in the PSAC. On the year, Shoaf has the seventh most carries of anyone in the conference with 82 while checking in at 10th in rushing yards (321). Where his talent has shown the most is near the goal line with him checking in at second in the PSAC in touchdowns with six.
3. Defensive Anchors
Mercyhurst finds a handful players near the top of several conference leaderboards with their work on the defensive side of things. Camden White checks in tied for second in sacks with four to go along with his two forced fumbles, making him one of the more feared pass rushers in the conference. Thomas Zacharyasz enters the new week with 41 tackles after posting double-digit tackle totals in consecutive weeks to put him 12th in the PSAC; he follows up Jacob Holl who is third in tackles with 54. Holl has been one of the biggest impact defenders in the conference this season as one of only three players to average double-digit tackles per game while being tied for second in interceptions with two alongside Marquis Mauney.
4. Road Warriors
Mercyhurst has felt right at home when playing outside of their friendly confines here of late with an 8-5 record in away games since the beginning of the 2019 season. The Lakers have not heard the outside noise from opposing fans in 2022, outscoring the opposition 110-68 in road games so far this season with a pair of performances where they scored 45 or more points. Offense has been the name of the game for Mercyhurst when going on the road as they have scored 366 points in away games since the beginning of 2019 for an average of 28.2 points per game and scoring 30 points or more on six different occasions.
5. Scouting Slippery Rock
Slippery Rock enters week six 4-1 on the year with their lone loss coming last week in a 20-12 defeat against IUP on the road. The Rock's offense has been very solid as they have scored 23 touchdowns and 164 points for an average of 32.8 points per game which are all third in the conference. Slippery Rock's quarterback has been a big reason for the team's success as he has the second most yards of any QB in the conference with 1,346 while throwing for 11 touchdowns which is good enough to be tied for third.
