Indiana, Pa. - Mercyhurst was not able to turn the tide against the Crimson Hawks as they still search for win number one in the rivalry. The Lakers held steady with IUP on the road in the early going, but the Hawks managed to outscore their counterpart 20-9 in the second half to pull away and take the win.

How it Happened

The Lakers got the game started the way they wanted as Marquis Wright grabbed the interception on the opening drive of the game. Mercyhurst couldn't capitalize, though, as they turned the ball over on downs. The Crimson Hawks began their second drive on their own 47 and used that good field position to drive down the field and fire the opening salvo with a field goal.

Mercyhurst responded on their next possession with a touchdown to grab the lead. The drive began with a great return by David Alize who made it out to the 43-yard line while the Lakers finished in the end zone. Michael Lowery found Jason Armstrong for the score from three yards out to make it a 7-3 game with 4:32 to go in the opening stanza.

The Crimson Hawks ended up retaking the lead to open up the second period with their quarterback, Mak Sexton, connecting with Duane Brown on a 26-yard pass on a 4th and 4 with 13:27 to go in the first half. They then added on nearly 10 minutes later with their second field goal of the game to help IUP take a 13-7 lead at the 3:32 mark of the second quarter with the score holding there going into the halftime break.

Mercyhurst was able to begin the second half with a strong opening drive that saw them put three points on the board. The Lakers drove down the field, accruing 64 yards on 12 plays to help them finish with a 29-yard field goal from Brian Alsobrooks. Coach Riemedio leaned on the run coming out of the break with all but one of their yards coming on the ground in their first possession as Dustin Shoaf accounted for 35 of those 64 yards.

The Crimson Hawks responded by them owning the rest of the second half with 20 unanswered points. It was the passing attack that helped IUP begin to pull away with two passing touchdowns by Mak Sexton. Duane Brown has been Sexton's favorite target coming into this game and that continued to be true as he caught his second and third scores of the contest in the second half to pile on. 

The Lakers did add one more touchdown to their tally before the final buzzer as Michael Lowery scored his second TD of the game. This time around, it was Darin Mizgorski on the receiving end with the two connecting on an 11-yard pass for Mizgorski's first score of the year.

By the Numbers

The Lakers have been great at avoiding penalties and that continued in this one with them having only two flags thrown against them for a total of 15 yards. To this point in the year, Mercyhurst is the least penalized team in the PSAC with just 16 flags in four games for a total of 153 yards, the fewest in the conference. Mercyhurst's defense had three individuals surpass double-digit tackles with Zach Hill having 11 while Jacob Holl had 13 and Thomas Zacharyasz leading the way with 14, becoming the only trio to reach that feat over the past decade. Mercyhurst's defense also grabbed two more interceptions, giving them 10 on the season to lead the conference and all of NCAA D II football.

What's Next

Mercyhurst returns home as they prepare for a matchup with Edinboro. The Lakers host the Fighting Scots next Saturday, October 1st, for their homecoming game with kick-off set for 2:00 p.m.