Erie, Pa. - After grabbing their second win of the season a week ago, the Lakers hoped to make it two in a row against Gannon Saturday evening. A tight contest that never saw a lead bigger than seven ended with a last-second field goal by Gannon that led to a 31-28 final with the Golden Knights in front.
How it Happened
2022 PSAC West Offensive Second Team member Dustin Shoaf got the ball rolling for the Lakers with the first score of the game as he was able to push past the pylon on a 24-yard pass from Adam Urena to give the Lakers a 7-0 lead with just under 12 minutes to go in the first. Gannon responded with a score of their own on on a methodical, 15-play drive that ended in a one yard run to tie things up with 2:57 remaining in the quarter.
Shoaf found the end zone for the second time in the opening half of play with just under five minutes expired from the second quarter. Mercyhurst put together a long drive of their own for the score with the Lakers driving 71 yards down the field on 13 plays with Shoaf's run making it 14-7. The Golden Knights were able to claim the lead by the end of the opening half of play with their second rushing TD of the opening half followed by a passing score in the final minute of play to make it 21-14 the break.
Mercyhurst came out of the locker room as the aggressors with them scoring twice in the third period. It was a huge, 57-yard pass from Austin Urena to Joe Kerbacher for the score to tie things up 21-21. After Gannon reclaimed the lead, Urena got his third passing score of the game as he found Braydon Black for a 43-yard pass at the 3:53 mark of the third as Mercyhurst once again managed to tie the game at 28-28.
The fourth quarter was one that saw a lot of action, but with little scoring, but with only three points. It looked like the Lakers were going to take the lead multiple times, but it was the Golden Knights who finished on top. After driving the ball down the field 47 yards before kicker Eric Scarpino split the uprights with just a few seconds remaining in the game. Mercyhurst tried one last heave, but came up short in the 31-28 loss.
Highlights
Adam Urena led the way with a trio of passing scores while throwing for 242 yards on 18 completions. Joe Kerbacher was his favorite target with a game-high 91 yards with one TD. Braydon Black and Dustin Shoaf each had a receiving touchdown as well with Shoaf also adding one on the ground with 87 yards rushing on 18 carries. On defense, Tyler Buterbaugh had a team-high 10 tackles while Christian Taylor and Max Malis tied for the team-high in tackles for a loss. RJ Tillman had the lone interception on the game to tie Joey Impavido for the team-lead.
Next Game
Mercyhurst goes on the road this upcoming week to round out the month of October as they go to California, Pa. To play the Vulcans on Saturday, October 28th, in a 12:00 p.m. start.
