Box Score Wheeling, WVa. - After a dozen years in Division III and another 31 in Division II, the Mercyhurst University football program entered a new era Thursday night when it played for the first time as a Division I member of the Northeast Conference. The Lakers traveled to Division II Wheeling University - Mountain East Conference (MEC) - and, when the dust settled, Mercyhurst came away with a nail-biting 28-25 victory at Bishop Schmitt Field
Highlights
The first quarter produced a pair of quick touchdowns. The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in five plays, capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass from graduate QB Javon Davis to junior WR Tre' Holloway. The PAT was good and Wheeling led 7-0 only two minutes into the game. The Lakers, clad in gray uniforms, came back to knot the affair, using just four plays to cover 75 yards. Senior QB Adam Urena found graduate TE Russell Pytlak from 10 yards out. Senior Nathan Nagucki converted the point after. Following an exchange of punts, the Cardinals reclaimed the lead at 10-7 when senior Joao Lima hit a 37-yard field goal to start the second quarter. Wheeling then pinned the Lakers deep in their own territory on the ensuing kickoff, but Urena drove the team steadily down the field and eventually collaborated with graduate student Cameron Barmore for a TD strike of 27 yards. Nagucki' converted and Mercyhurst was up 14-10. The teams traded scores the rest of the half. Freshman Dawaun Green scored from a yard out for Wheeling while junior Brian Trobel returned the favor with a one-yard plunge of his own with the clock winding down in the second. Both teams registered a dozen first downs by intermission while the Lakers had a 30-yard advantage in total yards, 253-223.
Urena, who amassed 23 touchdown passes a year ago, threw his third of the game, his second to Barmore, to start the third and Mercyhurst stretched its lead to double digits, 28-17. The connection also solidified an historic moment for Barmore, who surpassed 1,500 receiving yards and 100 career catches.
Neither team scored again in the quarter. With nine minutes left, the Lakers took over on downs at their 41. Mercyhurst used nearly five minutes of clock to get inside the Wheeling 10 but the Cardinals, with their backs to the wall, forced a turnover on downs. But the Cardinals' offense fizzled again and, forced to go on fourth down, failed to convert and the Lakers took over at Wheeling's 24 yard line. But Mercyhurst couldn't stand prosperity either, fumbling the ball and the Cardinals made the Lakers pay. Davis found Holloway for a 33-yard touchdown and, with Holloway's two -point conversion, Mercyhurst's lead dwindled to 28-25. The Lakers recovered Wheeling's onside kick, however, and were able to run out the clock.
The stats, like the score, favored Mercyhurst: first downs 23-18, rushing yards 144-128, passing 267-221, and total 411 to 349. Urena finished 21 of 31 for 267 yards and three scores. Barmore led Mercyhurst receivers with seven catches, 101 yards, and two TDs. Graduate Ernest Davis III led the ground game with 15 carries for 73 while Trobel had eight touches for 70. Graduate CB Zack Helsley was tops on defense with eight tackles while graduate LB Will Thomas IV and senior LB Tyler Buterbaugh chipped in with six apiece.
Next Game
The Lakers will play their first-ever Division I opponent on Saturday, September 7, when they visit the Bison of Howard University (Washington D.C.) for a 7pm start. The contest will be televised on ESPN+. The trip will mark the first to the nation's capital since October 15, 1983, when Mercyhurst, then Division III, handled Gallaudet 69-0. The Lakers won't play at home until Saturday, September 28, when another MEC member, Frostburg State, comes to Erie for a 1:00 pm kickoff. That will be the first contest between the schools on the gridiron since October 16, 1995.
