ERIE, Pa. — Mercyhurst (1-6) lost to Central Conn. St. (3-3) 43-40 on Saturday. The Lakers took a 32-29 lead early in the fourth quarter on a three-play, 49-second drive featuring a 52-yard pass by Alex Gevaudan, but the late push was not enough.
Teddy McDuffie's 30-yard interception return to the Central Conn. St. 9 set up the Lakers' opening score, and Gevaudan found Shalik Hampton for a 9-yard touchdown before Emanuel Fincher ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. The Lakers' defense followed by forcing a punt, with Jayonn Saunders recording a tackle for loss and combining with Jeff Leavell on the third-down stop. Gevaudan kept the next drive moving with a 28-yard completion to Amare Lattimore and a 4-yard first-down throw to Ashton Wilson, and Rocco Marcantonio finished it with a 38-yard field goal at 5:39. Central Conn. St. answered with a 69-yard touchdown drive late in the quarter, but the Lakers closed the first quarter ahead 11-7 after beginning their final possession at their own 18.
The Lakers turned their opening possession of the second quarter into points, converting third downs on Alex Gevaudan's 14-yard pass to Lattimore and 5-yard keeper before Evan Van Dyke broke a 52-yard touchdown run at 12:22; Rocco Marcantonio's extra point made it 18-7. Central Conn. St. answered with a 15-play, 66-yard drive that lasted 9:07, even as the Lakers got pass breakups from Jake Miller and Braylon Beckwith and a Teddy McDuffie tackle for loss, with the touchdown and extra point cutting the Lakers' lead to 18-14 with 3:08 left. The Lakers moved back into Central Conn. St. territory after Shakile Ferguson's 27-yard kickoff return, using Byron Cardwell Jr.'s 10-yard rush and Gevaudan completions to Hampton and Lattimore, but the drive ended on a fourth-down sack at the 46. The defense kept Central Conn. St. from adding points before halftime when Saunders and Leavell combined on a 20-yard sack on the next snap, and the Lakers forced a punt before kneeling out the second quarter with an 18-14 lead.
The Lakers opened the third quarter with an 83-yard drive that Gevaudan capped with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Lattimore, and Rocco Marcantonio's extra point gave the Lakers a 25-14 lead at 9:39. Central Conn. St. answered quickly after a kickoff return and a Lakers personal foul set up a short field, with a 36-yard touchdown run followed by a successful two-point try that cut the margin to 25-22. The Lakers immediately pushed back across midfield on Gevaudan's 35-yard completion to Dylan Evans, but the drive ended on downs at the Central Conn. St. 39, and Central Conn. St. followed with a 61-yard rushing drive to move ahead 29-25. The Lakers controlled the ball for 11:26 in the quarter and produced seven first downs, but their final possession also stalled at the Central Conn. St. 39, leaving the Lakers behind 29-25 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lakers made the fourth quarter a one-possession finish, trimming a 43-32 deficit to 43-40 on Alex Gevaudan's 8-yard touchdown pass to Evans and a successful two-point pass with 1:51 left. Earlier, after Beckwith broke up a third-down pass and Jake Miller hurried the throw to force a punt, Gevaudan hit Evans for 52 yards and Lattimore for a 27-yard touchdown, and Rocco Marcantonio's PAT put the Lakers ahead 32-29 at 13:56. Central Conn. St. answered with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, then turned an interception into a 1-yard scoring run for a 43-32 lead with 3:47 to play. On the Lakers' next drive, Ethen Knox gained 11 yards on third-and-10 and Gevaudan found Hampton for 26 yards on third-and-15 before the late touchdown to Evans and two-point conversion. The Lakers used their timeouts and held Central Conn. St. to six yards before a punt, and Gevaudan completions to Evan Van Dyke, Evans and Hampton moved the final drive to the 28 before an interception left Central Conn. St. with the 43-40 win.
Gevaudan completed 26 of 45 passes for 409 yards and four touchdowns. The passing yardage and touchdown totals were career highs for Gevaudan, and he was the first Mercyhurst quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards since Zach Emerick had 412 against Slippery Rock in 2015. Lattimore caught eight passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and added a 3-yard rush. Evans finished with five receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown. Evan Van Dyke rushed for a 52-yard touchdown, caught four passes for 53 yards and added a conversion reception.
Up next, Mercyhurst heads to Moon Township to take on Robert Morris at 2PM.
