BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — Mercyhurst lost to LIU 27-24 on Saturday. The Lakers passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, but lost two of their four fumbles.
The Lakers turned Dajaun Webb's first-career interception at the Mercyhurst 38-yard line with 10:34 left into a 62-yard scoring drive, with Alex Gevaudan hitting Dylan Evans for a 24-yard touchdown and Rocco Marcantonio adding the kick for a 7-0 lead. Earlier, the Lakers' first series picked up one first down on Gevaudan's 7-yard pass to Evans, but a fumble recovered by Gevaudan left it in third-and-long before Thomas O'Neill's 47-yard punt. After the touchdown, Shanard Lo-Ray dropped LIU for a 3-yard loss to open the next defensive series, but LIU later answered with a 73-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run and the tying extra point. The Lakers responded by moving from their own 23-yard line to the LIU 44-yard line, using Jameir Gamble's 10-yard run and Gevaudan's 12-yard completion to Jason Woods before the first quarter ended tied 7-7.
Marcantonio closed the second quarter by making a 43-yard field goal as time expired, bringing the Lakers even with LIU at 10-10. Earlier, the Lakers turned the ball over on downs at the LIU 37-yard line, and LIU later finished an 11-play drive with a 36-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. After Woods lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Lakers' defense kept LIU off the board, with Braylon Beckwith forcing two fumbles that went out of bounds and Anez Jordan hurrying LIU's quarterback into a fourth-down incompletion at the Mercyhurst 25-yard line. The Lakers then moved from their own 25-yard line to midfield behind a 16-yard completion from Gevaudan to Evans and a 12-yard run by Ethen Knox before O'Neill's 49-yard punt. The Lakers' defense then held LIU to a fourth down, and Emanuel Fincher got through to block the punt, giving the Lakers the late field position that led to Marcantonio's tying kick.
The Lakers' opened the second half with a successful onside kick recovered by Beckwith that resulted in a turnover on downs by the offense. The defense answered with McDuffie's 8-yard sack on LIU's next possession and forced a punt, while Webb later broke up two passes during the third quarter. LIU put together a 40-yard drive and made a field goal at 2:48 for a 13-10 score, and the Lakers' next series ended with a punt after an illegal formation penalty. The Lakers were held to one first down in the third quarter and entered the fourth trailing 13-10.
The Lakers turned Mark Hawkins Jr.'s fourth-down tackle with 1:40 left into their late scoring push, driving 72 yards in nine plays before Gevaudan found Evans for an 8-yard touchdown at :38, his second score of the game; Marcantonio's extra point made it 27-24. Earlier, LIU scored on its first two fourth-quarter possessions, and the Lakers' opening drive ended on downs at their own 38-yard line, leaving them facing a 27-10 score with 11:09 remaining. The Lakers answered with an 81-yard drive from their 19-yard line, using a 19-yard completion to Shalik Hampton, a 10-yard Gevaudan rush and a 24-yard pass to Knox before Gevaudan hit Amare Lattimore for an 8-yard touchdown, the first receiving touchdown of Lattimore's career, and Marcantonio's kick made it 27-17. The defense forced a punt on LIU's next series, but Ethan Holbrook's 16-yard return ended with a fumble recovered by LIU at its 41-yard line. The Lakers still kept LIU off the board on the resulting 11-play possession, with Hawkins making the tackle on a fourth-and-2 rush that gained 1 yard, before LIU took over at the Mercyhurst 48-yard line after the late touchdown and kneeled out the 27-24 final.
Gevaudan completed 25 of 36 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, the first three-touchdown game of his career. Evans caught six passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns, his second two-touchdown game of the season. Lattimore caught the first touchdown pass of his career. Beckwith led the Lakers with 11 tackles and forced two fumbles. Webb added two tackles and recorded the first interception of his career.
Up next, the Lakers' have a bye week as they prepare for Central Connecticut State to come to Erie on October 17th, slated for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
