ERIE, Pa. — Mercyhurst defeated Glenville St. 49-20 on Saturday. The Lakers forced five turnovers, including three interceptions, and turned takeaways into 14 points. It was head coach Tom Sydeski's first career win as a head coach.
The Lakers created the first scoring swing with their defense, as Teddy McDuffie got home with a strip sack on third down and Mark Hawkins Jr. recovered the fumble for a 59-yard touchdown before Rocco Marcantonio's kick made it 7-0 at 9:53. This marked Mark Hawkins Jr.'s first career defensive touchdown. Earlier, the Lakers picked up a third-down conversion on Alex Gevaudan's 11-yard pass to Evan Van Dyke, but Glenville St. ended the opening drive with an interception. The Lakers' kept Glenville St. off the board after that, forcing punts on the next two possessions while Thomas O'Neill also pinned Glenville St. at its 11 with a 38-yard punt. The offense struck late from its own 27, with Gevaudan finding Christian MacDonald for 7 yards before hitting Dylan Evans for a 64-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left. Marcantonio added the point after, and the Lakers finished the first quarter ahead 14-0.
The Lakers' answered an early Glenville St. field goal and their own interception with a defensive stop, then drove 90 yards for a touchdown that pushed the score to 21-3. Earlier, Lucien Griffin's sack helped put Glenville St. behind schedule after the takeaway, and the Lakers forced a punt before Jameir Gamble opened the ensuing drive with a 25-yard run. Gevaudan added key completions to Ethan Holbrook for 18 yards on third down and Camden Lewis for 20 yards to the Glenville St. 8, and Gamble finished the march with a 2-yard rushing touchdown at 8:00. Braylon Beckwith added a defensive touchdown on an interception with 1:55 left, marking his first career pick six, while the Lakers' defense held Glenville St. to two field goals in the second quarter and the teams went to halftime with the Lakers ahead 28-6.
The Lakers answered an early third-quarter red-zone threat with a fourth-down stop at their 17, then drove 83 yards in 10 plays for the quarter's only points, capped by Gevaudan's 8-yard touchdown pass to Evans and Marcantonio's kick for a 35-6 lead. Earlier, after O'Neill's opening kickoff went for a touchback, the Lakers' forced a punt, but Glenville St. sacked Gevaudan on consecutive plays to stall the home team's first possession. The defense held again at 10:34 when Glenville St. came up empty on fourth-and-3 from the Lakers' 17, and the Lakers immediately responded behind Camden Lewis' 35-yard run, Ethen Knox's 29-yard third-down run and Lewis' 9-yard third-down catch. Corey Cobb Jr. later intercepted a pass at the Lakers' 40 after Carson Moore broke it up, and although Glenville St. moved to the Lakers' 15 in the final minute, the Lakers' finished the third quarter ahead 35-6.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers answered Glenville St.'s early scoring push with a defensive touchdown, two fourth-down stops and a late short-field scoring drive to finish a 49-20 win. Glenville St. scored at 14:37 and again at 13:55 to make it 35-20, but the Lakers' next possession included a 28-yard Gevaudan completion to Evans before O'Neill pinned Glenville St. at its 12-yard line with a punt. Jayonn Saunders then intercepted a pass at the Glenville St. 17 and scored at 10:58, marking his first career defensive touchdown, with Marcantonio's kick moving the score to 42-20. The Lakers stopped Glenville St. on fourth down at the Lakers' 37 when Kaleb Platz made the tackle, then forced another turnover on downs at the Glenville St. 42 after Colin Scharriter's tackle for loss and Beckwith's pass breakup. Gamble turned the second stop into points with runs of 1, 13 and 28 yards, the last going for a touchdown at 3:16 before Marcantonio's extra point set the final margin.
Evans caught four passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Gamble rushed 16 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Mark Hawkins Jr. recorded four tackles and recovered a fumble for a 59-yard touchdown. McDuffie finished with five tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Up next, the Lakers' close out their non-conference slate at Western Kentucky on Saturday, September 26th slated for a 7:00 PM kickoff.
