LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Mercyhurst lost to New Mexico St. 51-14 on Saturday. The Lakers scored on both red-zone trips but were limited to 70 rushing yards and 167 passing yards as New Mexico St. finished with 530 yards of offense.
The Lakers answered an early New Mexico St. interception return for a touchdown with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, tying the game at 7-7 on Byron Cardwell Jr.'s 2-yard run and Rocco Marcantonio's extra point with 8:03 left in the first quarter. Cardwell's touchdown was the first against an FBS opponent in program history. Earlier in that drive, Jameir Gamble broke an 18-yard run, Alex Gevaudan completed passes of 12 yards to Camden Lewis and 18 yards to Dylan Evans, and the Lakers converted twice on third down.
After New Mexico St. returned the ensuing kickoff to the Lakers' 28,
Zacchaeus Dixon sacked the New Mexico St. quarterback on third-and-1 to help force a missed 46-yard field goal. The Lakers' next possession was set back by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ended with a
Thomas O'Neill punt, and New Mexico St. later scored on a 16-yard run with 1:24 left. Teddy McDuffie blocked the extra-point attempt, and the Lakers closed the quarter with the ball after Gamble recovered his own fumble on a first-down run, trailing 13-7.
The Lakers opened the second quarter by finishing a scoring drive, with Gevaudan hitting Camden Lewis for a 14-yard touchdown and Marcantonio adding the kick for a 14-13 lead. It was Lewis's first touchdown of the season. The defense forced a quick punt on New Mexico St.'s next possession after Jayonn Saunders broke up a pass, but New Mexico St. later moved ahead 16-14 on a 39-yard field goal despite Anez Jordan's third-down pass breakup. The Lakers reached midfield on the ensuing drive behind a 17-yard completion to Amare Lattimore, but a fourth-down stop gave New Mexico St. the ball at the Lakers' 48, and a 46-yard touchdown run helped push the deficit to 23-14. Jason Woods' 27-yard kickoff return helped the Lakers start their next possession at the 36, and the Lakers advanced to the New Mexico St. 33 before Marcantonio's 50-yard field-goal try missed; Braylon Beckwith later made a third-down tackle for loss before New Mexico St. missed from 51, leaving the Lakers down 23-14 at halftime.
The Lakers opened the third quarter with a defensive stop, turning away New Mexico St. on fourth-and-2 at the Lakers' 47 when Jeff Leavell and Colin Scharriter stopped the New Mexico St. runner for no gain. The ensuing Lakers possession ended with Tyler Tusai's interception, and New Mexico St. later finished a 10-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and the extra point to make it 30-14 at 7:42. The Lakers answered the kickoff with Woods' 23-yard return, but a holding penalty wiped out Byron Cardwell Jr.'s 24-yard run, and the drive stalled after a 9-yard Tusai completion to Evan Van Dyke, a sack and O'Neill's 45-yard punt. The defense kept tackling through another New Mexico St. march, including stops near the goal line earlier in the quarter, but the home team converted a fourth down and reached the Lakers' 2 before the quarter ended with the Lakers trailing 30-14.
The Lakers were shut out in the fourth quarter as New Mexico St. added three touchdowns and finished off a 51-14 result. Earlier, after a 2-yard touchdown pass made it 37-14, Woods returned the kickoff 33 yards to the Lakers' 38, but the drive ended after a false start and an incompletion on third-and-11. The Lakers put together their best possession of the quarter on the next series, getting a 5-yard run from Ethan Holbrook for one first down and a 6-yard Tusai completion to Shalik Hampton on third-and-5 for another before punting from midfield. New Mexico St. answered with an 83-yard touchdown pass and later an eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive, while O'Neill helped the Lakers' field position with three punts inside the 20, including a 52-yarder in the final minutes.
Gevaudan completed 13 of 21 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown. Lewis caught five passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Van Dyke finished with four receptions for 60 yards. Cardwell Jr. added a rushing touchdown on seven carries.
Up next, the Lakers head back to New Mexico next Saturday, facing the Lobos at 4 p.m. ET.
