MERCYHURST Lakers (3-4, 0-4 PSAC West) at EDINBORO Fighting Scots (0-7, 0-4 PSAC West) 
 Mercyhurst Game Notes
Radio:  WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV:  ETV (edinboro.tv)

The Game Story
Edinboro seeks an end to the Thursday night jinx as the Fighting Scots play the third of three Thursday night games in 2015. This marks the second of back-to-back Thursday night games against local and PSAC West rivals Gannon and Mercyhurst. Edinboro dropped a 49-42 decision at Gannon last Thursday, sending the Fighting Scots to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the PSAC West. The 0-7 record is the first time an Edinboro team lost its first seven games since 1940.  A youthful Edinboro squad opened the season with a 30-10 loss to Saint Joseph's(Ind.) on a Thursday night.

The Mercyhurst game is Edinboro's annual Fighting Scots Fighting Cancer game. A portion of the ticket proceeds will go towards breast cancer awareness, along with all donations collected during the evening. 

Thursday night games have not worked out well for Edinboro lately. The Fighting Scots are 1-6 in Thursday night games under head coach Scott Browning, losing the last five games. Included in that stretch is a 31-10 loss to Mercyhurst a year ago on a Thursday night at Erie Veterans Stadium. This marks the third time Edinboro and Mercyhurst have played on Thursday night. The Lakers claimed a 24-23 win in 2008.  

A year ago, Mercyhurst opened the season with four straight losses before running off seven consecutive wins to finish at 7-4. The win streak stretched to ten games in a row with wins over Bentley, West Chester, and Bloomsburg to start 2015. Since that time, though, the Lakers have lost four games in a row, all in PSAC West play, to fall to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in conference play. In that span the Lakers have lost to the top four teams in the PSAC West in Indiana(Pa.), Clarion, Gannon, and Slippery Rock. Two weeks ago, a 30-yard field goal with 70 seconds to play resulted in a 16-13 loss to Gannon, and last week the Lakers led 20th-ranked Slippery Rock after three quarters before losing 35-24.

The recent loss to Clarion ensured a fourth straight losing season for the Fighting Scots. That marks the first time with four consecutive losing campaigns since a stretch of six straight losing seasons from 1997-2002. 

A young Edinboro secondary that is now starting three true freshmen and a sophomore faces another team that can throw the ball along with another top receiver. Regular Mercyhurst starting quarterback Brendan Boylan threw for 2,952 yards a year ago, the second-highest season total, while setting season records for TDs passing (29) and total offense (3,105 yards). Boylan was enjoying another outstanding season before being injured against Gannon. Backup Zach Emerick stepped in against Slippery Rock and threw for 412 yards and 3 TDs while completing a school-record 39 passes in 65 attempts. FJ Williams, a first team All-PSAC West selection a year ago at Seton Hill, is now Mercyhurst's leading receiver with 45 receptions for 700 yards and 7 TDs. The Lakers also have an outstanding rushing threat in Brandon Brown-Dukes. The senior is Mercyhurst's all-time leading rusher with 3,588 yards and is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher.   

The Edinboro defense lost a key member after just one week when Mike Shansky was lost for the season with an injury. The senior was a two-time All-PSAC West second team selection at linebacker, and was Edinboro's leading tackler a year ago. 

Youth has been very prominent for the Fighting Scots, particularly on defense. No fewer than eight different freshmen have started on defense, with Mitch Thomas starting all seven games at cornerback, Thaddeus Cornick five games opposite Thomas at cornerback, and Aaron Rogers taking over as the starting free safety two games ago. The 2015 roster features 39 true freshman and 10 redshirt freshman. A year ago a total of 43 games were started by true freshman.

Edinboro was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish sixth the previous two years. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for sixth in 2014. Mercyhurst was picked to finish third in the PSAC West.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Mercyhurst game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary. In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM in Erie and WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa., in addition to being streamed live. ETV, Edinboro's student television station, televises all Edinboro home football games and streams them live. The link can be accessed at edinboro.tv. 

The All-Time Series 
Mercyhurst leads 6-5
The Fighting Scots won the first two meetings, but Mercyhurst has claimed the last three to take the lead in the series. For five straight years the visiting team had prevailed before Mercyhurst held the home field advantage with a 19-6 win at Tullio Field in 2013. This is the third time the two have met on Thursday night. Mercyhurst prevailed 24-23 at Sox Harrison Stadium in 2008 and 31-10 last year at Erie Veterans Stadium.

Last Year's Game 
Mercyhurst 31, Edinboro 10 
The final score doesn't indicate just how close this contest was, as Edinboro played its second straight Thursday night game, this one at Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium. Edinboro led 10-3 at the half, and after falling behind 17-10, appeared on their way to tying the game early in the fourth quarter. That's when a play that pretty much epitomized the 2014 campaign occurred. Freshman tailback Anfreenee Williams, who finished with 98 yards on 22 carries, had helped the Scots drive from their own 34 to the Mercyhurst 2. On first and goal, Williams was hit just before the goal line and fumbled the ball, with the Lakers recovering in the end zone. Six plays later Mercyhurst was in the end zone for a 24-10 lead. The Scots would drive to the Mercyhurst 17 and 32 on their final two possessions but fail to put up any points. Mercyhurst added one more score with just over five minutes remaining on its second long pass of the game. Edinboro turned in an impressive first half. The two teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter, with Paul Ortiz giving the Scots a 3-0 lead with a 23-yard field goal. After the Lakers' three-pointer with just 48 seconds left in the half, Edinboro would shock the Lakers with a five-play, 61- yard march that took just 31 seconds. Cody Harris hit a streaking Kolbe Hughes down the left sideline for a 36-yard TD pass and a 10-3 lead with eight seconds left. Hughes enjoyed an outstanding evening, hauling in 6 passes for 103 yards, the freshman's second 100-yard effort. Ben Eisel led all receivers with 7 catches, good for 58 yards. Darren Massey added 5 catches for 67 yards. Harris threw for 271 yards but completed just 25 of 47 passes. Edinboro would finish with 367 yards while Mercyhurst totaled 427 yards after being held to 138 yards at the half. The Boro defense held the Lakers to 106 yards rushing, but Brendan Boylan threw for 321 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for two more scores.
      
Last Week 
Gannon 49, Edinboro 42 
Edinboro came up just short of upsetting a Gannon team picked to finish first in the PSAC West. The Fighting Scots trailed 42-20 early in the third quarter but would limit a high-powered Golden Knights offense to one touchdown the rest of the way. The offense came alive behind quarterback Jake Sisson, who enjoyed the top game of his career. Sisson threw a three-yard TD pass to Darren Massey and scored on a four-yard run and midway through the fourth quarter Edinboro had pulled to within a touchdown at 42-35. Gannon boosted the lead back to 49-35, but Sisson answered again with a 22-yard TD pass to Alex Caratelli with 1:51 to play. Unfortunately, Gannon recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock. Sisson completed 22 of 40 passes for 364 yards with 5 TDs and an interception. He added a career-best 71 yards rushing on eight carries to total 435 yards in total offense. The 5 TD passes ties the school record, while the 435 yards in total offense is the fifth-highest single-game total, and the 364 passing yards ranks 12th. Caratelli posted his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. He recorded season-bests with 9 catches for 210 yards and 3 TDs. The 3 TDs ties the school record, and the 210 yards ranks fifth in a game.  The Fighting Scots finished with a season-high 519 yards, while Gannon totaled 507 yards. It marked the first time this year Edinboro outgained an opponent.
     
Slippery Rock 35, Mercyhurst 24
The Lakers put a major scare into 20th-ranked Slippery Rock before SRU rallied for 14 fourth-quarter points. The Rock jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead just nine minutes into the game, but Mercyhurst rallied to take a 24-21 lead entering the fourth quarter. Unable to sustain a running game against SRU (minus 11 yards on the day), the Lakers took to the air behind backup quarterback Zach Emerick. Making his first start of the year in place of injured starter Brendan Boylan, the redshirt junior completed a school-record 39 passes in 65 attempts, good for 412 yards with 3 TDs and 3 INTs. His 20-yard touchdown pass to FJ Williams late in the third quarter gave the Lakers the 24-21 lead. He also hooked up with Jaquan Williams for a 25-yard TD toss, and T.J. Latimer on a 16-yarder. Dylan Kondis added a 26-yard field goal. Jaquan Williams caught 8 passes for 137 yards and FJ Williams 10 for 97.   
          
The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period.  Browning is in his tenth season with a 57-50 record, and is in his 30th season as a member of the Edinboro staff.  With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh in 2013, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald.   The 2014 win over Clarion was his 55th, moving him into sole possession of second place in career victories.  Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator.  Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester.  He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach.  That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007.  His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins.  In 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA Top 25.  The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA playoffs for the first time in his tenure.  Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA poll.  The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011.  The 4-6 finish in 2012 represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.  

Marty Schaetzle (Bucknell '83) is in his 14th season at the helm of the Lakers, and has a 72-78 career record.  He has surpassed current Mercyhurst Director of Athletics Joe Kimball as the longest tenured football coach at the Hurst, and his 72 wins represent a school record.  In 2010 he guided Mercyhurst to the finest season in school history, winning the PSAC Championship and reaching the Super Regional One Championship Game.  The Lakers finished with a 10-3 record and he was recognized as the PSAC West Coach of the Year and Don Hansen Football Gazette Co-Coach of the Year.  In 2012, he led the Lakers to a 9-2 finish. Schaetzle took over the Mercyhurst program after working as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Bucknell, for five years

Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"Defensively we gave up too many big plays to Gannon. We have to develop some consistency. I'd like to see us make people earn what they get. We have a lot of freshmen playing out there. I don't look at that as an excuse. We have a lot of older guys making mistakes. Offensively, I think we played pretty well. We rushed for 155 yards and only had one penalty in  the game. We didn't allow a sack, and were 3-for-3 converting on fourth downs."

Browning Comments ... on the Lakers
"Mercyhurst is a lot like us. They are a lot better than their record indicates. They've fought the injury bug also."




.