Edinboro, Pa. -- The Edinboro football team hosts Mercyhurst at 2 p.m. Saturday at Sox Harrison Stadium for the annual homecoming game.

Last Time Out
The Fighting Scots are coming off a 31-10 loss to California (PA) last week at Sox Harrison Stadium. The Scots struck first on a 28-yard field goal from Reed Martin, but Cal took the lead in the second quarter with 8:02 to play. Edinboro moved the ball to the Vulcan 1-yard line at the end of the first half, but the drive ended abruptly with a fumble. Cal would score the next 24 points before Bo Swartz scored a fourth quarter rushing touchdown to set the final. Aaron Hopkins caught four passes for 62 yards while Thaddeus Standfield picked up 40 yards on four grabs. Brian Trobel led the rushing attack with 52 yards. CJ Waldier recorded 12 tackles to lead the defense including one tackle for loss.

The Series
Mercyhurst leads 10-8 all-time. The last two contests with Mercyhurst have been one possession games. The Scots won 16-13 in 2022 on a late Richie Pekmezian field goal and the Lakers took the 2021 contest 27-20 in overtime.
Last Edinboro Win: Oct. 8, 2022, 16-13
Last Mercyhurst Win: Oct. 16, 2021, 27-20 OT
Largest Margin of Victory Edinboro: Nov. 12, 1983, 74-13
Largest Margin of Victory Mercyhurst: Oct. 12, 2019, 44-23

Honor Roll
Reed Martin continues to have a strong season earning his second consecutive PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week nod. Martin averaged 48.8 yards per punt on Saturday against Cal with a long of 63 and two punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also went 1-for-1 making a 28-yard field goal.

Hidden Yards
On the season Martin is averaging 45.3 yards per punt, leading the PSAC and ranking seventh in Division II. The Scot coverage team has held opponents to just 1.33 yards per return ranking 25th in the nation. The Scots net punting is a PSAC-best 42.2 yards per punt ranking fourth in the country.

Opportunistic Defense
The Edinboro defense leads the PSAC with five fumble recoveries ranking ninth in the nation. The Scots have forced seven turnovers on the season.

Third Down
Third down efficiency has been on the rise for the Fighting Scots. Over the last two games Edinboro is a combined 17-of-26 (.654) on third downs. The Scots are currently converting at .410 clip for the year.

Keeping the QB Clean
The Edinboro offensive line has allowed just two sack, both against Cal, in the past three games. 

Rushing Attack
Brian Trobel has been the bell cow back for the Fighting Scots carrying the ball 60 times this season for 280 yards an average of 70 yards per contest. He has three touchdowns on the year with two of them being longer than 35 yards. He is currently the Scots leading scorer.

Through the Air
Edinboro has three receivers that have caught double-digit passes for more than 150 yards. Aaron Hopkins leads the Scots with 219 yards on 17 catches. Thaddeus Standfield has a team-high 21 catchers for 186 yards while Mike Watkins has 17 catches for 163 yards. Standfield ranks seventh in the PSAC with 5.2 catches per contest.

Making Stops
CJ Waldier was a tackling machine on Saturday making 12 tackles, seven solo, including a tackle for loss. He is the Scots leading tackler with 34 stops, 19 solo and 2.0 TFL. Waldier currently ranks fifth in the PSAC with 8.5 tackles per game. Malcolm Johnson is a top 10 tackler in the conference averaging 7.8 ranking eighth.

Homecoming Games
The Scots welcome the Lakers for the annual homecoming game Saturday. It will be the third time the Edinboro will host Mercyhurst on homecoming. The Scots are 1-1 in homecoming games against Mercyhurst. Edinboro is 40-37-2 all-time in homecoming games.

Scouting the Lakers
Mercyhurst's offense is led by quarterback Adam Urena who is 96-of-163 for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cameron Barmore has caught four of those touchdowns. Rylan Davison leads the team with 19 catches for 208 yards while hauling in three scores. Ayron Rodriguez is the team's leading rusher with 111 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Christian Taylor has made a team-high 30 tackles. Camden White adds 23 tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss.

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