Final Stats

Trevor Kennedy took a short pass from Travis Rearick, avoided two IUP tacklers and raced to the end zone to complete a 28-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining to give Mercyhurst a 28-27 victory over the Crimson Hawks before a stunned homecoming crowd Saturday at Miller Stadium.

The Lakers (4-2, 2-1 PSAC West) trailed 27-21 after IUP's Craig Burgess (Medina, Ohio/Highland) kicked his second field goal of the game from 36 yards out with 1:52 left. Mercyhurst then marched 68 yards on just six plays, including a 21-yard pass to R.J. Miller on 3rd and 4, to set up the game-winning score.

Ryan Taylor picked off a Bo Napoleon (Carson, Calif./Carson) pass on IUP's final play from scrimmage to seal the win for the Lakers. The Crimson Hawks dropped to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC West after winning their first two division games with shutouts over Slippery Rock and Edinboro.

Rearick, starting in place of the injured Garrett Kensy, completed 32 of 53 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns. The passing attack made up for a Mercyhurst running game that was held to 35 yards, including 15 on 13 carries by Gerald Anderson who ranked 11th in the nation with an average of 126.6 yards prior to Saturday's contest.

Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) carried 27 times for 160 yards for IUP, giving him 328 rushing yards over the past two games. After a 68-yard touchdown pass to Mychal Skinner (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) on the first play of the game, Napoleon finished the day 7 of 18 for 121 yards and two interceptions.

Terrance Coon led Laker receivers with 12 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown followed by Kennedy with nine grabs for 115 yards and a pair of scores.

IUP took a 24-21 lead when Johnny Franco (Altoona/Tyrone) intercepted a Rearick pass and raced 30 yards for a touchdown with 7:00 left in the third quarter. Mercyhurst reached the Crimson Hawk 35- and 42-yard lines on its next two possessions but failed to score both times, the latter when Franco made his second interception of the game.

Franco also led IUP with 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops, and was named the IUP Alumni Association Homecoming Player of the Game. Carl Thornton (Beaver Falls/Beaver Falls) added six tackles and a sack which forced a fumble, and Zach Severance (Columbus, OH/Reynoldsburg) broke up two passes for the Crimson Hawks.

With IUP still ahead by three, the Crimson Hawks took over at their 42 with 6:04 left in the game and drove to the Laker 19, including five carries for 38 yards by Tuck. Burgess capped the drive with a field goal to make it 27-21 before Mercyhurst embarked on its game-winning drive.

Burgess increased his career field goal total to 44, tied for the fourth-highest mark in PSAC history. He also became the all-time IUP leader in points scored by a kicker with 250, passing Josh Telenko in that department.

IUP scored on its first two possessions of the game, striking on the long touchdown pass from Napoleon to Skinner and then rode 31 yards on the ground by Tuck to set up a 25-yard field goal by Burgess and a 10-0 lead with just 5:37 gone in the first quarter.

Mercyhurst caught a break the next time IUP had the ball when Dustin Galich tipped a Napoleon pass at the line of scrimmage and Ian Wild picked it off at the Crimson Hawk 22. On 3rd and goal from the 5, Rearick kept and scrambled to the end zone to get the Lakers within 10-7 with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

The touchdown ended IUP's streak of 138 minutes, 19 seconds without allowing a point. The Crimson Hawks got the score right back when Napoleon executed a perfect play fake and hit Nate Morrow (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) alone in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. Tuck again starred on the drive, picking up 45 yards including a 25-yard gallop.

Mercyhurst got back to within 17-14 at halftime on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kennedy. The Lakers took their first lead of the game at the outset of the third quarter, taking advantage of a pair of pass interference calls against IUP and going in front 21-17 when Rearick found Coon on an 18-yard score.

IUP remains home next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game vs. Clarion while Mercyhurst is at Edinboro at 1 p.m.