Game Preview - Mercyhurst

For the second year in a row, West Chester (0-1) opens conference play with PSAC opponent Mercyhurst Lakers (1-0). Unlike last year, however, this year's game will be played at Tullio Field in Erie at noon on Saturday. Mercyhurst is coming off a 35-20 win over Bentley last Saturday. In that game, Lakers QB Brendan Boylan was 20 of 25 for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, West Chester is coming off a 41-28 home loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.

Series History:

West Chester has faced Mercyhurst only twice with both games being played at Farrell Stadium. The Golden Rams won 45-13 in 2009 and 38-14 last year.

Last Meeting:

09/13/2014 West Chester 38 - Mercyhurst 14

The Golden Ram defense kept the visiting Lakers out of the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter and the offense put up 418 yards in route to the win. Mercyhurst started Zach Emerick at quarterback and didn't switch to Brendan Boylan until after halftime. Boylan went on to throw for 2,952 yards and 29 touchdowns over the course of the 2014 season.

Brandon Monk had 61 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving in the game. Adam Dempsey logged six catches for 43 yards. Andrew Cohen notched seven total tackles including a sack while Drew Formica had three tackles and an interception that he returned 39 yards for a touchdown.

Scouting the Lakers:

Many have talked about how Mercyhurst traditionally gets off to a slow start every season. The Lakers lost their season opener in 2012 and 2013 and opened last year 0-4. However, all signs point to this being a different Mercyhurst team. Unlike last season, the Lakers have fifth-year seniors in quarterback Brendan Boylan and running back Brandon Brown-Dukes. Brown-Dukes was a first team All-PSAC West selection last season after running for 774 yards and five touchdowns and catching 18 passes for 129 yards and two more scores. Besides the additional year of experience for those two players, making the Laker offense better is the addition of wide receiver FJ Williams who transferred from Seton Hill. Williams had 83 catches for 1,071 yards and eight touchdowns last season for the Griffins which earned him first team All-PSAC West honors.

The defense is led by Joe Dever (66 total tackles, 9.0 TFL's) who was second team All-PSAC West last season. Cornerback Tevin Stewart is the reigning PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week after his 90-yard pick-six sealed the Lakers' victory over Bentley last week. Earlier in the game, he had an interception at the Laker goal line thwarting a Bentley touchdown.

Drew Robinson is most dangerous as return specialist where he earned second team all-conference honors last season, but they get the ball to him however possible as he had three carries and two catches last week. Head coach Marty Schaetzle is the reigning PSAC West Coach of the Year and enters his 14th season at Mercyhurst with a 69-74 record.

Analysis:

When West Chester scored the final 21 points Thursday night, it wasn't a matter of window dressing the final score, but building some confidence for this young offense. A dozen different players advanced the ball for West Chester, so there are plenty of options. Now they need to do it for an entire 60 minutes which will be a tall order against an improved Mercyhurst defense. The Golden Rams' top rated pass defense (wink, wink) will certainly be challenged by Boylan and company. The Lakers are quite balanced on offense, so this will be the first time that the young corners will be tested over the course of a contest. Keeping Robinson under wraps on special teams must also be a priority.

Notes:

It appears that left guard Vince Lostracco is still out with the injury sustained during the last scrimmage, so the offensive line will be modified as it was last week: Doug Gilbert moves from left tackle to left guard, Michael Unger moves from right tackle to left tackle and Evyn Stadulis will play right tackle.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video - PA Sports Fever - check local listings

PSAC Site - Football - Week 2 Notes

Mercyhurst Athletic Site - Mercyhurst-West Chester Football Game To Be Aired On National / Regional Television

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Looks To Rebound At Mercyhurst

GoErie.com - 3 area teams host PSAC crossovers

Daily Local News - WCU seeks to bounce back on road

D2football - PSAC Columnist - Previewing Week 2 in the PSAC

D2football - National Columnist - Bob Eblen - National Columnist