Final statistics

ERIE, Pa. – Hosting Mercyhurst College's defensive unit stonewalled the Slippery Rock University offense Saturday afternoon en route to a deceivingly-close 21-13 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football action at Tullio Stadium.

The Lakers' stop troop held The Rock,  to only one rushing yard and 47 total yards to move to the threshold of their first-ever PSAC-West title and berth in the State Championship Game.

In the process, the 24th-ranked Lakers (7-2 overall, 5-1 PSAC-West) all but extinguished any Rock (6-3, 3-3) hopes of earning an NCAA playoff berth for the first time since 1999.

Somewhat lost in the shadow of Mercyhurst's stellar defensive effort was the fact the Lakers compiled 367 yards in total offense behind a balanced attack (157 rushing yards, 210 passing yards).

The Lakers' passing yardage was especially impressive because it came against a Rock defense that entered the game ranked first in the PSAC in fewest passing yards allowed (142.4 yards per game).

Mercyhurst, in only its third season as a member of the PSAC, can clinch the division championship and berth in the championship game with a win next Saturday over Clarion or a California loss to Edinboro. Mercyhurst and California (8-1, 5-1) currently share the top spot in the division standings, but the Lakers hold the tiebreaker edge thanks to a 31-21 win Oct. 23 over the Vulcans.

The loss at Mercyhurst, coupled with Clarion's 11-10 win Saturday over Gannon, dropped SRU into a three-way tie for third place in the division standings. A fourth team, Edinboro, could move into a tie for third place with a win Saturday night in Lock Haven.

The Rock, Gannon (5-4) and Clarion (3-6) all own 3-3 division records. Edinboro (5-3) took a 2-3 PSAC-West record to Lock Haven.

The Rock will look to possibly lock up sole possession of third place in the final division standings next Saturday when it hosts Gannon in a 1 p.m. game on Bob DiSpirito Field at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.

Clarion takes on Mercyhurst and Edinboro plays California next Saturday in the final week of PSAC-West competition.

The Rock never led in Saturday's game at Mercyhurst, but was also never really out of the game until its final possession ended on an incomplete fourth-down pass by redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Sabo with 2:02 left to play.

In a precursor of what was to follow, Mercyhurst held The Rock offense to zero yards in four plays on the game's opening drive. The Lakers then moved 59 yards in 10 plays on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead with 8:23 left to play in the first period.

Taking partial advantage of a short field to travel, SRU narrowed the gap to 7-3 with a 25-yard field goal by senior #C.J. Bahr# with 8:55 left in the second period. The boot capped a seven-play, 29-yard drive that started at the Mercyhurst 37-yard line following a short punt. Key plays on the drive were a pair of pass completions from Sabo to  redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bobby Joyce that totalled 27 yards.

Mercyhurst came right back with a 14-play, 74-yard scoring drive on the ensuing possession to push its lead to 14-3 with 2:01 left before the halftime intermission.

The Rock defense recorded the first of its two turnovers on Mercyhburst's next possession as senior cornerback Robert Doiley forced a fumble and junior free safety Brandon Watters scooped it up and returned it 39 yards to the Lakers' 21.

Three plays later, though, The Rock had to settle for a 38-yard Bahr field goal with 0:27 left in the second period. The kick cut Mercyhurst's lead to 14-6 heading into halftime.

First-half statistics showed The Rock on the short end of a 200-29 total offense comparison.

The defenses reigned in the final 30 minutes of action as the two offenses combined for 187 total yards, 167 of which were gained by the hosts.

The Lakers' got their final points with a nine-play, 63-yard march to the end zone that gave them a 21-6 lead with 3:44 left in the third period.

The Rock defense forced Mercyhurst's offense into four "three-and-out" series in the hosts' final six possessions of the game.

A fifth Lakers' possession ended prematurely and ultimately resulted in the only Rock touchdown, as junior cornerback Andre Freeman returned a fumble (caused by sophomore cornerback Brandon Burley) 32 yards for a touchdown with 10:47 left to play.

Down by a 21-13 score but with momentum on its side, The Rock defense held Mercyhurst to 20 yards in five plays on the Lakers' next possession and forced the hosts to punt the ball back to SRU.

Down by a 21-13 score and with momentum clearly on its side, The Rock offense showed signs of generating an attack for the first time in the game on the ensuing drive. But the march ended quickly as, after gaining 20 yards in three plays and moving the ball to their own 40, The Rock shot itself in the foot with a deadball personal foul penalty. The march-off put The Rock into a third-and-19 situation and ultimately caused them to punt the ball away.

The next Rock drive ended almost before it began as Sabo was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage at The Rock 35 with 4:07 left to play.

The Rock got the ball back one more time, at its own 20 with 2:24 remaining, but SRU was unable to generate any offense as four Sabo passes fell incomplete.

Sabo finished the game with only seven completions in 26 attempts and a season-low 46 passing yards. Junior H-Back Devin Goda had four catches for 20 yards and Joyce finished with three catches for 26 yards.

Rock redshirt sophomore running back Akeem Satterfield, who entered the game ranked third in the PSAC in rushing with a 128.7 yards per game average, was held to only 29 yards on 10 carries by the conference's second-ranked rush defense.

Mercyhurst quarterback Travis Rearick was 22-of-38 passing for 210 yards and two TDs and shrugged off being sacked three times by The Rock defense.

Lakers' running back Gerald Anderson, the No. 4 rusher in the conference (108.2 yards per game), ran for 161 yards on 35 carries and scored one TD Saturday.

Freeman was one of three Rock defenders to finish the game with nine tackles. He shared game-high honors with junior strong safety Jayson Nickson and junior linebacker Zach Sheridan.

The Rock, after hosting Gannon next Saturday, will close out its 2010 schedule with a Nov. 13 home game vs. C.W. Post (1 p.m. kickoff).

Notes:

Saturday marked the second time this season The Rock faced a team that entered the game ranked 24th in the American Football Coaches Association Division II national poll. On Oct. 19, SRU defeated Edinboro 28-14 in Slippery Rock ... Satterfield needs 70 yards to become the 23rd player in Rock history to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a single season ... Goda moved into a tie with Nate Stewart (1999) for sixth place on SRU's single-season pass receptions list. He has caught 50 passes this fall and needs three to tie Colin Golden (2006) for fifth place ... Bahr improved his career scoring total to 228 points, which ties him with Lamonte Coleman (1992-94) for sixth place on SRU's all-time scoring chart.