After having their six-game win streak ended by IUP back on Oct. 20, the Lakers rebounded with a win over Edinboro the following week.

Going into their game this past Saturday, Nov. 3, against nationally ranked No. 22 California University of Pennsylvania’s Vulcans, the Lakers were given the chance to revitalize their win streak.

Competing against a nationally ranked, tough opponent such as the Vulcans, the Lakers would need to put on the performance of their season to stand a chance. And they did.

The Lakers defeated the Vulcans, 40-7. The win is the largest margin of victory against a nationally ranked team in Mercyhurst history, and improved the Laker’s record to 8-2 overall.

Sophomore quarterback Alec Swartz knows exactly what led to the Lakers victory.

“We played really well in all aspects of the game, offense, defense, and special teams. We made plays all game and came together as a team to put together a great game and win,” Swartz said.

Through a strong performance on every side of the ball, the Lakers fought as efficiently as they have practiced all season.

“Putting together a complete game is something we have been striving to do this year, and I believe the win against Cal. U. is out closest game to that yet. Our offense made big plays when the opportunity was there. The defense was tough all game, not letting Cal. U. do anything offensively, and our special teams was very good as well,” Swartz said.
Alec Swartz (5) takes snaps in practice alongside senior tight end Ryan Bartizal (#88): Lindsay Beers photo
Freshman running back Brandon Brown-Dukes continued to shattered records on Saturday – setting the record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season (15).
Additionally, Brown-Dukes has 1,221 rushing yards, and is only a mere 93-yards away from breaking the Mercyhurst’s all-time freshman rushing record.

The win against the Vulcans now puts the Lakers back at the beginning of a win streak, something they have shown to only expand upon this season.

“Team morale is very good after the win against California. Even though Gannon didn’t beat IUP, so we won’t be playing for the PSAC Championship, the team is feeling good about the win. Cal. U. is a very good team and is know to be the team to beat, so everyone is pretty excited about it,” Swatz said.

With the win against the Vulcans, the Lakers have tied Western Division records with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, both with records of 6-1 in the conference. This tie results in both Mercyhurst University and IUP earning equal recognition to the PSAC Western Division title.

The Lakers will face East Stroudsburg this weekend, which will prove to be an interesting matchup, as the two teams have never played each other before.

“We need to take care of what we can as far as beating East Stroudsburg and hopefully we will get the chance to go to the playoffs,” Swatz said.

The Lakers will be closing the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 10 against East Stroudsburg’s Warriors at noon on Tullio Field.