Seton Hill hosted Mercyhurst on a cool and damp Homecoming afternoon at Offutt Field on Saturday. The team put on a show for the fans in attendance and the newly inducted members of the Seton Hill Athletics Hall of Fame who were honored at halftime. The Griffins built their lead up to 41-10 early in the third quarter in route to a 55-45 victory over the Lakers. SHU improves to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in PSAC action. Mercyhurst falls to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in PSAC play.
Mercyhurst won the toss and deferred their choice giving the Griffins the ball to start the game. SHU went three and out on their first drive. After a 33 yard pass on first down for Mercyhurst,
Fardan Allen picked off a pass in the end zone giving SHU the ball at their own 20 yard line. The Griffins then drove 80 yards in 7 plays ending with a 31 yard touchdown pass from
Christian Strong to
Ardell Brown. The defense forced another three and out and the offense took over at their own four yard line. SHU used 15 plays to drive 96 yards, the last four coming off a
Khalil Howard touchdown run which gave SHU a 14-0 lead with 4:36 left in the first quarter.
A short Griffin punt gave the Lakers great field position on their first drive of the second quarter. The Lakers took advantage of the short field and cut the lead in half with a two yard touchdown pass. SHU started their next drive at their own 21 and needed just one play, a 79 yard bomb from Strong to
Malik Scott which extended the lead to 21-7 with 10:34 left in the half. The defense forced another three and out and the Griffins pushed their lead to 28-7 after a 25 yard pass from Strong to
Michael Benton-Ferguson with 5:43 to play in the half. The Griffins closed out the scoring in the first half on a three yard touchdown run from Howard with 2:52 left in the half.
The Lakers trimmed the lead to 34-10 on their first possession of the second half on a 22 yard field goal. SHU responded with a touchdown drive, capped by a five yard touchdown run from Howard which extended the lead to 41-10 early in the third quarter. The Lakers returned the kickoff back to the SHU six yard line which led to a quick touchdown. Mercyhurst followed that with a touchdown on their next possession and trailed 41-25 with 5:25 left in the third quarter. The Griffins got that touchdown right back on their next possession. The Griffins marched 75 yards in five plays with Strong connecting with Benton-Ferguson on a 21 yard pass to push the lead to 48-25 with 2:50 to play in the third. Mercyhurst used two big passing plays to cut into the Griffin lead with a 14 yard touchdown pass with 1:04 left in the third quarter and SHU leading 48-32.
On the Lakers first drive of the fourth quarter,
Josh Falatovich picked off a screen play giving the Griffins the short field at the Hurst 19 yard line. After two
Evan Byrd carries, Howard finished off the drive with a 10 yard scoring run, setting a new SHU single game record, and extending the lead to 55-32 with 13:13 left in the game. Mercyhurst ran a punt back 66 yards with 5:11 left in the game, cutting the lead to 55-38. On their next possession the Lakers drove 93 yards on 12 plays to cut the lead to 55-45 with 58 seconds remaining. The Lakers recovered the onside kick but could not move the ball and the game ended on an
Alex Attia sack.
Mercyhurst finished the game with two more first down than the Griffins (23-21). SHU outgained the Lakers 615-478 in the game. SHU threw for 458 yards while the Lakers passed for 406. SHU was 12 for 20 on third down.
Khalil Howard set a new single game record with four rushing touchdowns. He finished with 111 yards on 19 carries.
Christian Strong was 28-46 for 458 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Michael Elardo caught 7 passes for 80 yards.
Malik Scott added 5 receptions for 102 yards and 1 touchdown.
Nicholas Boynton finished with 13 tackles including 2 sacks.
Alex Attia also added two sacks.
SHU will travel to Edinboro next weekend for a PSAC West contest.
