Seton Hill continued its run of playing against the teams from Erie on Saturday afternoon as they traveled to Mercyhurst for a PSAC West contest.
The Griffins made it a sweep of the Erie teams with a 30-20 come from behind victory over the Lakers. SHU is now 2-4 on the season and 2-2 in PSAC West play. The Lakers fall to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the PSAC West.
SHU won the toss and deferred their choice until the second half. The Lakers took the ball and drove 58 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead over the Griffins early in the first quarter. On the next Laker possession,
Fardan Allen picked off a pass and returned it 27 yards to the Lakers 48 yard line. SHU took advantage of the turnover and scored when
Ryan Barabe found
Kinan Humphrey with a 22 yard touchdown pass to tie the score at seven with 2:39 to play in the quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, the Lakers connected on a 42 yard touchdown pass to retake the lead at 13-7. On their first play from scrimmage, Humphrey hit John Makell with a 62 yard bomb to move the ball to the Laker nine yard line. SHU would have to settle for a 21 yard
Hunter Miller touchdown that trimmed the lead to 13-10 with 12:30 left in the half. With 3:45 to play in the half, the Lakers pushed their lead to ten points at 20-10 with a five yard touchdown run. SHU was able to move the ball to the Laker 19 yard line and Miller's second field goal of the half, this one from 36 yards, to cut the lead to 20-13 at the half.
Both teams were forced to punt on their first possessions of the second half. SHU was able to trim the lead to 20-16 when Miller hit a 22 yard field goal with 9:01 left in the quarter. The Griffin defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs at their own 34 yard line. The Lakers took the 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Griffins forced the Lakers to punt to start the fourth quarter and started on their own seven yard line. SHU methodically marched down the field, using 16 plays and 7:22 on the clock, to take their first lead of the game. Barabe scored on a QB sneak from one yard out after a 34 yard pass to
Taro Gaither and the Griffins led 23-20 with 4:54 left in regulation. WIth the Lakers at the Griffin 19 yard line, Allen intercepted a pass in the end zone with 2:24 to play, preserving the three point Griffin lead. On third and eight, Valentino took a screen pass and rumbled 78 yards for a Griffin touchdown. Miller's extra point gave SHU a 30-20 lead with 1:56 to play. Allen ended the game when he forced a fumble and
Jaylen McDuffie recovered it to close out the game.
Barabe finished 28-38 for 348 yards and 2 touchdowns. Humphrey had seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Valentino added three catches for 88 yards and one touchdown. Allen paced the defense with 12 tackles while adding 2 interceptions and one forced fumble.
SHU looks to make it three in a row when they host Edinboro with kickoff set for noon.
