Stonehill Survives Mercyhurst's 21-Point Fourth-Quarter Rally to Win 34-28

With a little more than five minutes left, Stonehill led Mercyhurst by 20 points and the only real question was how much longer the starters would stay on the field. By the two-minute mark, the Skyhawks were lining up for an onside kick with a six-point lead and a stadium full of people who suddenly cared a lot about the next bounce.

Stonehill recovered it, ran out the clock and beat Mercyhurst 34-28 on Saturday, Oct. 31, at W.B. Mason Stadium in North Easton, Mass. Aidan Garrett ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns, the Stonehill defense intercepted Alex Gevaudan three times, and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown at the end of the first half turned out to be the difference.

Stonehill improved to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference, its second straight win. Mercyhurst fell to 1-8 and 0-4, but it made the Skyhawks sweat for every second of the final quarter.

Missed chances, then a gift at the gun

The first quarter was a lesson in leaving points on the table. Stonehill drove inside the Mercyhurst 25 twice and came away empty both times, turning it over on downs once at the 10 and once at the 25. Mohamed Toure also intercepted Gevaudan in the opening quarter, and still it was 0-0 after one.

Mercyhurst struck first early in the second quarter. Gevaudan capped a nine-play, 55-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ethen Knox at 14:08, and the Lakers led 7-0. A sack by Zacchaeus Dixon on the ensuing Stonehill series pushed the Skyhawks back 13 yards and kept the momentum on the visiting sideline for a few minutes.

Domenic Scalese chipped away. The Stonehill kicker hit a 40-yarder at 10:10 and a 34-yarder with 55 seconds left in the half, and it was 7-6. In between, Mercyhurst drove to the Stonehill 8 and settled for a 26-yard field goal try that missed.

The turning point

Then came the play of the game. Mercyhurst got the ball back after the Scalese kick and moved into range for a field goal on the last snap of the half. Stonehill got a hand on it, and Ma'Hkai Wilson scooped up the loose ball and ran 60 yards for a touchdown as time expired. Instead of a 10-6 Mercyhurst lead or a one-point game at the half, Stonehill went to the locker room up 13-7.

That 10-point swing is the margin you keep coming back to. A week earlier, Stonehill had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown at LIU and still won on a last-second catch. This time, the Skyhawks were the ones making the special teams play, and it was the only reason the final minutes were survivable.

Garrett and the ground game take over

Stonehill came out of halftime and leaned on the run. A seven-play, 61-yard drive ended with Garrett scoring from 3 yards out at 9:04 of the third quarter, and it was 20-7. Earlier in the quarter, Mercyhurst had gone for it on fourth-and-1 at the Stonehill 21 and been stopped.

The Skyhawks then put together their best drive of the day, a 13-play, 69-yard march that took 8:01 off the clock and bled into the fourth quarter. Jack O'Connell finished it with a 4-yard run at 12:56, and Stonehill led 27-7.

The defense kept taking the ball away. Jordan Irvine intercepted Gevaudan at the Stonehill 18, and later Dean Schmitt picked off another pass at the 10. Julian Rampino, Tyler Bannon and Tre Rankin each sacked Gevaudan once.

Then it got weird

With 5:22 left, Mercyhurst blocked a Stonehill punt and recovered it at the 1. Evan Van Dyke punched it in on the next play, and it was 27-14 at 5:17. Stonehill answered in two plays, with Garrett breaking a 43-yard touchdown run at 5:00 to make it 34-14. That should have been the end of the story.

It was not. Gevaudan needed just three plays and 40 seconds to find Sha'lik Hampton for a 21-yard touchdown at 4:08. Mercyhurst got the ball back and went 57 yards in five plays, and Gevaudan hit Hampton again from 12 yards out with 2:27 left. Suddenly it was 34-28, and the Lakers had scored 21 points in less than three minutes of game clock.

The onside kick traveled 18 yards and Stonehill fell on it at its own 47. Garrett carried the Skyhawks into Mercyhurst territory, and Stonehill took a knee to end it.

The players who decided it

Garrett finished with 113 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and the 43-yard run came at exactly the moment Stonehill needed a punch back. Shane Eason added 62 rushing yards on 10 carries and three catches for 55 more. As a team, Stonehill outrushed Mercyhurst 179-56.

O'Connell did not throw a touchdown pass, but the fifth-year quarterback completed 20 of 30 passes for 204 yards without an interception and scored the rushing touchdown that made it 27-7. Cole Clarke led the receivers with seven catches for 70 yards. Scalese made both field goals and all four extra points, and Logan Chenette averaged 42.7 yards on three punts.

For Mercyhurst, Gevaudan threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-54 passing, but the three interceptions were too much to overcome. Knox, who had 173 yards from scrimmage a week earlier against Robert Morris, caught 10 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Hampton caught eight for 92 and two scores, Christian MacDonald added four catches for 61, and Jason Woods averaged 24.3 yards on three kickoff returns.

The numbers that matter

Mercyhurst outgained Stonehill, finishing with 400 total yards and 25 first downs. It did not matter. The Lakers threw three interceptions, had a field goal blocked and returned for a score, missed another field goal and failed on a fourth-and-1 in Stonehill territory. Stonehill did not turn it over once. That is the whole game in one sentence: Mercyhurst moved the ball, and Stonehill made the plays that count.

Mercyhurst converted 6 of 14 third downs and held the ball for 26:34. Gevaudan threw 54 passes, and the Lakers ran only 19 times for 56 yards, so every drive leaned on one arm and a lot of receivers. The full numbers are in the box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

For Stonehill, 3-1 in the NEC keeps Eli Gardner's team squarely in the league conversation, and the next two weeks will decide how real it is. Next up is a home game against unbeaten Central Connecticut on Nov. 7, followed by a trip to Robert Morris on Nov. 14 and a home game against Wagner on Nov. 21. Central Connecticut beat Robert Morris 49-14 on Saturday, so the Skyhawks know exactly what is coming.

Mercyhurst is still looking for its first league win in Tom Sydeski's first season. The Lakers have a quarterback who can throw it 54 times and a pair of receivers in Knox and Hampton who can make plays. Next up is a home game against Wagner on Nov. 7.

The last word

Stonehill also won last season's meeting 22-15 in Erie, and this one looked like it would be far less dramatic. For 55 minutes, it was. Then a blocked punt and two quick Gevaudan touchdown passes turned a comfortable afternoon into a nervy one.

Stonehill will take it. A blocked field goal for a touchdown, three interceptions and an onside kick recovery are a strong recipe for winning a game, even one that got a lot closer than it needed to.

Sources: ESPN box score, play-by-play and team stats, Stonehill Athletics schedule and earlier Undrafted coverage. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Stonehill Athletics.