2016 MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL Mercyhurst Lakers (0-0, 0-0 PSAC West) vs #6 Ashland Eagles (0-0, 0-0 GLIAC) Thursday, Sept. 1 - 6 p.m. - Ashland, Ohio Live Coverage: David Wilson (play-by-play), Don Graham (color commentary), WNCOAM.COM; GOASHLANDEAGLES.COM; SportsTime Ohio (tape delay - Sept. 4, 8 p.m.) 2016 - 36th Season MERCYHURST (0-0, 0-0 PSAC) Sept. 1 at Ashland 6 p.m. Sept. 10 at Kutztown 5:05 p.m. Sept. 17 EAST STROUDSBURG 12 p.m. Sept. 24 CLARION * 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at Gannon * 12 p.m. Oct. 8 at Slippery Rock * 6 p.m. Oct. 15 EDINBORO * 12 p.m. Oct. 22 at Seton Hill * 4 p.m. THE GAME Oct. 29 CALIFORNIA (PA.) * 12 p.m. Nov. 5 at Indiana (Pa.) * 1 p.m. The Mercyhurst football team will open its THE SERIES 2016 season when it visits sixth-ranked 2007 - Ashland 59, MERCYHURST 43 Nov. 12 LOCK HAVEN 12 p.m. 2006 - ASHLAND 24, Mercyhurst 21 * PSAC West contest Marian (Ind.) for a non-conference game 2005 - Ashland 45, MERCYHURST 7 ASHLAND All times EST on Sept. 1. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. 2004 - Mercyhurst 25, 14 2003 - MERCYHURST 17, Ashland 10 Location .................................................... Erie, Pa. 2002 - ASHLAND 27, Mercyhurst 20 2001 - ASHLAND 47, Mercyhurst 21 Enrollment ....................................................4,005 The Lakers had a 5-6 overall record and 2000 - Ashland 15, MERCYHURST 14 Nickname.....................................................Lakers 2-5 slate in Pennsylvania State Athletic 1999 - ASHLAND 32, Mercyhurst 7 Colors ............................................Blue and Green 1998 - MERCYHURST 34, Ashland 23 Stadium .................................. Tullio Field (2,300) Conference Western Division play. Surface .................................................... FieldTurf Head Coach .................................Marty Schaetzle The host Eagles are also opening their season. They went 10-1 last year, winning Record at Mercyhurst...................................74-80 the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship with a 10-0 mark. Sports Info Director ...............................Josh Reilly Phone ...........................................(814) 824-2525 Ashland fell in the NCAA Tournament opening round, losing to fellow GLIAC member E-mail [email protected] Grand Valley State, 45-28. #6 ASHLAND (0-0, 0-0 GLIAC) Sept. 1 MERCYHURST 6 p.m. THE COACHES Sept. 10 WAYNE STATE * 7 p.m. Marty Schaetzle (Bucknell ’83) is in his 15th season as head coach for Sept. 17 FINDLAY * 7 p.m. Mercyhurst./ He owns a 74-80 record. He is a three-time PSAC West Coach of the Sept. 24 at Ferris State * 3:30 p.m. Year (2008, 2010, 2014) and has coached the Lakers to two PSAC West regular- Oct. 1 at Tiffin * 1:30 p.m. Oct. 8 NORTHWOOD * 1 p.m. season championships (2010, 2012) and one PSAC overall title (2010). Prior to Oct. 15 at Lake Erie * 1 p.m. coaching at Mercyhurst, Schaetzle has held assistant coach positions at Bucknell, Oct. 22 at Kentucky Wesleyan 1 p.m. Shippensburg, Northern Arizona, Sonoma State, Arizona and Albany. Oct. 29 at Michigan Tech * 1 p.m. Nov. 5 WALSH * 1 p.m. Nov. 12 at Ohio Dominican * 12 p.m. Lee Owens (Bluffton ‘77) is in his 14th year as head coach for Ashland. He has * GLIAC contest totaled a 129-103 record in his first 21 years as a varsity football coach. In 13 All times EST seasons with the Eagles, Owens is 89-42. He previously coached NCAA Division I Location ...........................................Ashland, Ohio Akron to a 40-61 record through nine years. Prior to becoming a collegiate head Enrollment ....................................................6,000 coach, he was an assistant at Ohio State and a high school head coach at four Nickname.....................................................Eagles different Ohio high schools. Colors ...........................................Purple and Gold Stadium ........... Martinelli Field at Miller Stadium Surface ......................................................Artificial NEXT UP Head Coach ..........................................Lee Owens The Lakers will play their second consecutive road game when they visit Kutztown Record at Ashland ........................................89-42 for a PSAC interdivisional game on Saturday, Sept. 10, for a 5:05 p.m. start. Sports Info Director ............................Dusty Sloan Phone ...........................................(419) 289-5954 E-mail ................................ [email protected] The Golden Bears will open their season Saturday, Sept. 3, with a 1 p.m. non- conference contest at Assumption. Mercyhurst at Ashland - Sept. 1, 2016 LAKERS’ SEASON PREVIEW LAST TIME WE MET QUARTERBACKS – Head coach Marty Schaetzle looks for someone to emerge from a six-horse October 24, 1998 race. He and his coaching staff have whittled the QB derby down to three candidates: junior Tullio Field (Erie, Pa.) Logan Weaver, redshirt-sophomore Ramroth Finnegan and redshirt-freshman Doug Altavilla. Weaver saw action in 2015, completing 27 of 53 passes for 351 yards, two touchdowns Mercyhurst Lakers 34, Ashland Eagles 23 and seven interceptions. Finnegan last played in 2014, attempting only seven passes, but Ashland 2 0 7 14 - 23 completing two for 29 yards. Altavilla has not seen any game action. Mercyhurst 0 17 14 3 - 34 “We brought in three freshmen and we have three veterans,” Schaetzle said. “We looked all six and we’ve gotten it down to three. We’re going to go with one guy and once we know who that Tm Q Time Play is, we will give him a chance to improve. A 1 10:11 Team safety “They’re all evaluated on the characteristics that a quarterback needs: leadership, knowledge M 2 14:44 Corasaniti 20 field goal of the offense, decision-making and how they carry themselves in the huddle, on the field, off M 2 4:13 Siemon 32 pass from Kissell (Corasaniti kick) the field, in the locker room and in the classroom.” M 2 :34 Siemon 9 pass from Kissell (Corasaniti kick) M 3 10:50 Kissell 1 run (Corasaniti kick) RUNNING BACKS – Redshirt-senior Richie Sanders and senior Drew Robinson will give the M 3 4:52 Bailey 49 pass from Kissell (Corasaniti kick) Lakers an experienced 1-2 punch out the backfield after the graduation of the program’s all-time leading rusher, Brandon Brown-Dukes. Redshirt-freshman E’Andre Smith finds himself A 3 :44 Smith 0 blocked punt return (Pifer kick) in the mix as well. True freshmen Justin Myrick and Garrett Owens could also push for playing A 4 11:56 Parks 32 pass from Molk (Pifer kick) time. M 4 6:00 Corasaniti 32 field goal A 4 1:15 Pruiett 5 pass from Molk (Pifer kick) Sanders had 76 carries for 467 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. He also made 16 receptions for 171 yards while leading the team with 1,533 all-purpose yards. As the Lakers’ primary kickoff returner, Sanders had 34 returns for a 21.7-yard average. TEAM STATISTICS AU MC Sanders also has the potential to finish in the Top 10 in several all-time categories in the FIRST DOWNS 26 24 Mercyhurst record book. He already ranks third in kick return yards (1,094), sixth in all-purpose RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 37-135 29-70 yards (2,951) and 10th in punt return yards (166). He will look to move up in rushing yards (12th), rushing attempts (15th) and rushing touchdowns (T-17th). PASSING YDS (NET) 348 440 Passes Att-Comp-Int 51-25-1 57-28-2 Robinson, himself, rates eighth all-time in kick return yards (918). He had 29 rushes for 150 TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 88-483 86-510 yards and two touchdowns last year. He also had eight catches for 109 yards. Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 1-5 “We think our running back position is solid,” Schaetzle said. “Richie and Drew know how Punt Returns-Yards 4-45 0-0 to handlt it. E’Andre Smith had a very good spring and the two freshmen have played well in Kickoff Returns-Yards 5-42 3-27 camp.” Interception Returns-Yards 2-29 1-15 Punts (Number-Avg) 3-39.3 6-26.5 WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS – The race for playing time at wide-out is wide open for the Lakers, who lost their top five pass-catchers from a year ago. The top two returning receivers Fumbles-Lost 3-3 0-0 are actually running backs – Sanders (16 receptions) and Robinson (8) – while the top Penalties-Yards 6-40 4-20 returning wide-out is junior Brad Novak. Possession Time 29:19 30:41 Third-Down Conversions 7 of 18 8 of 20 As a team, Mercyhurst had 3236 receptions for 2,874 yards and 26 TDs in 2015. The Lakers’ returners in 2016 had 30 of those catches for 304 yards. That opens the door for Novak, who Fourth-Down Conversions 2 of 7 1 of 2 provides the most experience, and a handful of other guys. Red-Zone Scores-Chances 1-4 4-6 Sacks By: Number-Yards 3-19 6-38 Junior Danavian Clay, a transfer who arrived on campus in the spring, could step into a key role. Redshirt-junior Zach Smith is another player who has developed in the program and could see time. RUSHING: AU-Church 21-100; Molk 16-35. MC-Gibson 10- 48; Kissell 14-12; Magorien 4-6; Bailey 1-4. At tight end, sophomore Bryce Mostoller and freshman Joe Carbone are the early favorites to hold down the fort for Mercyhurst at the tight end spot. Mostoller did not have a reception PASSING: AU-Molk 25-50-1-348; Stepsis 0-1-0-0. MC- during his freshman year. Kissell 28-57-2-440. “We’re replacing a lot of guys,” Schaetzle said. “Brad Novak has played the most and he is the most intelligent about the offense. Danavian Clay had a decent spring and got even better in RECEIVING: AU-Parks 7-122; Pruiett 6-90; Grubich 6-80; fall camp.