RMU football: Colonials trek to Erie to take on Mercyhurst Saturday

Robert Morris University will travel to Erie Saturday, Nov. 15, to play the Mercyhurst Lakers in a Northeast Conference football showdown.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Saxon Stadium.

As the season moves into its final weeks, both teams will be vying for a much-needed win in the race for conference positioning.

Robert Morris is 3-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play, while Mercyhurst is 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

The Lakers have played an impressive schedule this season and have recorded wins over New Haven, Long Island, Wagner and Saint Francis, with losses to Sacramento State, Montana State, South Dakota State, Youngstown State, Duquesne and Stonehill.

Robert Morris will attempt to get back into the win column after losing a difficult game to Wagner Saturday by the score of 24-20.

The Colonials moved the ball efficiently in the game as quarterback Zach Tanner was 12 of 23 for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

Tanner connected with Chaz Middleton on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the first half and then found Jaqai Carter on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second half.

Ethan Shine added 86 yards on the ground on 22 carries and Jayson Jenkins had field goals of 36 and 37 yards.  Defensively, Patrick McDonnell had a career-high 13 tackles, and Mitchell Robinson also had a good game with 10 stops.

The game went down to the final minutes, but Tanner sustained an injury earlier in the fourth quarter and that hindered the Colonials’ attempt to pull out a victory.

In Tanner’s absence, Montour graduate Jake Wolfe went 0-for-2 passing and Cooper Panteck was 5-for-11 for 80 yards.  Panteck led RMU to the Wagner 19-yard line with only 27 seconds remaining, but a fourth-down pass was defended well by the Seahawks, ending the Colonials’ comeback.

Mercyhurst is led by quarterback Adam Urena, who has completed 201 of 307 attempts (65.5%) for 2,018 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has been intercepted nine times.

Three Mercyhurst receivers have caught at least 35 passes in Rylan Davison (40 receptions, 469 yards), Dylan Evans (39-524) and Evan Van Dyke (35-343). Brian Trobel is the top ground-gainer for the Lakers with 667 yards and eight touchdowns.

For Robert Morris, Tanner has completed 84 of 166 pass attempts for 1,069 yards and 11 touchdowns. Carter tops the Colonials with 25 catches for 304 yards while Middleton has 21 receptions for 351 yards and four touchdowns.

Shine leads the ground game with 606 yards rushing and a 3.9 yard per carry average.