Full Game Notes (PDF)

CAL U (4-3, 3-1) @ MERCYHURST (2-5, 1-3)
• When: Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018
• Where: Erie, Pa.
• Stadium: Tullio Field (2,300)
• Kickoff: 12 p.m.
• Live Video: Stretch (Mercyhurst Feed)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 5-4
• First Meeting: Nov. 1, 2008 @ Mercyhurst - Cal U won 17-6 I Recap I Box Score
• Last Meeting: Oct. 28, 2017 @ Cal U - Cal U won 31-21 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +3

NOTES
• Cal U returns to the road on Saturday when it travels to face Mercyhurst. The Vulcans are looking to rebound following a 29-15 loss on Homecoming to Gannon last week. Meanwhile, the Lakers suffered a 34-33 loss at Seton Hill after allowing 27-unanswered points in the second half.
 
• The Vulcans suffered a 29-15 loss to Gannon last week, snapping a 15-game home winning streak against conference opponents. Cal U allowed over 330 rushing yards in the contest, including 276 yards by All-American Marcus Jones. Freshman Noah Mitchell finished with 239 passing yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-38 attempts with one interception. Junior Nelson Brown finished with 90 rushing yards on 20 carries. Junior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II led the team with a season-high 12 tackles and senior linebacker Brendan Blair added 11 stops.
 
• The home team has won seven of the last nine meetings in the series. The two programs never met until Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008.
 
• The longest tenured coach in school history, Marty Schaetzle is in his 17th season as head coach at Mercyhurst. He has posted an 83-100 overall record with the Lakers and was named PSAC West Coach of the Year twice in his first three years in the league, including 2010 when the program set the school record for wins and captured the PSAC Championship.
 
• After losing by one point on the road last week, Mercyhurst enters the weekend having played four games decided by points or less this season. The Lakers rank in the bottom third of the league in virtually every offensive category. A three-year starter, junior Doug Altavilla has posted nearly 6,000 passing yards and accounted for over 50 touchdowns in his career. He has totaled over 450 passing yards while completing more than 67 percent of his attempts over the last two weeks. Sophomore Garrett Owens is a multi-dimensional running back, leading the team with 615 rushing yards while being tied for the team lead with 20 receptions. He has amassed over 500 all-purpose yards in the last four weeks, including 210 yards against Edinboro two weeks ago. Junior Austin Hence leads the team with 337 receiving yards, while classmate Clay Waldron posted his first career 100-yard game last week. Defensively, Mercyhurst ranks among the top half in the PSAC in every statistic. Junior defensive back Jake Tarasovitch leads the team with 52 tackles and redshirt senior linebacker Rocky Owens has tallied 50 stops. Senior defensive back Dante' Redwood has registered 33 tackles and a pair of interceptions this year after being an All-PSAC West First-Team selection in 2017. The Lakers feature one of the top punters in the league again this year, as junior Brendan Cole is averaging 43.3 yards per punt. He ranks 10th in the country in punting after earning All-PSAC West First-Team laurels last season.
 
• Cal U has won six of the 10 all-time meetings against Mercyhurst, but the Lakers have won three of five games at Tullio Field. In 2014, the teams combined for almost 50 fourth-quarter points before the Vulcans dropped a 59-49 contest after being tied for first in the divisional standings. In 2012, Cal U suffered a 40-7 loss after entering the last week of divisional play tied for first in the PSAC West standings. In 2010, Cal U committed four turnovers in a 31-21 loss while being No. 3 in the country.
 
• Last week, Cal U yielded over 300 rushing yards for the first time since Week 7 of the 2015 season. Gannon running back Marcus Jones, the runner-up for the 2017 Harlon Hill Trophy, finished with 276 rushing yards on 38 attempts. It marked the most rushing yards gained by an opposing player in recent program history.
 
• The Vulcans enter the weekend in control of their own fate in the PSAC West standings with three weeks of divisional play still remaining. With a win in each of the next three weeks, Cal U would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Slippery Rock and would host the PSAC Championship on Nov. 10.
 
• Cal U was unable force a turnover in its loss to Gannon last week. The Vulcans have forced a combined 14 turnovers which have been converted into 54 points and hold a plus-seven turnover margin in their four victories this year. In comparison, Cal U has not forced a turnover in any of its three losses and holds a minus-seven turnover margin in those contests. 
 
• Redshirt freshman wide receiver Derrick Caraway finished with 181 all-purpose yards last week against Gannon, which marked the highest total by a Cal U player this year. He set a career high with 57 receiving yards on four catches after entering the game with three career receptions. Caraway also totaled 104 yards on three kickoff returns and 20 yards on a pair of punt returns.
 
• Last week, junior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II set a season high with 12 tackles versus Gannon. He has posted double-digit stops in back-to-back games and is tied for sixth in the PSAC with 8.4 tackles per game. Last year, McPhatter registered at least 10 tackles in a game three times before finishing third on the team with 76 stops. He also is tied for the league lead and sits fifth in the country with five interceptions this season.
 
• The Vulcans recorded a pair of blocked kicks last week versus Gannon. It marked the second-straight game and the 12th time since the 2011 season in which Cal U has blocked at least two kicks in a game. Late in the first quarter, redshirt freshman Derrick Caraway blocked a PAT attempt that would have tied the score. Early in the third quarter, freshman Jermal Martin, Jr. blocked another PAT attempt by Gannon.
 
• Mercyhurst junior quarterback Doug Altavilla is the cousin of former Laker All-American pitcher Dan Altavilla. Dan made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and has made over 60 appearances with the Mariners the last two years. Dan was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft after being named the Most Outstanding Pitcher in NCAA Division II as a junior.
 
• Cal U continues to rank among the national leaders in third-down conversion percentage despite being limited to a season-low five conversions last week. The Vulcans sit second in NCAA Division II in the category with a .576 conversion rate behind only the mark of .588 held by South Dakota Mines.
 
• Senior linebacker Brendan Blair established a career high last week against Gannon with 11 tackles. In his first year as a starter, he ranks second on the team with 50 stops (30 solo) while also tallying 4.0 TFL, one interception and one fumble recovery. Blair entered the season with over 60 tackles, nearly 10.0 TFL and three interceptions in 30-plus games as a reserve linebacker and member of special teams.
 
• At the midway point in the season, quarterback Noah Mitchell ranks second among freshmen at all NCAA levels with 2,059 passing yards. He is one of only two quarterbacks in the PSAC to total at least 2,000 passing yards this year and is also tied for third with 15 passing touchdowns. Mitchell has posted at least 200 passing yards in all but one game this season while being sacked only three times on 258 pass attempts.
 
• With four weeks left in the regular season, there are five remaining undefeated teams in Super Region One. The region is comprised of 45 teams in the PSAC, MEC, G-MAC and NE-10 and each conference features at least one undefeated team. In the PSAC East, a potential meeting of undefeated teams could occur next week when Kutztown hosts West Chester as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase.