Western Kentucky Rolls Mercyhurst 52-7 Behind Two Quarterbacks
Western Kentucky used two quarterbacks and threw six touchdown passes. It was 45-0 before Mercyhurst had a single point, and the home team was in no mood for suspense.
Rodney Tisdale Jr. did most of the early damage, and he did it fast. His first scoring throw was a 72-yard touchdown to Nigel Johnson with 11:41 left in the first quarter, and he added scores of 23 yards to Cameron Flowers, 41 yards to Ajay Allen and 20 yards to Quincy Burroughs. Brock Glenn took over as the Hilltoppers piled it on, hitting Lofton Howard from 3 yards and Zion Taylor from 72 yards, and he ran one in from a yard out himself. A Karl Campbell field goal made it 10-0 in the first quarter, and by halftime it was 31-0.
Mercyhurst, now 0-3, finally scored when Alex Gevaudan hit Sha'lik Hampton from 10 yards with 1:49 left in the third quarter, which made it 45-7. That was the last time the visitors scored. Western Kentucky ended with 600 total yards, 413 through the air and 187 on the ground on only 32 carries, with one lost fumble as the sole blemish. The Hilltoppers move to 1-3.
Mercyhurst's lone score came on one pass. The scoreboard says enough, and it says 52-7. Western Kentucky never trailed, the game was never tied, and by the time Mercyhurst got on the board the lead was 45 points. Seven different Hilltoppers caught or ran for a touchdown, which is a lot of names for one afternoon.
Fantasy owners already know the story: Tisdale scored 38.2 points, a season high that dwarfed anything he had done before, and Glenn quietly added 27.0 on just 4 of 6 passing and 5 carries.