Long Island Holds Off Mercyhurst 27-24 with 57 Carries
Fifty-seven carries. Long Island University ran the ball 57 times for 263 yards, threw for 63, and still beat Mercyhurst 27-24, mostly by pounding away.
Mercyhurst scored first, a 24-yard Alex Gevaudan pass to Dylan Evans, and Sam Slade answered with a one-yard run to tie it at 7-7. Will Johnson kicked a 36-yarder to put LIU up 10-7, Rocco Marcantonio hit a 43-yarder on the last play of the half to make it 10-10, and Johnson kicked another 36-yarder late in the third for 13-10. Then the fourth quarter opened and LIU scored twice in a hurry. Jesiah Mcknight ran in from 21 yards at 14:32 and Slade ran in from 5 yards at 11:09, and it was 27-10.
Mercyhurst did not quit. Gevaudan found Amare Lattimore from 8 yards to make it 27-17, then threw to Evans from 8 yards with 38 seconds left to make it 27-24. That was the last score of the game, and Mercyhurst's 14 straight fourth-quarter points were one possession short.
Turnovers matter here. Mercyhurst lost two fumbles and threw no interceptions, while LIU threw one pick. Mercyhurst threw for 237 yards but ran only 23 times for 78. A team with 63 passing yards still won, and that is the story. Will Johnson, the LIU kicker, made both of his field goals, from 36 yards each, and the 263 rushing yards came out to 4.6 a carry. It is not pretty, but it counts the same in the standings. Long Island is 1-3. Mercyhurst is 0-2 and still looking for a win.
For fantasy, Gevaudan, Evans and Slade were your top three.