Mercyhurst Throws Three Picks and Stays Winless
Take away the 89-yard pick-six and this is 21-14 with eight minutes left. Instead Robert Morris got it, and the game was over at 28-7. It finished 28-14.
Robert Morris scored first, with Carson Haggard hitting Jaqai Carter from 16 yards, and Mercyhurst tied it at 7-7 when Alex Gevaudan found Amare Lattimore on a 40-yard strike. Keino Fitzpatrick II ran in from seven yards just before halftime to make it 14-7, and then neither team scored in the third quarter. The fourth was another matter. Haggard threw 35 yards to Galen Combs, and 1:55 later Mekhi Kilburn returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown. Lattimore's second score, from 21 yards, was the only answer.
Here is the odd part: Mercyhurst out-gained Robert Morris 385 yards to 328, and threw for 297. It also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, while Robert Morris gave it away once. Gevaudan was 25 of 48, which is a lot of throws for a lot of trouble. Robert Morris recorded four sacks to Mercyhurst's two.
Mercyhurst's passing game was real, if wasteful. Gevaudan threw for 297 yards, Knox caught nine passes for 78 and Lattimore had 84 yards on four catches. Robert Morris leaned on Haggard instead: 18 of 32 for 242, with Carter catching six for 86 and Combs five for 76. Robert Morris ran 23 times for 86 yards and still won by two touchdowns, because the other team threw it to them three times.
Robert Morris moves to 3-2. Mercyhurst is 0-4, and has now lost a game it out-gained its opponent in. Lattimore and Ethen Knox are the fantasy stories here, with Knox the surprise.