LH football drops home opener to Mercyhurst
The Bald Eagles fell to Mercyhurst, 49-7
LOCK HAVEN, PA – Despite a tremendous defensive effort in the first half, which led to a 7-6 Lock Haven lead, the Bald Eagles (1-1) dropped their 2022 home-opener to visiting Mercyhurst (2-0) 49-7 Saturday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East-West Crossover action.
Lock Haven opened the season last weekend with a thrilling road-win at Post and looked to move to 2-0 in front of a packed Hubert Jack Stadium crowd, but the visiting Lakers used a strong run-game in the second half, which provided 43 second-half points on the way to the win.
Leading the way for Lock Haven on the defensive side of the ball was Shane Scott (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) who piled up 10 total tackles. The senior linebacker also made a huge play on special teams when he blocked a punt and setup the Bald Eagles for their lone touchdown of the night.
After Scott’s blocked punt, Easton Turner (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge (Assumption)) converted on a quarterback keeper to give the Bald Eagles an early 7-0 lead. Turner ended the night with 63 yards rushing and added 104 yards through the air. Chase Holmes (Easton, Pa./Easton) led all Lock Haven receivers with four catches for 54 yards.
DeAndre Wakefield (Norristown, Pa./Souderton) led all players with a monster night on the ground. The sophomore racked up 130 yards on 23 attempts, including a 45-yard burst in the first quarter.
Davien Vernon (Florence, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and Mason Grey (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte) each forced a fumble for The Haven defense. Austin Barber (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) also had a strong individual showing chipping in nine total tackles.
Kabbi Kanu (Philadelphia/Saint Neumann & Goretti) hauled in an interception and tallied six tackles as the LHU defense forced two Lakers turnovers.
The Bald Eagles will host Clarion next week in Week 3 action. The PSAC East-West Crossover next Saturday, Sept. 17 (2 p.m.) will serve as Lock Haven’s 2022 Homecoming Game and the Bald Eagles will honor this year’s Lock Haven Athletics Hall of Fame inductees. More information regarding Homecoming 2022 will be posted at GoLHU.com in the coming days.
