“I was nervous. I remember smiling back at him, trying to pretend I wasn’t nervous.” — Travis Rearick

Oct. 16, 2010: Mercyhurst 22, Edinboro 21 (OT)

“The rest is history.” — Trevor Kennedy

Quarterback Cody Harris put Edinboro on top in OT, but could only watch Mercyhurst win the game with a two-point conversion pass./ETN

EDINBORO — Two years after winning in dramatic fashion at Edinboro, Mercyhurst was back at Sox Harrison Stadium fresh off a 28-27 thriller at Indiana (Pa.).

On this day, the Lakers forced overtime on an Gerald Anderson 9-yard run with 59 seconds left in regulation.

“We were down like the whole second half,” said Travis Rearick, who was a starting junior quarterback at Mercyhurst in 2010. “So we were finally excited to get back into it.”

In overtime, Edinboro took first possession and scored on an Cody Harris 1-yard run to go up 21-14. The Lakers answered with Rearick finding Terrence Coon for an 11-yard scoring pass.

Mercyhurst lined up for a PAT to force a second overtime.

Then flags flew.

“They were going to kick an extra point,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said. “We jumped offsides so it moved (the ball) up a yard and a half.”

A yard and a half closer, the Lakers decided to go for two — and the win.

“It was a momentum thing,” Lakers coach Marty Schaetzle. “It wasn’t a matter of that the play was going to be any better from 1-1/2 or three yards out. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

What?

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Taking advice from his older brother, Edinboro junior Cody Harris has been healthier this season./Josh Barber

Cody Harris wasn’t thinking about his health when he lowered the shoulder on a Gannon defender in last week’s PSAC West win against the rival Knights.

“I’m not sure if it was a wise decision,” he said. “Gannon hits pretty hard. Maybe I got lucky. I don’t know. I just put shoulder down and it turned out my way. I probably should get down.”

However, the junior quarterback has taken heed to the advice of his big brother and it has helped him stay healthier this season.

“While training in the offseason, I kind of listened to my older brother Trevor,” said Harris about his older brother, who while at Edinboro became of best college quarterbacks in NCAA Division II. He is now playing in the Canadian Football League for the Toronto Argonauts.

Last season, Harris played through his share of nagging injuries, but looks to have more energy and spirit at this point in the season.

Thanks big bro.

“The way he trained and the way he trained Jacksonville (while in camp with the Jaguars in 2010), Orlando and all the places he’s been,” Harris said. ” Got me on the right track. Just doing the right things. Not always lifting heavy, but lifting to be healthy. Lifting to stay healthy and strengthen the muscles.”

Lifting to be healthy?

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Gannon University heads into Saturday’s PSAC West rivalry game at Edinboro University with an 0-6 record against the Fighting Scots (2-2, 1-1).

The Knights (1-4, 0-2) have dropped four straight games to Edinboro since joining the PSAC. Check out players and coaches from both sides talk about the upcoming showdown at Sox Harrison Stadium.

Coming off a dramatic 31-24 overtime win at LIU Post, Edinboro University carries major momentum into Saturday’s PSAC West rivalry game against Gannon University at Sox Harrison Stadium.

Check out Edinboro head coach Scott Browning and the Scots talk about the come-from-behind win.

A new NCAA rule made Scots coach Scott Browning change his strategy in last week's 24-14 home loss to No. 6-ranked California (Pa.)./Josh Barber/Erie Times-News

In preparing for last week’s home opener against No. 6-ranked California (Pa.), the Edinboro coaches made a decision to go for it on 4th-and-short if put in that situation against the Vulcans.

“We had decided on Wednesday that if we were 4th-and-2 or less, we  were going to go for it,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said Monday. “That was a staff decision.”

He didn’t know at the time the NCAA’s new rule in which players must sit out a play if their helmets come off would make him go against he and his staff’s thinking.

Down 10-7 on its second offensive series of the second half, Edinboro had a 4th-and-2 situation at the Cal 29. Junior quarterback Cody Harris put the Scots in this position with a 5-yard run on third down.

Harris also lost his helmet.

So instead of bringing in a new quarterback or even calling a timeout to get Harris back in the game, Browning elected to try a 46-yard field goal that Sean Seefeldt missed.

Now Browning says Seefeldt, a freshman from Newfane,  N.Y., has made field goals from that distance in practice.

“He’s been hitting them left and right, now,” Browning said. “He’s had a lot of success hitting them. That was not a stretch by no means.”

However, Harris losing his helmet impacted the decision.

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After having an extra week to prepare for the 2012 season, Edinboro University will play its opener Saturday at No. 19-ranked Bloomsburg.

Out of the PSAC West, the Scots are playing an PSAC East power in Bloomsburg, which opened its season with a 44-28 win at Stonehill College.

Erie Times-News reporter Duane Rankin caught up with Trevor and Cody Harris to discuss a variety of topics. From Waldo, Ohio, Trevor Harris was a star quarterback at Edinboro while Cody Harris is a starting sophomore quarterback for the Scots.

Having both lost to Edinboro and California (Pa.), Mercyhurst College senior receiver Trevor Kennedy and Gannon coach Jim Kiernan have an idea of what the Scots (7-2, 4-2) and No. 22-ranked Vulcans (7-2, 5-1) can do.

The Lakers lost 30-20 to Edinboro at home Oct. 15 and fell 32-26 at Cal in overtime Oct. 22 . The Knights lost 27-0 at home to Edinboro on Sept. 24 and fell 33-6 at Cal on Oct. 8.

So this week, we asked Kennedy and Kiernan how they see this PSAC West showdown between the Scots and Vulcans going today at 3:30 p.m. at Cal.

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First-year Lock Haven head coach John Allen/LHU

Seeing is believing.

It’s easy to judge a team by its record, especially when it’s winless like Lock Haven (0-8, 0-6 PSAC West) is.

Add the fact Lock Haven lost its 40th consecutive game today at Edinboro by 35 points, 42-7, and it’s even easier to think the Bald Eagles are a joke of a program.

The Eagles have the NCAA’s longest active losing skid regardless of division and set a PSAC record for most consecutive losses.

However, I can say with conviction after watching Lock Haven play today in person that it’s not nearly as bad as all losing suggests.

First off, the Eagles have a very good tailback in sophomore Brandon Brader, who rushed for a career-high 168 yards against Edinboro, which by the way has a defense ranked second in the nation in total defense.

The guy runs hard, always keeps his legs going, has some shake in his game as well and is a player a team can build around.

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Sophomore Cody Harris threw two touchdowns and ran for another as Edinboro upended Clarion, 21-10, tonight at Sox Harrison Stadium.

No scoring at all in the second half, but here’s the deal.

With a 3-2 record in the PSAC West, Edinboro (6-2)  is two games behind Slippery Rock (7-1, 5-0) and a game back of IUP (5-2, 4-1) and Cal (6-2, 4-1).

The Scots have already lost to IUP and Slippery Rock, but do get a crack at Cal on Nov. 5. In between that, they face Lock Haven next week.

So for the Scots, it’s about trying to make the playoffs.

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