“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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Last week, Slippery Rock edged Edinboro, 38-31, in overtime. Here’s a video interview with Rock head coach George Mihalik after the game.

The Scots (3-4, 2-3) play PSAC West rival Mercyhurst (6-2, 4-1) Saturday at noon while Slippery Rock (4-4, 3-2) plays at No. 13-ranked California (Pa.) (7-1, 5-0).

Scots coach Scott Browning is expected start Erie native Maleek Toran (#26) in place of James Jackson (#11) for Saturday's noon game against No. 22-ranked Indiana (Pa.). Jackson is serving an one-game suspension after being ejected from last week's game./Photo by Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News

EDINBORO – Earlier this week, Edinboro coach Scott Browning said he’ll start Erie native Maleek Toran for Saturday’s key PSAC West game against No. 22-ranked IUP (5-1, 2-1).

A Central Tech graduate, Toran will replace junior cornerback James Jackson, who is serving  one-game suspension after getting ejected from last week’s 44-24 loss to Gannon.

“Right now, Maleek Toran is in that spot,” Browning said. “We’ve got to coach him up.”

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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.

Gannon University and Edinboro Universiy have their share of local athletes who will play in Saturday’s PSAC West rivalry game between the Knights and Scots at Sox Harrison Stadium in Edinboro.

See what Edinboro senior Shawn Walker, who played at General McLane High School, and Gannon senior Ashton Jones, who played at Strong Vincent High School, have to say about that aspect of this game.

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 playing four years against Gannon as a quarterback at Lake Erie College (Ohio), Sean Bedevelsky will coach against the Knights this year as a graduate assistant at Mercyhurst./Jack Hanrahan/ETN.

Mercyhurst has two graduate assistants this season who know just a little bit about college football in this area.

Lakers graduate assistant Jordan Krentz never lost to Gannon in his four years playing at Edinboro./ Christopher Millette/ETN.

Jordan Krentz finished his senior season at Edinboro with 28 tackles in 2011 while Sean Bedevelsky played against Gannon four straight seasons while at Lake Erie College (Ohio).

Although they’re graduate assistants, each bring a different knowledge of the PSAC to the table. Krentz has played against every team in the PSAC West outside of Edinboro, but his knowledge of the Scots is greater because he played for them.

As for Bedevelsky, he did something last season that Mercyhurst hasn’t done in two years — beat Gannon. The Storm upset the Knights 13-10 in Painesville, Ohio.  Lake Erie College had never beaten Gannon in its previous three tries.

The Knights and Storm meet again Aug. 30 at Gannon University Field.

As for Krentz, the Scots went 4-0 against the Gannon, 2-2 against Mercyhurst in his four years of playing there. Redshirted in 2007, Krentz had 71 career tackles at Edinboro.

A four-year starter, Bedevelsky played for Mark McNellie,  a longtime assistant at Mercyhurst who built the Lake Erie College football program from scratch.

As a senior, Bedevelsky threw for 2,179 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions and was the team’s second-leading rusher with 535 yards and a team-best 12 touchdowns.

A Murrysville native, Krentz received his degree in Sports Administration while Bedevelsky, who is from Brunswick, Ohio, graduated with a degree in Sports Management.

Former University of Iowa linebacker Bruce Davis will play for Edinboro this season, Scots coach Scott Browning confirmed this morning. Edinboro opens the season Sept. 8 at PSAC East power Bloomsburg.

Last season, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Davis, an Cleveland, Ohio, native left the Hawkeyes last season for “personal reasons” three games into the 2011 season.

Davis, who attended Glenville High, which has become known for producing NCAA Division I talent, had an ACL knee injury against Arizona three games into the 2010 season and missed the rest of the year.

The 6-foot, 232-pound Davis had 25 tackles in his 25 career games at Iowa. Known for his play on special teams, Davis played three games in each of his last two years with the Hawkeyes.

Davis, 23, was scheduled to graduate in December of last year. His major was Interdepartmental Studies.

– Duane Rankin