Senior defensive end Keir Jeter, here with senior Ryan Skelton making the tackle against Gannon, has been a force for the Edinboro defense this season./ETN file photo.

It’s his final go at Edinboro. And Keir Jeter isn’t letting up.

The Edinboro senior was relentless all day in Edinboro’s 30-20 win against PSAC West rival Mercyhurst College today at Tullio Field.

“All my guys tell me, ‘Hey, we need something,’” Jeter said. “‘We need something’ so I just try to do my best whether it’s contain for someone else to make the play or just get in there and cause havoc.”

One of the best defensive players in the PSAC, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 237-pound defensive end out of Moon Township had team-high nine total tackles against the Lakers (3-4, 1-3).

He had six solo stops, four tackles for loss and two sacks for the Scots (5-2, 2-2).

“Whatever I can do to help us go forward, that’s what I need to do,” Jeter said.

Jeter came into the game fourth in the PSAC in tackles for loss with 10.5. He had 29 tackles, 4.5 sacks, tw0 forced fumbles, a blocked kick, interception and fumble recovery.

Jeter will look to help the Scots stay in the hunt for an PSAC West title as they play winless Lock Haven (0-6, 0-4) next week at Sox Harrison Stadium

Veuntrae Robinson (#17) and Devin Ghafoor have been impact true freshmen for the Edinboro Fighting Scots this season./ETN file photo.

Devin Ghafoor didn’t expect this.

Being a true freshman, Ghafoor didn’t have very high expectations this season

“I came in just trying to be freshman on the team and learn and all that,” Ghafoor said.

He’s learning pretty fast.

Ghafoor deflected a screen pass that was ruled a backward pass, picked the ball up and scored from 49 yards out to give Edinboro a 20-point, second-half lead as the Scots beat Mercyhurst College, 30-20, today at Tullio Field today.

“It was a big play,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said. “Because without that score, the outcome is a lot different.”

Ghafoor and fellow true freshman Veuntrae Robinson have made key plays in the secondary for the Scots this season.

In last week’s 24-23 loss to Slippery Rock, Robinson, 6-foot, 3-inch, 186-pound strong safety out of Boardman, Ohio, returned a fumble for a touchdown.

For the season, Robinson has two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.

As for Ghafoor, the 6-foot, 167-pound starting nickel back out of Pittsburgh has three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Trevor Kennedy is having a special season, but as a team, Mercyhurst College is not./ETN file photo.

Trevor Kennedy slapped the ground after catching a 26-yard pass a yard short of the end zone on the game’s final play today.

He’s hurting.

The Mercyhurst College senior receiver has caught 13 touchdowns this season, but the Lakers (3-4, 1-3 PSAC West) lost their third straight game, 30-20, to Edinboro today at Tullio Field.

“We’re a better football than what we show,” said a tearful Kennedy after today’s 10-point loss to the rival Scots. “On Saturdays, we never come out on the right end. There are no words to put it in. We work hard. We go practice every day. We work hard. Things are just not hitting our way right now.”

Kennedy set a single-season school record for receiving touchdowns by catching two against the Scots. He had 13 touchdown catches total heading into this season.

He now needs just three more touchdown catches to pass Ed Bailey and become the school’s all-time leader in that department. Bailey (1997-2000) finished his career with 28 touchdown grabs.

Against Edinboro today, Kennedy caught eight passes for 147 yards. For the season, Kennedy has 50 catches for 944 yards in seven games.

Last season, Kennedy had 75 catches for 924 yards in 13 games.

Third-year center Steve Reinhardt has started all 18 career games he's played at Mercyhurst College.

In a continuing series of Q&As with local players who are playing local college football, Duane Rankin caught up with Mercyhurst College sophomore center Steve Reinhardt to talk about several topics.

An Bradford graduate, Reinhardt started in the 12 games he played for the Lakers as a redshirt freshman to help Mercyhurst win the 2010 PSAC title game and make its first ever trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

This season, Reinhardt has started all six games for the Lakers (3-3, 1-2), who head into Saturday’s PSAC West game against rival Edinboro (4-2, 1-2) having lost their last two games.

Talking to Reinhardt after a practice this week, Rankin asked the 6-foot, 2-inch 270-pound center about Mercyhurst’s current losing skid, wearing an Under Armour head band to keep his hair in place and sharing an apartment with teammates.

Make room for the futon.

How has it been for you being a starter as a freshman, having that year of experience and playing this season? “It’s nice to get that year under your belt. You’re more comfortable going out for each game because you’ve done it before. You kind of know what to expect. It’s not as bad as the previous year.”

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Travis Rearick made the game-winning, two-point conversion pass to beat Edinboro last season./ETN file photo.

Last season, Mercyhurst beat Edinboro in overtime 22-21 at Sox Harrison Stadium on a two-point conversion pass from Travis Rearick to Trevor Kennedy. It was a tremendous finish to an incredible game.

Here are links to the first and second half/overtime of that game in Edinboro. Image Sports did the broadcast.

FYI. Hit the pause button and give it time to load before playing the videos to avoid stops and starts.

On Saturday, the Scots and Lakers will renew their PSAC West rivalry in a noon game at Tullio Field. Image Sports is broadcasting it live again.

In the last three years since Mercyhurst has joined the PSAC, the road team has won each game between the Lakers and Scots.

In a game that had a ton of big plays, none were bigger than Mercyhurst senior defensive end Dan Kruper forcing Edinboro senior David Bostic to fumble and senior safety Bryant Kimball recovering the ball at the Edinboro 31 in the fourth quarter with the Scots leading, 14-7. The Lakers scored on the ensuing drive to tie the game with 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Gerald Anderson scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.

In overtime, Edinboro scored first on a 1-yard run by sophomore quarterback Cody Harris. The Lakers responded with Rearick finding sophomore Terrence Coon for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

The Lakers decided to go for two instead of kick a PAT to tie the game and go into a second overtime session.

So they sent Kennedy in motion from left to right. Rearick took the shotgun snap, rolled to his right and hit Kennedy for the two-point conversion to win the game for Mercyhurst.

True freshman quarterback Ty Stoldt had six turnovers for Edinboro in its 24-23 loss to Slippery Rock today./Photo by Jack Hanrahan of the Erie Times-News

James Jackson has his back.

Following Edinboro’s 24-23 loss in which true freshman Ty Stoldt threw three third-quarter interceptions in his first career start, Jackson, who starred as a true freshman last season at cornerback, was proud of how Stoldt played.

“He’s a tremendous freshman,” said Jackson about the skinny 6-foot, 2-inch, 169-pound Stoldt. “He might not look it physically, but he’s going to be the future at Edinboro.”

Stoldt played in place of sophomore Cody Harris, who was cleared to play this morning after sustaining a minor concussion in last week’s loss at Indiana (Pa.), but hadn’t practiced all week.

Harris is expected to start in next week’s PSAC West rivalry game at Mercyhurst College.

“Cody will be back,” Edinboro coach Scott Browing said. “He’s good to go now, but we’re not going to forget about Tyler either because I think he did an awful lot of good things.”

While Stoldt did some good things like looking down field when pressured, he went 9-of-23 for 140 yards, was sacked twice and lost three fumbles.

An Alden, N.Y. native, Stoltz was just 3-of-13 in the second half for 30 yards, but left an impression on Slippery Rock senior safety Jayson Nickson, a four-yeart starter out of Mercyhurst Prep.

“He actually played a really good game, especially for being a true freshman in a game of such a high rivalry,” Nickson said.

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George Mihalik was more than just upset today – and his team won.

The longtime Slippery Rock coach had words with the referees after Slippery Rock erased a 17-point deficit to win 24-23 at Edinboro.

Mihalik’s biggest gripe was about how Edinboro scored its second touchdown to take a 13-3 halftime lead. To keep himself out of the PSAC commissioner Steve Murray’s doghouse, Mihalik made the following point about the play:

“Let me phrase this and you can print it exactly,” he said. “No comment on the call. That tells you what I think of it.”

Late in the first half, Kevin Sanders caught pass and was being driven back by a host of Edinboro defense. Sanders’ forward progressed was clearly stopped, but Edinboro freshman cornerback Devin Ghafoor came in and ripped the ball out.”

Freshman safety Veuntrae Robinson picked the ball up and scored from 17 yards out.

Mihalik lost it.

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Jake Wickline had a team-high eight tackles today for Slippery Rock.

Wearing dark shades and a big smile, Slippery Rock senior linebacker Jake Wickline couldn’t have been happier this afternoon.

Wickline returned to the place he once played and left with a 24-23 win at Edinboro’s Sox Harrison Stadium.

“A great win,” Wickline said. “To come up here on their homecoming, come down to the wire and win like that, that was a great win.”

Wickline transferred to Slippery Rock  from Edinboro after playing three seasons for the Scots. He transferred in part to be  closer to his home of Beaver Falls after his dad died last year at the age of 52.

Wickline’s aunt passed away at the age of 56 in March of this year.

However, Rock coach George Mihalik had to convince Edinboro to release Wickline so he could transfer to Slippery Rock.

Today couldn’t get here soon enough for Wickline.

“I’ve  been waiting for this day,” he said. “Real excited. Been circled on my calendar for over a year now since I went to Slippery Rock to come back here. So yeah, I was real excited.”

Wickline, who led Edinboro in tackles in 2009, had a team-high eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and interception.

“Our defense is ranked No. 1 in the nation for a reason,” Wickline said. “Straight up and we all believed and it was a total team effort. To come out and have a pick and another pick and another pick and then to have a fumble recovery. And then to have our offense come back and score when we really needed them, that was a total team effort. Just glad to be a part of it.”

Senior Jayson Nickson has been a four-year starter for Slippery Rock.

In a continuing series of Q&As with local players who are playing local college football, Duane Rankin caught up with Slippery Rock senior safety Jayson Nickson to talk about several topics.

An Mercyhurst Prep graduate, Nickson has been a four-year starter for the Rock. This season, the 5-foot, 9-inch, 170-pound fifth-year senior has 16 tackles and two interceptions to help Slippery Rock begin the season 4-1.

The Rock are 2-0 in the PSAC West heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. game at No. 25-ranked Edinboro (4-1, 1-1).

Talking to Nickson this week on the phone, Rankin asked him about playing against the Rock’s most hated rival – the Scots – the success of his old high school and the recent passing of one of his biggest inspirations – his grandmother, Jean Nickson.

You guys have had strong starts and haven’t finished the way you would like so how big is this game to keep momentum going? “This game is huge because it’s against a great opponent like Edinboro. They’re ranked No. 25 so being able to play a team like this is a great opportunity. We usually start (the season) off great, but sometimes it doesn’t end so well. Playing a team like this and possibly getting a win would be what we need to keep this train rolling.”

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He's at Slippery Rock now, but here's senior linebacker Jack Wickline (No. 28) in an Edinboro uniform back in 2008 making a tackle against Gannon's Anthony Weaver./ETN file photo.

They’re still on opposite ends.

Sophomore Kellen O’Neill was once at Slippery Rock, but transferred to Edinboro. Senior Jake Wickline was once at Edinboro, but transferred to Slippery Rock.

According to Rock coach George Mihalik, it will not have any bearing of what takes place between these PSAC West rival schools Saturday at Sox Harrison Stadium with the Scots (4-1, 1-1) take on the Rock (4-1, 2-0).

“When Kellen was here, he gave us a great effort,” Mihalik said. “He was a team guy so he just felt it was a better situation at Edinboro. So no problems. We released him. That happens. That doesn’t enter into any issues.

“We’re going to prepare for Edinboro as we always would. There is no problem with the fact that Kellen is at Edinboro. Hey, you just want the best for young men wherever they feel they can have the most success. You want to try to accommodate their request.”

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