ERIE — A rocky start for The Rock, to say the least.

Mercyhurst struck for three big plays and created a critical turnover within the first 20 minutes Saturday at Tullio Field, paving the way for a 38-23 PSAC West football victory over Slippery Rock.

The Lakers’ lead was 31-7 at halftime and 38-7 after three quarters.

“We didn’t show up to play,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “Mentally and emotionally, we weren’t ready to play. That’s on me.”

Mercyhurst (3-1, 2-0) scored three touchdowns late in the first quarter to assume a 21-0 lead. A 56-yard bomb to Paris Bruner set up a 1-yard scoring run by Brandon Brown-Dukes with 6:19 left in the period.

Moments later, Todd Wingate recovered a LaQuinn Stephens-Howling fumble at The Rock 22. It was the lone turnover of the day by either team and set up Anthony Vendemia’s 9-yard TD strike to Devyn Woods.

On Mercyhurst’s next possession, Vendemia pitched out to Vladimir Rock in the right flat. He launched a 41-yard pass to Bruner down the right sideline. That set up a 14-yard scoring run by Allen Jones II with 41 seconds left in the quarter.

“We got lucky,” Mercyhurst coach Marty Schaetzle said. “You practice those big plays, but you never know if you’re going to hit them. So many things have to work out.

“We’re not 24 points better than that (Slippery Rock) team at halftime. No way. We’re a 10-10 score at halftime, then grind it out from there. That’s who we are.”

Not on this day.

A 54-yard run by Brett Crenshaw set up Jared Buck’s 1-yard scoring run for SRU’s lone first-half highlight. Brown-Dukes earned that score back almost immediately, breaking loose for a 59-yard run before scoring from 5 yards out for a 28-7 Lakers’ lead.

“If we don’t force turnovers or make a big play early, it’s like our defense doesn’t respond or play with emotion,” SRU defensive coordinator Shawn Lutz said. “That has to change. If we want to be a good team, we have to do better on the road.”

SRU (2-2, 1-1) has allowed 93 points and 1,004 yards of offense in road losses at Shippensburg and Mercyhurst this season. The Rock has dropped four straight road games dating back to last season.

Leading 28-7, Mercyhurst used a 15-play, 55-yard drive to produce a field goal on the final play of the half. The march ate up the final 6:27 of the second quarter. The Lakers then possessed the ball for 12 plays and 7:54 to begin the third.

“We couldn’t get our offense on the field. And when we did, it was raining and Mercyhurst was able to stack the line and control our running game,” Mihalik said.

Brown-Dukes rushed for 160 yards and Jones II added 102 for the Lakers. Both scored two touchdowns.

Buck completed only 5-of-15 passes for 44 yards in the first three quarters before hitting 8-of-12 in the fourth as SRU tried to rally.

SRU put together scoring drives of 81 and 67 yards in the final quarter, then got a safety when Mercyhurst punter Stephen Wakefield fielded a high snap and was forced to step out of the end zone with 6:27 remaining.

The Rock rally ended when it turned the ball over on downs at the Lakers’ 30 with 4:26 to play.

“It was tough throwing the ball in the rain, but that’s no excuse,” Buck said. “We stood on the sidelines all that time (second and third quarter). It was wet. It was cold. It was hard to deal with. Still, we have to play better.

“We stunk today. We got what we deserved.”

Mihalik managed a smile when thinking of his team’s potential comeback.

“We had a chance there, but that’s how we should have played when we got here,” he said.

Schaetzle said Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock would go 5-5 if they played each other 10 times.

“It went our way today,” he said. “I don’t like the way we finished, but Slippery Rock has a lot of players that we recruited. They have guys on that team I’d love to have here because they’re good players and great people.”

Mercyhurst 38, SRU 23

Slippery Rock 0 7 0 16 — 23

Mercyhurst 21 10 7 0 — 38

SRU M

21 First Downs 19

40-252 Rushes-Yards 54-254

117 Passing Yards 184

13-27-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 8-13-0

369 Total Yards 438

3-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-0

6-40 Penalty Yards 7-51

First Quarter

M — Brandon Brown-Dukes 1 run (Steven Wakefield kick), 6:19

M — Devyn Woods 9 pass from Anthony Vendemia (Wakefield kick), 4:34

M — Allen Jones II 14 run (Wakefield kick), :41

Second Quarter

SRU — Jared Buck 1 run (Kurt Brackman kick), 13:00

M — Brown-Dukes 5 run (Wakefield kick), 11:01

M — Wakefield 32 field goal, :00

Third Quarter

M — Jones II 3 run (Wakefield kick), 1:38

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Buck 7 run (Brackman kick), `13:07

SRU — Jaimire Dutrieuille 20 run (Brackman kick), 8:39

SRU — Punter Wakefield stepped out of end zone for safety. 6:27

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Akeem Satterfield 16-90, Brett Crenshaw 3-59, Jaimire Dutrieuille 8-56, Jared Buck 11-42, Jimmy Zubik 2-5. Mercyhurst, Brandon Brown-Dukes 29-160, Allen Jones II 16-102, Steven Wakefield 2-(-2), Anthony Vendemia 5-(-2), TEAM 2-(-4).

Passing: SRU, Jared Buck 13-27-117-0. Mercyhurst, Anthony Vendemia 7-11-143-0, TEAM 0-1-0-0, Vladmir Rock 1-1-41-0.

Receiving: SRU, LaQuinn Stephens-Howling 5-10, Jimmy Zubik 3-19, Robert Joyce 2-25, Ken Amos 1-26, Calvin Anderson 1-24, Jaimire Dutrieuille 1-13. Mercyhurst, Paris Bruner 4-114, Devyn Woods 2-51, Jeff Groene 1-12, Brandon Brown-Dukes 1-7.