October 9, 2004
Football
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BARNHART SHINES IN A 22-15 LOSS AT MERCYHURST

ERIE, Pa. – The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (4-2, 4-2 GLIAC) had a nine-game road regular-season winning streak snapped in surprising fashion on Saturday from Tullio Field with a 22-15 defeat at the hands of Mercyhurst (3-4, 3-4 GLIAC). The Lakers got their first win over the Cardinals in seven tries by making big plays on both sides of the ball. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 16-0 lead after three quarters, before the Cardinals responded with 15 fourth-quarter points. The Lakers took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter on their second possession as Jeff Thiel caught a three-yard TD pass from Jeff Nowling. After a three-and-out series from the Cardinal offense, Mercyhurst drove 74 yards in 11 plays and Phil Scanlon added a 23-yard field goal for a 9-0 advantage with 13:59 left in the opening half.
    The Cards mustered a nine-play, 49-yard drive using 4:11 in the second quarter but on fourth down and four from the Lakers' 31-yard line, senior quarterback Mark Radlinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) rushed for no gain giving the ball over on downs with 5:33 left in the half. The half ended as the Lakers were threatening to score when Damion DeRosia (Flint, Mich./EA Johnson) picked off a pass at the SVSU two-yard line and returned it 10 yards with 41 seconds until intermission.
    Mercyhurst began the second half by recovering a Stan Spencer (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) fumble at the SVSU 34-yard line. The Cards defense held on the next possession forcing a Mercyhurst punt, but the Lakers would score on their next possession. Justin Adams carried it in from nine yards capping off a 10-play, 65-yard drive making it 16-0 with 6:53 to go in the third quarter. The Cards would crack the scoreboard on their first full possession of the fourth stanza and junior Logan Barnhart (Haslett, Mich.) was the main reason behind a strong running game in the final 15 minutes. Barnhart carried three times on the scoring drive and carried it into the end zone from 22 yards out. Devin Robinson (Cambridge, Mass.) caught a two-point conversion from Radlinski cutting the deficit in half to 16-8 with 10:36 to play.
    The game's decisive drive came midway through the quarter after a Radlinski interception was returned to the SV 39-yard line. Nowling found John Egbert on a 36-yard scoring strike with 7:32 remaining making it 22-8. The Cardinals did respond with a gritty drive as Barnhart carried three straight times from the 11-yard line before plunging into the end zone from five yards out with 3:57 on the clock. Bobby Belmonte (East Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) connected on the extra-point attempt for a 22-15 score.
    SVSU forced a punt and got one final chance with 2:11 to play. The Cardinals drove down the field as Barnhart broke a 34-yard run to the Lakers' five-yard line on the third play of the drive. The Cards were hurt on third-and-goal from the three-yard line by a delay of game penalty that pushed the ball back to the eight-yard line. Radlinski then misfired on two passes to Bob Awrey (Freeland, Mich.) and Mercyhurst ran out the final 59 seconds.
    Junior John DiGiorgio (Shelby Twp., Mich./Eisenhower) led SVSU with 11 tackles as SVSU had recorded four sacks. The Cardinals totaled 446 yards, but lost the turnover battle as Radlinski threw three interceptions. Barnhart carried 16 times for a career-high 139 yards. Awrey led SVSU with seven catches for 67 yards.

Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053

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