GAME OF THE WEEK: New Haven at Mercyhurst
It’s finally here- the first ever NEC game for the New Haven Chargers. While we only learned this spring that the Chargers would be joining Division I, it felt like a foregone conclusion- if anyone was coming up soon, it would be the Chargers. When they announced they’d be joining the NEC, there was little surprise anywhere in the sports world- more of a “it’s about time” feeling. That extended to the athletic department at New Haven, who posited (correctly) that they’d been operating as a Division I program for some time.
But the goodwill only lasts so long, and the first showdown with conference-mate Mercyhurst (albeit, as an officially non-conference game) won’t feel anything like two new best friends.
There’s no point in beating around the bush with the key storyline here. This game, from the outside, is all about Adam Urena vs. A.J. Duffy. The two quarterbacks were the best in the league this past week, with Duffy winning the league’s official offensive player of the week for the Chargers. On Thursday, we felt that Urena had dispelled a key storyline heading into the season- that the Lakers signal caller had put up numbers against poor competition and struggled in Division I. We never bought that for a second, and they don’t buy it in Youngstown anymore, either. He had a new favorite target emerge in Dylan Evans and threw for 311 yards and 2 TDs against the Penguins. Clearly, against a Missouri Valley defense, Urena was just as good as he ever looked.
And then A.J. Duffy took the field the next night, throwing for 377 yards on 31 of 55 passes with 2 TDs of his own. For all of the fingers being pointed at Urena’s competition last season, it’s worth noting that Marist had just one win the year prior when New Haven took them on in their inaugural Division I game. Still, the numbers don’t lie, and the counter-argument here- that Duffy had been without expected key contributor Zaon Laney at RB- only underscores what a performance Duffy had.
Both teams enter this one at 0-1 in what has been described as a likely rainy day out on Lake Erie. However, we could have easily had two 1-0 teams coming into this one with momentum.
Another interesting angle is that both New Haven and Mercyhurst were a few mistakes away from winning their respective games. In particular, the stat line for Mercyhurst in their 15-24 loss to Youngstown State reveals one very important difference between the two teams: turnovers. Mercyhurst lost a 4-0 edge to the Penguins when it came to losing the football. There simply can’t be doubt that the Lakers would have won this game had that margin been reversed- it’s awfully hard to win a game down 4 turnovers- but could the Lakers have won had it been 2-2? With a made field goal… I think it’s almost a certainty.
New Haven was 0-1 on field goals, but two muffed punts might have been the difference. The 31-14 score makes the game seem further out of reach than it was. If those two plays go the other way…
S&P+ has Mercyhurst a 2.2 point favorite on a neutral site. That obviously suggests we’ll have a tight game. It’s unclear at press time if New Haven will get Zaon Laney back in time, but weather permitting, this game should have fireworks and maybe- just maybe- the two best quarterbacks in an NEC that is loaded with good quarterback play.
