(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) – The Lake Erie Storm will make their home debut Saturday afternoon when they entertain Davenport University in regional competition. The Green and White enter the contest at 0-1 after a narrow defeat at Mercyhurst last week, while the Panthers are playing their first game of the season.
It's the first meeting between the two teams which is no surprise as both programs are relatively young. This is the 12th season for the Storm who are under the guidance of first year head coach Reilly Murphy. This is the fourth for Davenport and first as a full member of NCAA Division II after making the transition from the NAIA.
Last week saw the Storm fall to Mercyhurst by a score of 21-16, but excitement is in the air as Lake Erie almost pulled off a thrilling comeback. Trailing 21-3 at the half, Lake Erie scored a pair of second half touchdowns and had the ball late in the fourth quarter before time ran out.
Quarterbacks Javarian Smith and Kolston Brewster combined for 203 yards passing and completed 66.7% of their passes. Eric Zokouri bolstered the ground game as he went over the century mark with 117 yards on 20 carries with a 36-yard touchdown run.
Defensively TJ Flowers seemingly sniffed out the ball wherever the Lakers put it with a game-high 14 tackles. Tyrese Pearson added eight with a forced fumble. Tareeq Welch added an interception as well to highlight the secondary.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. with coverage provided on the G-MAC Digital Network. General admission is $10 with a special price of $5 for senior citizens and children 12 and younger.
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