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ERIE – The Bloomsburg University football team entered its Week 3 contest at Mercyhurst ranked third in the nation in turnovers forced and made a strong bid to move up in that category on Saturday, taking advantage of six Lakers turnovers on the way to a 38-22 victory at Tullio Field.

With the win, the 15th-ranked Huskies (3-0, 2-0 PSAC) remain unbeaten while Mercyhurst drops to 0-3, 0-2.

Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) paced the offense with his third straight 100-yard rushing day, finishing with 117 yards and two scores, but the story of the day was the defense once again as the unit completes the first three weeks with 15 turnovers generated on the year.

It was also the third straight week the Huskies battled back from an early deficit.

Mercyhurst put the first points on the board with an impressive touchdown drive spanning 13 plays for 88 yards in just over six minutes. The drive finished with a 13-yard Brendan Boylan touchdown pass to R.J. Miller, giving the Lakers a 7-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The Lakers defense forced the Huskies into a three-and-out on their next possession, and then used some special teams magic to ignite the home crowd. Mercyhurst's Colin Kimball found a seam down the sidelines, taking the Huskies punt 61 yards back for the score and a 14-0 advantage just moments into the second period.

Bloomsburg broke into the scoring on its next drive, moving into the range of Braden Drexler (Bethlehem/Nazareth) who connected on a 34-yard field goal to cut the Lakers lead to 14-3.

The Huskies defense would emphatically add to its turnover total before the half, quickly changing the scope of the game.

The Huskies began the quick swing of momentum with the first of three impact plays from the defense. On a Mercyhurst screen attempt, Scott Beltz (Pen Argyl/Pen Argyl Area) burst into the backfield to break up the play, forcing Lakers quarterback Brendan Boylan to rush his throw which was intercepted by Bill LaBadie (Bensalem/Bensalem). LaBadie made his first career interception one to remember by rushing 41 yards the other way for the score. The point after attempt missed, leaving the score at 14-9 with 3:33 left in the half.

Bloomsburg's defense would find the end zone again quickly. Another interception, this time from cornerback DJ Robinson (Sinking Spring/Conrad Weiser) would result in a second defensive score as Robinson returned the pick 48 yards, giving Bloomsburg its first lead at 15-14.

The defensive takeover continued in the waning seconds before halftime as Garrett Pope (Northumberland/Shikellamy) forced a Mercyhurst fumble and recovered, setting the Huskies in field goal territory. Two plays later, Drexler converted from 36 yards out with eight seconds remaining for an 18-14 advantage.

Turnovers again played a role early in the third quarter – this time with both teams getting in on the act. Mercyhurst opened the half with a 14-play drive stretching 59 yards, but the Lakers came up empty handed following a missed field goal attempt from 38 yards. Bloomsburg handed the ball back to Mercyhurst at the Huskies' 21-yard line following a lost fumble, but the Lakers gave the ball right back on the very next play following a botched snap, allowing Shawn Mitchell (Nazareth/Nazareth) to recover and end the threat.

Three plays later, Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) broke off the longest play from scrimmage for the Huskies this year – a tackle-breaking 60-yard run for a 25-14 lead following Drexler's extra point.

Mercyhurst would have an answer, however. The Lakers worked their way back into the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Boylan to Jaquan Williams and the pair again combined for the two-point conversion and a 25-22 score.

The teams exchanged turnovers again early in the fourth. After a tripped up receiver led to a Huskies interception, the Lakers appeared primed to at least tie with the ball near midfield down by a field goal. Another poor exchange on the snap led to yet another fumble, however, with Tony David (Allentown/Salisbury) falling on the ball at the Lakers 47-yard line.

Six plays later, Mateo broke into the end zone once more from five yards out for a 31-22 Huskies lead.

Following a Mercyhurst three-and-out, Lawrence Elliott added the exclamation mark to the Huskies' day. The stellar sophomore return man caught two quick blocks off the Lakers  punt and did the rest himself, flashing down the sidelines for a 70-yard score, putting the game nearly out of reach at 38-22 with 9:18 left on the clock.4

Elliott led the Huskies in all-purpose yardage with 147 (10 receiving, 54 kick return, 83 punt return) and continues to lead the PSAC in punt return average (30.3 yards per return).

Dylan Spangler (Waynesboro/Waynesboro) recorded eight tackles while Ezra Ranco (Collegeville/Perkiomen Valley), Tyler Szflarski and Tyler Knoblauch (Berlin, NJ/Eastern) all had seven tackles apiece.

Bloomsburg returns home next Saturday to host PSAC East rival Shippensburg inside Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. Next Saturday is PA Wounded Warriors Day at the stadium with the Huskies accepting donations toward the PA Wounded Warriors foundation.

GAME NOTES: Robinson's interception return for a touchdown was the second of his BU career, the first coming in the 2012 season opener at Stonehill ... Elliott recorded his second punt return for a touchdown – his first was a 73-yard score vs. Millersville on Oct. 12, 2013 ... The six turnovers by the Lakers were the most by any Bloomsburg opponent since Stonehill made seven in the 2012 season opener ... Szaflarski's seven tackles were a career-high in his first career start … Bloomsburg has won eight consecutive road games.