SLIPPERY ROCK — Mercyhurst wasted no time introducing its football team to Slippery Rock University last year.

The Lakers joined the PSAC in 2008 and faced The Rock on the gridiron for the first time, posting a dominant 34-10 victory in Erie.

"That was probably the most embarrassing loss in my 22 years of coaching at Slippery Rock," said SRU coach George Mihalik. "Mercyhurst made its presence felt in this conference right away."

The Lakers (3-2, 2-0) come to N. Kerr Thompson Stadium for a 2 p.m. homecoming date Saturday with The Rock (4-1, 1-1).

Both teams have been relying on strong defensive play to overcome inconsistent offenses so far this season.

"Our offenses have been average or so," Mihalik said. "Mercyhurst plays a 35 defense and this is the first time we're facing a five-linebacker set.

"I put the challenge out there to our offensive line this week. We only had 61 yards passing and 44 rushing last week. We had 415 yards the week before at Edinboro. What happened there? We need to bounce back," he added.

Right guard Mike Tomaino returns to The Rock after managing to play only the opening series last week because of a bad ankle. SRU also gets running back Ryan Lehmeier, and defensive end and Knoch graduate Bill Elliott back from injuries.

On the downside, linebackers Travis Wolff and Kyle Smedi, as well as receivers Kevin Sanders and Devin Goda, are banged up.

"We're pretty thin at those two positions right now," Mihalik said.

Mercyhurst has won seven of its first nine PSAC West games, including 20-16 over Indiana (Pa.) and 19-7 over Lock Haven this season.

Eighth-year coach Marty Schaetzle is only 28-47 overall at Mercyhurst but is 10-6 over the past two years.

"With the strides we made in recruiting in recent years, we were ready to turn the corner last year, whether we joined the PSAC or stayed in our old conference (Great Lakes Interscholastic Athletic Conference)," Schaetzle said.

"We've returned a lot more starters on defense than offense, but we've got a number of young guys playing, regardless."

Quarterback Joe Laffey won the starting job last year but broke his hand in the opener and was lost for the season. He's completed 79 of 148 passes for 871 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Tight end Josh Szeluga leads the Lakers with 21 catches for 240 yards.

Ben Jennings has rushed for 306 yards and four touchdowns, and Gerald Anderson has recorded 264 yards and three TDs.

"Their quarterback is more of a dropback guy and they protect him well," Mihalik said. "Mercyhurst plays a very physical style of football and we didn't match that last year."

Linebacker Tim Herbener leads the Lakers' defense with 42 tackles, including 27 solo stops, and eight tackles for loss. He moved to middle linebacker this season because of an injury to a teammate "and he's responded well," said Schaetzle.

Seneca Valley graduate Stew Myers is a starting defensive end who has 20 tackles, 13 solos and six tackles for loss, including two sacks.

"You can see Stew's growth as a player this year," Schaetzle said. "He brings quickness to his defensive end spot and he's gotten penetration. The best thing is he's been able to finish plays."

Rock center Brandon Fusco, also a Seneca Valley graduate and the leader of SRU's offensive line, missed a few days of practice last week with flu-like symptoms.

"In weeks our offensive line has not been able to practice as a cohesive unit, we've struggled on Saturday," Mihalik said. "Our offense has been up and down. This is the week for the upward trend, hopefully."

Schaetzle doesn't put much stock in SRU's offensive woes or his team's lopsided win last season.

"They've got a great coaching staff and one of the classiest programs in the PSAC," he said. "They'll be ready for us."

Mihalik agrees there.

"A year ago, their players were unknown to our players," Mihalik said. "We had no pre-conceived ideas of what they were about. Now we know. We'll be ready for them."