ERIE, Pa. – The Lock Haven University football team (4-7) closed a solid 2016 season today with a 49-14 loss at Mercyhurst University (3-8).
Despite the loss, the Bald Eagles capped off a special 2016 season by putting the finishing touches on a number of team records and individual milestones.
LHU was in search of its fifth win of the season, a feat The Haven hasn't achieved since 1982, but Lock Haven came up short.
The four wins however are the most since Lock Haven won four games during the 2002 season.
The Bald Eagles finished Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action at 4-3. The four PSAC Divisional wins are the most since the 1979 season.
Record-breaking quarterback
Caleb Walton (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) capped his Haven career with 223 more yards through the air and one touchdown pass today.
Wide receivers
Kyeef Williams (Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Charter) and
Shawn Seif (Harrisburg, Pa./Kutztown Univ.), along with running back
John Ford (Etters, Pa./Shippensburg Univ.) also played well on the offensive side.
Williams finished with four catches and 92 yards, which included a 58-yard catch-and-run TD in the second quarter.
Seif, one of the nation's top wide receivers all season and an All-American candidate finished with four catches and 55 yards. He finished the season with 1,282 yards and 11 TDs, both single-season LHU records.
Ford rushed for 124 yards and capped the season with a late four-quarter TD run.
Defensively,
Rahjeir Miles-Eubanks (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) and
Carmelo Cruz (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) led the way with eight tackles apiece.
Christian Martir (Reading, Pa./Wyomissing) added seven stops.
Walton's 223 passing yards today pushed him over 3,000 for the season. He's now the first QB in school history to throw for over 3,000 yards in single season (3,115). Walton finished his career with 8,971 passing yards, the second-most in school history. His 68 career passing TDs and 79 career touchdowns accounted for are both school records. Today marked Walton's 24
th career 200-yard-plus passing game. This season, Walton accounted for 26 LHU touchdowns, which match his own single-season school record established last season.
As a team, LHU broke single season records for total points (323 pts.), total offense (4,954 yds.) and team passing offense (3,158 yds.).
