Injury to starting quarterback hobbles the Falcons in first-ever football game.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Notre Dame College played its first varsity football game on Saturday, losing, 23-0, to Mercyhurst before a near-capacity crowd at Brush High School.
The Falcons' offense was handicapped early on when junior quarterback Yan Cyr suffered a concussion the second series and did not return. But the defense was relatively stout, limiting Mercyhurst to 293 yards of offense and just 92 yards rushing.
"I was happy with how we stopped the run," NDC coach Adam Howard said. "They're a team that really likes to pound the football. I knew we were more mature on the defensive side of the football, more game-tested. Just offensively, we couldn't get the ball moving."
After gaining 12 yards in their first series, the Falcons could muster just 14 more the rest of the opening half.
Meanwhile, Mercyhurst showed its experience as the Lakers built a 13-0 lead before halftime, with Euclid High product Andrew Bailey delivering a one-yard TD run. The Falcons kept the margin close, holding Mercyhurst to a field goal after a NDC pass was intercepted and returned 42 yards for a first-and-goal at the 10.
The Lakers were also driving at the end of the first half with a crisp two-minute drill when NDC picked off a pass at its own 2 to stop another scoring drive.
Notre Dame got a strong performance from punter Cayle Chapman, a 6-5, 235-pound product of Australia who never saw a college football game until Saturday. His first kick went 62 yards and his second went 69 yards.
Chapman's next two attempts showed he has some fine-tuning to work on. Yet his final punt of the half was a solid 47-yard boot. He finished the game with eight punts for an average of 42.5 yards, but that included two short-field coffin-corner attempts as well as 50-yarder in the second half.
"I'm slowly adapting, getting into things," Chapman said. "This was great. But there is definitely room for improvement. I can work on it from here."
Indeed, when NDC's offense comes around, Chapman will be a real weapon.
"He's a steal for us," Howard said. "I know what we have in him."