Owensboro, Ky. – Although Brandon Mackey set a school record with 260 rushing yards on top of two touchdowns, the Kentucky Wesleyan football team suffered a 29-23 loss to Lake Erie on Saturday night inside Steele Stadium.
The Panthers once led 23-6 and seemed to have full control of the game, but the Storm battled all the way back with 23 unanswered points to stun Wesleyan.
KWC now sits 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the G-MAC this season, while Lake Erie improves to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the G-MAC.
It was all Wesleyan in the first half, with the majority of the work coming on the ground for the home team. Camran McNeil ran in a 30-yard score to top off the first drive for the Panthers, and that 6-0 score would hold going into the second quarter.
Blake Vivrette nailed a 19-yard field goal to open the second to put Wesleyan up 9-0. Later in the period, Mackey scored his first touchdown of the night on a 49-yard scamper to break the game open and give the Panthers a 16-0 advantage.
The Storm managed to knock in two field goals before the halftime break, including an impressive 58-yarder by Jaffer Murphy as KWC led 16-6 at the half.
Coming out, Wesleyan scored on their second play of the third quarter as Mackey could not be stopped on a 69-yard touchdown run that increased the home team's lead to 23-6.
That score would hold going into the fourth, but the Storm would not go down without a fight. Lake Erie put together back-to-back touchdown drives that cut their deficit to just two at 23-21 and would later take the lead for good on another long touchdown drive with 1:50 to go in the contest.
The Panthers worked their way into enemy territory in the final seconds, but an interception sealed the crushing loss.
Joey Cambron went 10-19 passing for 79 yards. Mackey was his leading receiver, catching three passes for 49 yards to put his all-purpose total at 329 yards on the night.
Defensively, John Purdy led the way with six tackles and Jalon Baker was right behind him with five. Additionally, Kajuan Hardesty recorded a strip sack on top of three tackles.
The Panthers next hit the road for a battle at Northwood on Saturday, October 19. Kickoff is set for 12 PM in Midland, Michigan.
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