STONEBORO — District 10 asked, “Who wants to go to the playoffs?” And the Mercer football team, like the overly eager kid in the front of the class, shot its hand into the air and went, “Me, me, me, me, me!”

The Mustangs secured what will likely be the fourth and final playoff spot out of Region 1 with a convincing 35-6 victory over the homestanding Lakeview Sailors Friday night.

“We’re in the playoffs,” said Mercer head coach Pat McClearn. “That’s all we were shooting for. We get a chance to play another week.”

The Mustangs are now 7-3 overall and 5-3 in Region 1, putting them in fourth behind first-place Farrell and Sharpsville and Linesville, which are tied for second.

Lakeview, meanwhile, fell to fifth in the region at 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the league.

That means if District 10 awards playoff bids to the top four teams in both Region 1 and Region 2, as it has done the past five seasons, Lakeview is going to be left behind.

“Give all the credit to Mercer,” said Lakeview head coach Dan York. “They’re a heck of a football team.

“But I’m proud of the kids,” he added. “They played hard all year.”

Mercer seized control of last night’s game in the first half, employing a handful of momentum-grabbing plays.

Lakeview took its first possession into Mercer territory before the Mustangs’ defense halted the Sailors on the 32.

Then Mercer countered with a quick scoring drive of 68 yards on just five plays. The last play had quarterback Andrew Erdos faking the hand-off and then taking it off-tackle six yards into the end zone.

The two teams battled back and fourth for the rest of the first quarter. Then early in the second, the Sailors found themselves deep in their own territory.

Quarterback Jeremy Westlake dropped back to pass. Mercer brought the blitz, and Westlake got sandwiched between two streaking pass-rushers. The ball popped out of Westlake’s hands and both teams batted the loose pigskin around. It finally ended up in the end zone where Mercer defensive tackle R.J. Swartz got his mitts on it, putting the Mustangs up two touchdowns.

“That was a huge play,” said McClearn. “Cody Frey with the sack, and R.J. Swartz with the recovery. And I think we had three different guys get their hands on it before that. But that was a big turning point.”

Lakeview responded with what would be it’s best drive of the game — 60 yards on four plays.