In the opening minutes of Mercer Football’s match against Western Carolina, the swiftness in which the Catamounts took their lead may have left Mercer fans with a feeling of dread about what was about to take place.
Western Carolina scored in the first two minutes off of a 23 yard pass, while Mercer struggled in the first quarter to gain any yards.
In the second quarter with 10:56 on the clock, Western Carolina made their second touchdown while the Bears were still unable to get on the board. However, Mercer fans who believed the Bears were down for the count would find themselves pleasantly surprised.
Two minutes of gameplay later, the Bears put up their first seven points. Running back Tyray Devezin made an 18 yard run into the end zone.
Mercer and Western Carolina traded blows back and forth with each other; however, as the Bears figured themselves out, they were able to close the gap with the Catamounts to bring the score to 21-21 with 2:55 left on the clock.
Kaelan Riley showed out during the game, passing for 294 yards and three touchdowns, utilizing the wide receivers to stretch the field and take advantages of weaknesses in the Catamounts defense.
The half ended with Mercer taking the lead, although it was incredibly close, 28-27 after Western Carolina landed 43 yard field goal.
Tee Mitchell helped lead off the second half for Mercer, breaking through the Catamounts defense at the two yard line. Later on in the quarter, Cole Fischer kicked a field goal to bring the Bears up 38-27. The quarter ended 45-33, the Bears having established control over the game.
By the halfway point of the fourth quarter, Mercer had put up 59 points, a deficit the Catamounts would attempt to overcome but would not succeed bring the final score to 59-46.
Mitchell and Fischer have the most to celebrate with this victory, both of them breaking previous Mercer records during this game.
Notables:
- Tee Mitchell broke Mercer’s all-time rushing yards record and earned his tenth career 100 yards rushing performance which ties him for third most in SoCon history.
"It's a good feeling…a lot of the credit goes to our offensive line and the coaching staff,” Mitchell said in a Mercer press release. “Coach [Joe] Pizzo has done a great job implementing a dynamic offense this year. I'm not trying to get too hung up on the record because we've got plenty of football left and a title to fight for.
- Kicker Cole Fischer broke the previous 192 point scoring record held by Alex Lakes with an 11 point performance on Saturday.
This win brings Mercer 3-1 in the conference so far this season. They play an away game against Wofford this Saturday at 1:30 pm.
