Mercer University
Austin Peay
Postgame Quotes from Mercer's 49-21 Win Over Austin Peay
10/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
MERCER HEAD COACH BOBBY LAMB
Opening statement on tonight's game:
"We are excited to win this game, after splitting our two conference road games the past two weeks. Coming off last week's loss, our guys practiced hard and had a good showing tonight. We had no idea of what to expect from Austin Peay, since it faced such a tough schedule with three ranked teams and a strong FBS program in Memphis."
"Overall, I thought our players came out and took control of the game in the first quarter and got us off to a good lead early. We were a little sloppy at times on offense and defense, but a win is a win and we are glad to be 5-2 heading into our next conference game."
On tonight's fast start:
"Offensively we had a great job to start the game and had a lot of big plays in there and of course they punted the ball and Chandler Curtis took it back for a touchdown. When Chandler returns it, exciting things seem to happen. I was happy to see us get him the ball, but people are starting game plan around him and to kick away from him."
"I thought early in the first quarter we smothered them defensively. We had a good plan going in and our guys really played hard. They really hit us with a couple inside runs, but overall I thought we had a solid outing on defense today.
On the play of quarterback John Russ:
"We wanted to get John off to a good start, hitting some easy throws and get him comfortable. He was 10-of-13, very efficient and found the end zone a few times, which is exactly what we want to see."
Looking ahead to next week:
Western Carolina had a big win over Wofford today to rebound from a loss to Presbyterian last week. They are going to come down here ready to go, so it is going to be a big Southern Conference challenge for us. If you look at the Southern Conference so far this season, there has been a lot of close games. It really comes down to the fourth quarter and making plays down the stretch. Hopefully we can be in the game in the fourth quarter and have the chance to win the game.
On the offense's fast start:
"The fast start was huge for us. If you look at their other games, they were pretty close at halftime. It was good to get a cushion early and help us rebound from last week."
On his efficiency tonight:
"I felt comfortable the entire the game, we had a good game plan coming in so I felt prepared for everything that they threw at us."
On heading into his fourth SoCon game:
"Each game we play gives us more experience on the football field. You can only get better by practicing and playing in big games. We have three SoCon games under our belt and have a fourth one coming up next week, so we are going to work hard this week to get our second conference win."
Linebacker Devin Davidson
On the play of the defense tonight:
"Overall, we were happy with the performance as a defensive unit. There were some hiccups in there, but we played pretty well."
On playing with a big lead as a defense:
"It is not as much pressure when they put up points like that. You know that the game is not necessarily going to come down to you to making a big play at that moment, but you still want to step up and help out the cause."
On heading into his fourth SoCon game:
"It was good to get some confidence heading into a heavier conference schedule. That will help us heading into the Western Carolina game."
Running Back Alex Lakes
On another strong performance on the ground:
"Our line had a great day, I had a couple plays where I wasn't touched until I was four or five yards down the field. As a running back, you always ask for one-on-ones with defensive backs and linebackers. So I felt very comfortable running behind our line."
Heading into his fourth SoCon game:
"My experience so far has helped create a lot of confidence in the offensive line. However, we know that Western Carolina is a good team with a strong defense, so we have to work hard this week to have ourselves prepared."
