Mercer University
Western Carolina
WCU Comeback Dooms Mercer in SoCon Road Opener
10/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Mercer University football team dropped its third straight heartbreaker, as Western Carolina scored the final 21 points of the game to record a 24-21 victory on Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer falls to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in Southern Conference action, while Western Carolina improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
TURNING POINT
Western Carolina converted a pair of big third downs in its game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, before Detrez Newsome sealed the victory with a 22-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-short to complete the comeback and hand the Catamounts a 24-21 advantage with 42 seconds remaining.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of the effort by our guys tonight," said head coach Bobby Lamb. "We had a lot guys out this week, but we had some players step up in their place. It was the tale of two halves, we dominated the first half and they came out and made the plays necessary to win the game in the second half."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer got its SoCon road opener off to a great start, marching 74 yards on the first drive for a quick 7-0 lead on Tee Mitchell's 12-yard run. After a field goal by WCU, the Bears poured on 14-straight points on its next two series to grab a 21-3 lead following a 13-yard scoring run by John Russ and a 2-yard touchdown by Alex Lakes.
However, Western Carolina responded with 21 straight points for a wild comeback in Cullowhee. The Catamounts made it a 21-10 game at the half on Tyler Sexton's 14-yard completion to Tyler Sexton. After both teams went scoreless in the third quarter, WCU pulled with four points on C.J. Goodman's 14-yard touchdown run, before Newsome put the team on top for good.
The Bears had an opportunity to send the game to overtime for the second straight week, as Russ drove the team to the WCU 25-yard line with 18 yards through the air and another 18 on the ground. However, Jagger Lieb's potential game-tying field goal from 42 yards out would go wide left as time expired.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer was outscored 21-0 over the final two and a half quarters of play, as it was once again plagued by missed opportunities. The Bears outgained its opponent for the fifth time this season, 405-338, but turned the ball over on downs twice and ended the game with a missed field goal.
OFFENSIVE STAR
Sophomore wide receiver Avery Ward continued his recent assault, hauling in six receptions for a program-record 111 yards. Two of those receptions came of the big play variety with gains of 47 and 31 yards on the day. Ward now has two 100-yard receiving performances in his career, while pushing his streak to four games with over 60 yards receiving.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Linebacker Tripp Patterson finished with six tackles including a team-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss to lead a group that held the Catamounts to 338 yards of total offense. Patterson also had a big sack in the closing minutes of the first half to help keep WCU off the scoreboard.
MERCER NOTABLES
- Mercer is now 2-1 when leading at halftime, while falling to 15-1 in those scenarios under head coach Bobby Lamb.
- The Bears move to 1-1 in SoCon road openers, including 2014's 27-24 triumph at VMI.
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
- Mercer scored for the 34th straight game in a streak that dates back to the 1941 season.
- The Bears scored on their first three drives of the game, with a balanced 222 yards of total offense (121 rushing, 101 passing).
- The offense converted a season-high three fourth down attempts, finishing 3-for-5 on the afternoon.
- Mercer went over 400 yards of total offense for the fifth time this season, finishing with 404 yards on 75 plays. The Bears, who came into the game leading the league in total offense, are averaging 468.8 yards per contest.
- Mitchell went over 100 yards for the third straight game and the fourth time this season with a game-high 111 yards on 22 carries.
- Mitchell's 12-yard scoring run in the first quarter gave him five rushing scores and a total of seven touchdowns this season.
- Russ went over 200 yards through the air for the third time this year, finishing with 205 yards 14-of-24 passing. The junior also committed zero turnovers for the fifth straight contest.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
- Mercer held the SoCon's leading rusher, Detrez Newsome, to just 59 yards on 15 carries after he came into the game averaging 119.8 yards per game.
- The Bears limited WCU to just 153 yards passing, marking the second straight contest the defense has held an opponent below 200 yards passing.
- Six players had five or more tackles on Saturday, led by Jeremy James' nine-tackle performance and a season-high eight stops by Devin Davidson.
- James, who came into the game ranked fourth in the conference in passes defended, had another pass break-up this afternoon to give him five on the year.
- Isaiah Buehler added to his team lead in tackles for loss, pushing his total to five this season with an assisted stop behind the line to end the first half.
UP NEXT
Mercer returns to Five Star Stadium for next Saturday's match-up with East Tennessee State. Kick-off for the Bears' Blackout game is set for 4 p.m.
