Mercer University
East Tennessee State
Football Rolls to 52-0 Shutout of ETSU
10/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University football team cruised to a 52-0 victory over East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium to improve to 12-1 in non-conference games since 2013.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer improves to 3-3 overall with their second home victory of the year, while ETSU slides to 0-6 on the year.
HEAD COACH BOBBY LAMB'S TAKE
"I'm extremely proud of our team and how we came out today. Obviously, ETSU has a good program and they will be fine. As I told Coach Torbush after the game, it will get a lot better when some of these freshmen become sophomores and some of these sophomores turn into juniors."
"I was proud of our football team for a great effort this afternoon. With the exception of the second play when John (Russ) fumbled, we really went out and took care of business. Our defense did a great job of shutting them down. At halftime we really stressed to our second unit to keep the goose egg intact because they are hard to come by. Overall though, I'm proud of the defense for the shutout and for the 52 points the offense put on the scoreboard."
TURNING POINT
After the Bears turned the ball over via a fumble near midfield on the opening possession of the game, Mercer's defense forced a key three-and-out to prevent any momentum for ETSU and jumpstart the offense. The Bears scored on their next five possessions though for a 35-0 lead at the break, before adding 17 more points in the second half to record the 52-0 victory.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer's dominant first half was most evident in the yardage differential, as the Bears outgained ETSU 373-75 over the first 30 minutes of play. The defense held the Buccaneers out of the end zone on each of their five drives, while the Bears' offense rolled up 351 yards on their final five drives of the first half with each ending in a touchdown.
OFFENSIVE STARS
Quarterback John Russ had another strong performance at home, finishing 17-of-26 for 269 yards through the air with three touchdowns while also adding 49 yards and a score on the ground.
Leading the way for Russ and the Bears' offense was an offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage throughout. The line paved the way for a Mercer attack that eclipsed 500 yards of total offense for the second time this season with 563 yards on the day. The group once again kept Russ off the ground, holding ETSU without a sack while leading the Bears to 7.0 yards per play.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS
Lee Bennett led a balanced defensive effort for the Bears, totaling five tackles, an assisted tackle-for-loss and a key fumble recovery in the first half that led to another Mercer touchdown.
Much like the Bears' offensive line's dominant performance, the defensive line gave ETSU fits all game. Mercer held an opponent under 70 yards rushing for the fourth time this season, limiting the Buccaneers to just 68 yards on the ground and 2.1 yards per carry.
MERCER NOTABLES
- Mercer is 12-1 in non-conference games under Bobby Lamb, including an 11-0 record at home.
- Saturday's victory moves the Bears' record to 14-4 at Five Star Stadium and pushes its average winning margin to 27.9 points in those triumphs.
- The Bears have now scored in 35 straight games dating back to a 52-0 loss to Rollins on Oct. 24, 1941.
- The Bears' defense pitched a shutout for the first time this season and fifth time since reinstating football in 2014. The shutout is the 84th in program history and the first time that ETSU has been shutout this season.
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
- The Orange and Black improved to 17-2 when scoring 30 or more points under Coach Lamb and 38-3 all-time as a program.
- Mercer eclipsed the 500-yard mark of total offense for the second time this season, totaling 563 on the game.
- With 261 rushing yards, the Bears have now gone over the 250-yard mark in four of their six games.
- Mercer recorded 373 total yards of offense in the first half, marking the second time this season it has accrued over 350 yards in a half.
- Sophomore running back Tee Mitchell posted his team-leading sixth rushing touchdown of the season with a 23-yard run in the first quarter. He finished with 94 yards rushing in just three quarters of action.
- Junior tight end Robert Brown hauled in his first two receiving touchdowns of the season, scoring from five and 10 yards out.
- Junior quarterback John Russ used a quarterback sneak in the second quarter to score his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
- Russ threw for three touchdown passes, all in the first half. This is the second time he has thrown for three or more touchdowns in 2015.
- Freshman wide receiver Marquise Irving caught his second touchdown pass of the season.
- Junior running back Payton Usher scored his first touchdown of the season off an eight-yard run in the third quarter.
- Tanner Brumby rushed for his second touchdown of the season on a two-yard run.
- Freshman kicker Cole Fisher converted the first field goal attempt of his career on a 28-yard attempt.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
- The Bears, who rank second in the league in rushing defense, held an opponent under 70 yards rushing for the fourth time this season.
- Mercer had another blocked kick this afternoon, as Tripp Patterson blocked the team's third kick of the year.
- Lee Bennett's first quarter fumble recovery helped Mercer force a turnover in 15 of its last 17 games.
- Junior linebacker Tosin Aguebor moved into the team lead in both tackles-for-loss (6.0) and sacks (3.0), after totaling 1.5 tackles-for-loss including one sack in today's victory.
- Safety Zach Jackson paced the team with two passes defended, his first two of the season.
- Alex Avant broke up the 38th pass of his career with one pass defended on Saturday.
- Mercer had a balanced defensive effort, as 30 players found the box score with a tackle in the contest with Alex Avant and Lee Bennett leading the way with five a piece.
UP NEXT
Mercer will be back at Five Star Stadium next Saturday, October 24, when it hosts VMI on Homecoming Weekend. Kick-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
