Mercer Claims Thrilling 33-30 Overtime Win at VMI

Saturday, October 1

Lexington, Va.

1:30 PM

Mercer University

2-2 , 1-1

VMI

2-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

VMI

Mercer Claims Thrilling 33-30 Overtime Win at VMI

10/1/2016 6:04:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery Final Stats

By: Patrick T. Walsh

Lexington, Va. – All it took for Mercer to pull out the win at VMI was a hook and lateral combined with nerves of steel. The Bears ran the trick play – made famous by Boise State in the now-bygone BCS era – to set up a game-tying field goal by Cole Fisher then watched as Avery Ward raced untouched for the end zone in a 33-30 overtime win at Foster Stadium in Lexington Saturday afternoon.

John Russ found Ward on an 18-yard slant in overtime after VMI had already kicked a 25-yard field goal, clinching the 33-30 win for Mercer (2-2, 1-1 SoCon). The game snapped a two-game win streak for VMI (2-2, 0-1) as the Keydets dropped their home opener.

The overtime period was set up as Kelby Brock pitched the ball to Jordan Marshall on a hook and lateral play for a total gain of 28 yards on the play before VMI added another 15 with a personal foul late hit on Marshall after he stepped out of bounds. Following a Keydet timeout, Fisher easily kicked the 42-yard field goal to tie the game and force the extra period.

TURNING POINT
Mercer's hook-and-ladder play, aided by a personal foul on VMI, set up Fisher's game-tying field goal. If not for that succession of events, the Bears would have been forced to attempt a Hail Mary trailing by three with only four seconds left.

IT WAS OVER WHEN
Avery Ward streaked into the end zone untouched on an 18-yard slant route in overtime to clinch the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Thanks to a pair of six-yard scores – a run by Alex Lakes and a catch by Marquise Irvin – Mercer had a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. VMI's Alex Keys scored the first of his three touchdowns on the day early in the second quarter before Payton Usher responded with a seven-yard scoring run of his own.

Mercer would take a 21-7 lead into halftime and most of the third quarter would vanish without any more scoring from either side before Keys' second score – a three-yard run – pulled VMI within seven and set up what would become a frantic fourth quarter.

Cole Fisher would hit a 20-yard field goal with 6:48 remaining in regulation to push Mercer's lead to 24-14. VMI responded as time waned – Keys' would find the end zone for the third time with 5:06 remaining in regulation then Ryan Swingle would catch a 10-yard pass from Al Cobb with 19 seconds left. A 30-yard kickoff return by Chandler Curtis would set the stage for the hook-and-ladder heroics.

OFFENSIVE STAR
Avery Ward registered 102 yards receiving on nine catches in the game. But it was his ninth – and final – catch that was the most important. That last catch not only put him over the 100 receiving yards mark and was is only touchdown of the game, it clinched the win for the Bears.

DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Lee Bennett tallied 11 total tackles for Mercer Saturday afternoon with two solo stops and nine assisted tackles. His lone sack of the game and the first sack of his career – a solo stop for a loss of seven yards – came in overtime on 2^nd and 10 and ended up forcing VMI to settle for a field goal.

STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer's defense tallied 11 tackles for a loss of 52 yards in the game including seven sacks for a loss of 45 yards as they provided constant pressure on VMI quarterback Al Cobb and the Keydet offense.

STAT OF THE GAME – PART II
Mercer's special teams were responsible for two blocked kicks in the game. Stephen Houzah was credited with a block on a VMI punt while Tunde Ayinla blocked a critical PAT attempt in the fourth quarter.

RECORDS UPDATE

Mercer: 2-2, 1-1 SoCon
VMI: 2-2, 0-1 SoCon

NEXT GAME
Mercer remains on the road next week as the Bears will play at No. 4/6 Chattanooga on Saturday, Oct. 8. The game will be broadcast on the SoCon Digital Network and on the Mercer Sports Network with 97.3 FM The Bull Icons serving as the flagship station.

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Football, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerFootball (Twitter), /MercerFootball (Facebook) and @MercerFootball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

QUOTING BOBBY LAMB
"I was very proud of the way our defense played. They kept us in the game most of the day. We got to the 21 mark on offense and just couldn't move the ball across and the defense kept us in it. Jeremy James had a big interception on the fake punt and the extra point block was huge because of the difference in the score at the end. Our guys battled hard to do that."

On the team keeping its composure:
"I think our team kept their composure really well. You have a lot of calls and a lot of plays that don't go your way. We had some dropped balls and some missed assignments up front but to win that game the way we did is a credit to our players."

On Cole Fisher:
"Having Cole Fisher changes the game plan a lot. The grass here hasn't been cut in about a week, it has been raining here all week so the grass was high and I was a little nervous about it. But watching him in pregame warm-ups he was making them from 50-plus. I knew he was going to make that last one."

On the final drive in regulation:
"Oh my goodness! There was 19 seconds left and they kick it to Chandler Curtis and he returns it about 30 yards. Then we have 13 seconds left and we have a play that we call Bronco – it's the play the Boise State Broncos ran against Oklahoma, the old hook-and-latter. We threw it to Kelby Brock, who is a true freshman, and he flipped it to JoJo [Jordan] Marshall. JoJo got downfield and out of bounds before they tackle him, drawing a 15-yard penalty. That left four seconds left for Cole Fisher. That is exactly what you want to do."

NOTABLES
Team

Mercer scored first for the second time this season. Both times the Bears scored first in the game took place on the road.
John Russ and Kirby Southard both made their 39^th consecutive start Saturday.
This marked Mercer's third overtime game in school history. MU is now 2-1 all-time in OT games.
Mercer now leads the all-time series against VMI, 2-1. The Bears at 2-0 when playing at Foster Stadium.
With the win, Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb has now won 90 games as a head coach.
The win also marked Bobby Lamb's 79^th win in Southern Conference play. He ranks fourth all-time in conference wins in SoCon history.

Offense

Alex Lakes' touchdown run in the first quarter marked his 25^th career rushing touchdown
Mercer's offense has scored in 44 straight games dating back to a 52-0 loss to Rollins on Oct. 24, 1941.
John Russ has thrown a touchdown pass in 34 of 39 contests over his career including Saturday's game at VMI.
With 91 yards rushing in the game, Alex Lakes has now run for over 2,000 career rushing yards.

Defense

Tunde Ayinla's sack in the second quarter marked his first sack of the season, seventh sack of his career.
Tosin Aguebor has at least one sack in 13 of his 27 career games
Mercer's defense held VMI to only 29 rushing yards (on 39 carries). That is the fewest amount of rushing yards Mercer has allowed in a conference game in school history and the second time in as many games Mercer's defense has held an opponent to under 30 rushing yards.
Lee Bennett's sack in overtime of VMI quarterback Al Cobb was his first career sack.
The seven sacks by Mercer overall sets a new school record for total sacks in a game.

Special Teams

Malique Fleming recorded his first career recovery, picking up the blocked punt in the first quarter.
The blocked punt in the first quarter marked the second blocked kick of the year for Mercer and the first time the Bears have blocked since the first game the team played in 2013 vs. Warner.
Stephen Houzah was credited with the blocked punt in the first quarter, the first of his career.
Cole Fisher missed a 48-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, his first miss on an attempt longer than 40 yards this season.
Tunde Ayinla blocked a PAT attempt by Reed King in the fourth quarter, his first career blocked kick. That is the second time this season Mercer has blocked a PAT attempt.