Mercer Returns Home to White Out Western Carolina

MACON, Ga. – There won't be a snowstorm in Georgia this weekend – in fact the weather forecast calls for a comfortable 78 degrees in Macon Saturday – but there will be a sea of white when Western Carolina visits Five Star Stadium.

That's because Mercer will be wearing all whites, bucking the longstanding rule of not wearing white after Labor Day, and debuting the team's new white helmets. Fans headed to the game are encouraged to wear white as well, completing the sea of white.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, Oct. 15 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (2-3, 1-2 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (1-4, 0-3 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Five Star Stadium
Broadcast: ESPN3 | Watch ESPN
Broadcast Talent: Pete Yanity (play-by-play), Will Merritt (analyst), Megan Trammell (sideline)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play), Roger Jackson (analyst), Kristin Banks (sideline)
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | Western Carolina

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Mercer and Western Carolina only dates back two years when the Bears entered the Southern Conference. WCU has bested the Bears over the last two seasons including a come-from-behind win in 2015 in Cullowhee.

LAST TIME OUT
John Russ connected with Marquise Irvin for an 83-yard touchdown pass but Mercer could not recover from a 38-3 halftime deficit as the Bears fell at No. 3/5 Chattanooga, 52-31, Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
The third-ranked Mocs scored on their first six possessions and, despite outscoring Chattanooga by two touchdowns in the second half, Mercer could not overcome the early deficit.

Lakes Surpasses 2,000 Career Rushing Yards
Alex Lakes reached a notable plateau on Oct. 1 at VMI as he surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards. Granted he needed his two carries for seven yards in overtime to achieve it but that seemed to be the theme that day as the Bears needed overtime to complete the win.

By reaching the 2,000 career mark, Lakes is one of 22 running backs in the FCS to record 2,000 or more career rushing yards as of the completion of the Oct. 1 weekend of games.

"Touchdown, John Russ"
Let's face it, that phrase has been uttered a lot over the last four years. And it keeps getting uttered this season. Mercer QB John Russ has ran for five touchdowns this season - that's actually more than one team has scored so far this year (Savannah State, 4).

Including touchdowns Russ is responsible for (running and passing), he has a total of 11 which is more than 15 different teams. That list includes the Savannah State (4), Columbia (5), Presbyterian (5), Robert Morris (7), ETSU (8), Morgan State (9), South Carolina State (9), Marist (9), Bethune-Cookman (9), Houston Baptist (9), Elon (9), Delaware State (9), Florida A&M (9), Yale (10) and Mississippi Valley State (10).

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.

Mercer Returns Home to White Out Western Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Marquise Irvin

Alex Lakes

John Russ

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