Saturday, October 22
Clarksville, Tenn.
5 PM
Mercer University
4-3
41
at
34
Austin Peay
0-7
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Mercer
14
10
3
14
41
Austin Peay
0
6
0
28
34
Team Stats
MER
APSU
Total Yards
358
500
Pass Yards
155
314
Rushing Yards
203
186
Penalty Yards
55
75
1st Downs
21
28
3rd Downs
0
4
4th Downs
3
3
TOP
28:16
31:44
1st Quarter
MER 7, APSU 0
MER - Marquise Irvin 33 yd pass from John Russ (Cole Fisher kick) 12 plays, 86 yards, TOP 4:38
MER 14, APSU 0
MER - Chandler Curtis 3 yd pass from John Russ (Cole Fisher kick) 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:44
2nd Quarter
MER 14, APSU 6
APSU - WILLIAMS, Kente 26 yd run (CRAIG, Javaughn rushfailed), 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:47
MER 17, APSU 6
MER - Cole Fisher 24 yd field goal 12 plays, 46 yards, TOP 4:06
MER 24, APSU 6
MER - CJ Kleckley 6 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 5:12
3rd Quarter
MER 27, APSU 6
MER - Cole Fisher 26 yd field goal 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 3:09
4th Quarter
MER 27, APSU 13
APSU - HOOVER, Michael 12 yd pass from MITCHELL, Timar (GAUNA, Nick kick) 12 plays, 39 yards, TOP 4:13
MER 34, APSU 13
MER - Kyle Trammell 50 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 3 plays, 64 yards, TOP 0:35
MER 34, APSU 20
APSU - WILLIAMS, Kente 4 yd run (GAUNA, Nick kick), 8 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:18
MER 34, APSU 27
APSU - WILLIAMS, Kente 1 yd run (GAUNA, Nick kick), 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:23
MER 41, APSU 27
MER - Chandler Curtis 45 yd kickoff return (Cole Fisher kick)
MER 41, APSU 34
APSU - FRANKLIN, Marv 4 yd run (GAUNA, Nick kick), 3 plays, 61 yards, TOP 0:18
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
Mercer Withstands Rally for 41-34 Win
10/22/2016 9:00:00 PM | Football
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Chandler Curtis returned an onside kick 45 yards for a touchdown and Mercer withstood an Austin Peay rally as the Bears left Fortera Stadium and Clarksville with a 41-34 victory Saturday evening.
It would take one more onside kick recovery, however, to clinch the victory but the Bears would withstand Austin Peay's 21 points scored over 5:10 late in the fourth quarter to advance to 3-0 all-time against the Governors.
The win was Mercer's fourth victory in the last five games and pushed the Bears to 4-3 on the season.
TURNING POINT
Chandler Curtis' 45-yard (onside) kickoff return for a touchdown. While it didn't put the final nail in the coffin on the Governors, it came close and pushed Mercer's lead back up to two touchdowns with 67 seconds remaining. The final nail in the coffin came as…
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Mercer recovered Austin Peay's second onside kick attempt and was able to run out the clock in victory formation. Until then the Governors had mounted a furious rally to keep within striking distance of the Bears.
OFFENSIVE STAR
Kyle Trammell, in his first full game at running back (he played both running back and linebacker last week against Western Carolina), ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. That's a clip of 7.5 yards per carry. Trammell hit the 100-yard rushing mark but a tackle for a loss on his final carry kept him from officially hitting the century mark.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Travonte' Easley was the team's tackling co-leader (along with Jeremy James) with seven total stops but his three tackles for a loss of 10 yards gives him the nod in this category.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's game at Austin Peay wasn't so much a tale of two halves as much as it was a tale of the first three quarters compared to a wild fourth quarter in which 42 of the game's 75 total points (56 percent) were scored.
Over the first three quarters, Mercer seemingly moved the ball with ease. The Bears jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when John Russ found Marquise Irvin for a 33-yard strike. Later in the first quarter Russ found Chandler Curtis for the first of two Curtis touchdowns with a three-yard touchdown pass.
After Austin Peay scored early in the second to cut the Mercer lead to 14-7, the Bears struck back with a Cole Fisher 24-yard field goal and six-yard touchdown run by CJ Kleckley to take a 27-6 lead into halftime. The only score of the third quarter was a 26-yard field goal by Fisher.
Then came the wild fourth quarter.
The Governor's struck first with a 12-yard Michael Hoover catch from Timarious Mitchell just four minutes into the final frame. Less than a minute later Kyle Trammell took a run up the middle to the house for a 50-yard touchdown run. APSU responded with a pair of Kentel Williams touchdown runs to pull within a score a 34-27.
Attempted an onside kick, the Governors kicked the ball straight to Chandler Curtis who quickly returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, pushing Mercer's lead to 41-27. Moments later Mitchell's 45-yard pass to Jared Beard set up a four-yard touchdown run for Austin Peay's Marvin Franklin to cut the lead to 41-34. The Governors would attempt an onside kick yet again but fail to recover the ball. John Russ would take a knee as the game reached its thrilling conclusion.
QUOTING BOBBY LAMB
"I told the players that we're not good enough to come out in the second half and not play with any intensity or enthusiasm. We didn't execute very well in the second half and it showed. We were very inconsistent on offense. The only good thing we did in the second half was we used our hands team, which is our onside (kick) prevent team, and actually got two balls. Of course, Chandler ran the one back for a touchdown. But we have to do a better job of closing games out and we didn't do a good enough job of that tonight."
On the running backs:
"Alex went out with an ankle sprain in the first half and we just took him out to be safe. But we have a lot of confidence in CJ Kleckley and I think people saw what KT (Kyle Trammell) can do tonight, running the ball. We just have to do a better job of blocking up front."
"We didn't play very crisp on offense. I didn't coach very well on offense and didn't call enough good plays."
On quick start and evaluation:
"I told the team that anytime you go on the road and get a win it is good. It doesn't matter how you get it, where you do it or anything like that. It is a good win for us on the road. We are going to Spartanburg, South Carolina next week with an opportunity - because I think Wofford has two losses in the conference and we have two losses – somebody is going to get eliminated next week. We have an opportunity to do something, to do some damage and do something special. But we have to have a very good week of practice."
RECORDS UPDATE
How to Follow the Bears:
NOTABLES
Team
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It would take one more onside kick recovery, however, to clinch the victory but the Bears would withstand Austin Peay's 21 points scored over 5:10 late in the fourth quarter to advance to 3-0 all-time against the Governors.
The win was Mercer's fourth victory in the last five games and pushed the Bears to 4-3 on the season.
TURNING POINT
Chandler Curtis' 45-yard (onside) kickoff return for a touchdown. While it didn't put the final nail in the coffin on the Governors, it came close and pushed Mercer's lead back up to two touchdowns with 67 seconds remaining. The final nail in the coffin came as…
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Mercer recovered Austin Peay's second onside kick attempt and was able to run out the clock in victory formation. Until then the Governors had mounted a furious rally to keep within striking distance of the Bears.
OFFENSIVE STAR
Kyle Trammell, in his first full game at running back (he played both running back and linebacker last week against Western Carolina), ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. That's a clip of 7.5 yards per carry. Trammell hit the 100-yard rushing mark but a tackle for a loss on his final carry kept him from officially hitting the century mark.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Travonte' Easley was the team's tackling co-leader (along with Jeremy James) with seven total stops but his three tackles for a loss of 10 yards gives him the nod in this category.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's game at Austin Peay wasn't so much a tale of two halves as much as it was a tale of the first three quarters compared to a wild fourth quarter in which 42 of the game's 75 total points (56 percent) were scored.
Over the first three quarters, Mercer seemingly moved the ball with ease. The Bears jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when John Russ found Marquise Irvin for a 33-yard strike. Later in the first quarter Russ found Chandler Curtis for the first of two Curtis touchdowns with a three-yard touchdown pass.
After Austin Peay scored early in the second to cut the Mercer lead to 14-7, the Bears struck back with a Cole Fisher 24-yard field goal and six-yard touchdown run by CJ Kleckley to take a 27-6 lead into halftime. The only score of the third quarter was a 26-yard field goal by Fisher.
Then came the wild fourth quarter.
The Governor's struck first with a 12-yard Michael Hoover catch from Timarious Mitchell just four minutes into the final frame. Less than a minute later Kyle Trammell took a run up the middle to the house for a 50-yard touchdown run. APSU responded with a pair of Kentel Williams touchdown runs to pull within a score a 34-27.
Attempted an onside kick, the Governors kicked the ball straight to Chandler Curtis who quickly returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, pushing Mercer's lead to 41-27. Moments later Mitchell's 45-yard pass to Jared Beard set up a four-yard touchdown run for Austin Peay's Marvin Franklin to cut the lead to 41-34. The Governors would attempt an onside kick yet again but fail to recover the ball. John Russ would take a knee as the game reached its thrilling conclusion.
QUOTING BOBBY LAMB
"I told the players that we're not good enough to come out in the second half and not play with any intensity or enthusiasm. We didn't execute very well in the second half and it showed. We were very inconsistent on offense. The only good thing we did in the second half was we used our hands team, which is our onside (kick) prevent team, and actually got two balls. Of course, Chandler ran the one back for a touchdown. But we have to do a better job of closing games out and we didn't do a good enough job of that tonight."
On the running backs:
"Alex went out with an ankle sprain in the first half and we just took him out to be safe. But we have a lot of confidence in CJ Kleckley and I think people saw what KT (Kyle Trammell) can do tonight, running the ball. We just have to do a better job of blocking up front."
"We didn't play very crisp on offense. I didn't coach very well on offense and didn't call enough good plays."
On quick start and evaluation:
"I told the team that anytime you go on the road and get a win it is good. It doesn't matter how you get it, where you do it or anything like that. It is a good win for us on the road. We are going to Spartanburg, South Carolina next week with an opportunity - because I think Wofford has two losses in the conference and we have two losses – somebody is going to get eliminated next week. We have an opportunity to do something, to do some damage and do something special. But we have to have a very good week of practice."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 4-3 (2-2 SoCon)
- Austin Peay: 0-7 (0-5 OVC)
- Mercer: at Wofford on Oct. 29, 2016 (1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3)
- Austin Peay: at Southeast Missouri State on Oct. 29 (1 p.m. CT on OVC Digital Network)
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.
NOTABLES
Team
- With the win Mercer is now 3-0 all-time against Austin Peay with a 2-0 mark in Clarksville, Tennessee.
- Mercer is now 4-1 all-time in games played against the Ohio Valley Conference.
- After being outgained 505-362 at Austin Peay but still claiming the win, Mercer is now 1-2 this season and 6-13 all-time when the opponent has recorded more total yards.
- This marks the first time since facing Campbell on Oct. 26, 2013 that Mercer has allowed an opponent to record 500-plus yards of offense but the Bears still win (defeated Campbell, 38-31).
- The seven-point victory in the game makes Saturday's contest against Austin Peay the 11th time in the last 16 outings that Mercer's outcome has been decided by one possession.
- Kyle Trammell's 50-yard touchdown run in the third quarter marked his first career touchdown.
- Kyle Trammell's 50-yard rush in the third quarter marked the longest run from scrimmage by a Bears tailback this year.
- Bret Niederreither recorded his second career fumble recovery but the first while on offense. His first career fumble recovery came in 2014 while as a member of the defensive line.
- Mercer collected 10.0 tackles for a loss of 40 yards. That marks the third time this season the Bears have registered 10 or more tackles for a loss.
- Tyler Ward collected his second career fumble recovery.
- The sack and forced fumble that led to that fumble recovery was caused by Tosin Aguebor. Aguebor now has 22.5 sacks, 30 tackles for a loss and six forced fumbles in his career.
- Lendell Arnold's fumble recovery in the second quarter marked his fifth career fumble recovery.
- Travonte' Easley registered a (tied) team-high seven tackles and a team-best 3.0 tackles for a loss of 10 yards. Both marks were career highs.
- Mercer won the turnover battle and is now 15-2 all-time (3-1 this season) when winning the turnover battle.
- Chandler Curtis returned an onside kick 45 yards for a touchdown late in the game marking his fifth career return (punt or kickoff) for a touchdown.
- Chandler Curtis' five career returns (kickoff and punt) for a touchdown ranks second in Southern Conference history behind the seven scored by Western Carolina's Kerry Hayes (1991-94).
- The 58-yard punt by Tyler Zielenske in the first quarter marks a new career-long punt for the redshirt senior.
- Cole Fisher made two of his three field goal attempts Saturday afternoon. He continues to lead all SoCon kickers in field goals made per game (1.71) and in points scored (60).
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