Saturday, October 29
Spartanburg, S.C.
1:30 PM
Mercer University
4-4 , 2-3
21
at
31
Wofford
5-3 , 3-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Mercer
0
7
7
7
21
Wofford
0
14
10
7
31
Team Stats
MER
WOF
Total Yards
319
338
Pass Yards
271
133
Rushing Yards
48
205
Penalty Yards
89
128
1st Downs
20
19
3rd Downs
7
4
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
23:44
36:16
2nd Quarter
MER 0, WOF 7
WOF - Lorenzo Long 1 yd run (David Marvin kick), 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:40
MER 0, WOF 14
WOF - Lorenzo Long 3 yd run (David Marvin kick), 5 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:15
MER 7, WOF 14
MER - Chandler Curtis 5 yd pass from John Russ (Cole Fisher kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:03
3rd Quarter
MER 7, WOF 21
WOF - David Howerton 0 yd blocked punt return (David Marvin kick)
MER 7, WOF 24
WOF - David Marvin 33 yd field goal 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:18
MER 14, WOF 24
MER - Marquise Irvin 10 yd pass from John Russ (Cole Fisher kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:54
4th Quarter
MER 14, WOF 31
WOF - Chase Nelson 1 yd run (David Marvin kick), 13 plays, 32 yards, TOP 7:15
MER 21, WOF 31
MER - Marquise Irvin 10 yd pass from John Russ (Cole Fisher kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:36
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Unable to Overcome Miscues at Wofford, 31-21
10/29/2016 5:20:00 PM | Football
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer was unable to overcome two interceptions and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown as the Bears fell at Wofford, 31-21, Saturday at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg.
Marquise Irvin caught a school record 12 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns while the Bears defense held Wofford to 205 yards rushing – more than 100 less than their per game average in 2016.
TURNING POINT
There wasn't a set turning point, per se, but when Wofford's David Howerton recovered the blocked punt and took it a step into the end zone for a touchdown, the Terriers were ignited.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
John Russ was intercepted with under two minutes left in the game. Wofford's Dylan Young picked off the Bears gunslinger and ran the ball back 20 yards to the Mercer three-yard line, allowing the Terriers to take a knee.
OFFENSIVE STAR
Marquise Irvin had a banner day as he caught a school record 12 passes for 143 yards and tied a school record with two touchdown catches in the game.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Linebacker Tyler Ward tallied 12 total tackles in the game (eight solo, four assisted) and was the only player on either team to register double-digit tackles Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first quarter Wofford jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of Lorenzo Long touchdown runs in the second frame, forcing Mercer to spend the entire game trying to battle back from behind. Before halftime Mercer would get on the board as John Russ found Chandler Curtis for a five-yard strike.
Fortune favored Wofford, however, early in the second half as the Terriers blocked a Tyler Zielenske punt and returned it for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Wofford would add a 33-yard field goal off the leg of David Marvin for a 24-7 advantage.
Marquise Irvin would catch the first of his two touchdowns – both 10 yard passes from Russ – with 3:42 left in the quarter to cut Wofford's lead to 10 at 24-14. The Terriers would respond with a one-yard run midway through the fourth, pushing the l
ead to 31-14. The Bears would add one more score – Irvin's second touchdown catch from Russ – just 36 seconds later. That would be the final score for Mercer, and in the game, as Russ would throw an interception on Mercer's next and final possession.
QUOTING BOBBY LAMB
"I want to applaud our team for playing extremely hard. You look at the stats and they are very balanced. We knew it was going to be a tough day. I thought our defense came out, flew around and made a lot of plays. But at the end of the day, when you look at these final stats, it comes down to this: we had an interception early in the game in the red zone, our punter dropped a snap and that is basically a turnover, we missed a field goal and then you get a punt blocked there. When you take those four mistakes and you mix in what happened in that football game, if we don't make those four mistakes we have a chance to win the game. But unfortunately we made them."
"Wofford is a very good football team. They are a tough, hard-nosed football team. I thought our team played very tough and hard-nosed today. We held them to 205 rushing yards and they are averaging 310 a game. We did a lot of good things but at the end of the day we came up on the short end of the stick and that is the bottom line."
On Marquise Irvin:
"He had a phenomenal day. Unfortunately, we had an injury this week to Avery Ward so we really challenged our receiving corps. We knew we were going to have to throw it and Marquise just answered the bell. He made some big time plays down the field. We probably should have gone to him a little more – 12 catches is a lot – but he probably could have caught 18 to 20 today. Certainly it was a hot day, a tough day, and I am proud of his effort."
On the run game:
"Well, they are No. 1 in the country on defense. They are giving up 252 yards a game and we got 319 so we did enough, yardage-wise, but we didn't get in the end zone like we needed to. We got in the red zone several times and had opportunities to kick field goals but either turned it over or just didn't get it done."
On returning home next week:
"We lose the football game and are back to .500 but we just have to find a way to win the game. We are looking forward to getting back in front of our home crowd. It has been a long stretch – we have been on the road in four out of our last five weeks. I know these guys want to get back to Five Star Stadium and in front of our fans and hopefully come out with a win on Homecoming."
RECORDS UPDATE
UP NEXT
Team
Offense
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.
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Marquise Irvin caught a school record 12 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns while the Bears defense held Wofford to 205 yards rushing – more than 100 less than their per game average in 2016.
TURNING POINT
There wasn't a set turning point, per se, but when Wofford's David Howerton recovered the blocked punt and took it a step into the end zone for a touchdown, the Terriers were ignited.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
John Russ was intercepted with under two minutes left in the game. Wofford's Dylan Young picked off the Bears gunslinger and ran the ball back 20 yards to the Mercer three-yard line, allowing the Terriers to take a knee.
OFFENSIVE STAR
Marquise Irvin had a banner day as he caught a school record 12 passes for 143 yards and tied a school record with two touchdown catches in the game.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT
Linebacker Tyler Ward tallied 12 total tackles in the game (eight solo, four assisted) and was the only player on either team to register double-digit tackles Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first quarter Wofford jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of Lorenzo Long touchdown runs in the second frame, forcing Mercer to spend the entire game trying to battle back from behind. Before halftime Mercer would get on the board as John Russ found Chandler Curtis for a five-yard strike.
Fortune favored Wofford, however, early in the second half as the Terriers blocked a Tyler Zielenske punt and returned it for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Wofford would add a 33-yard field goal off the leg of David Marvin for a 24-7 advantage.
Marquise Irvin would catch the first of his two touchdowns – both 10 yard passes from Russ – with 3:42 left in the quarter to cut Wofford's lead to 10 at 24-14. The Terriers would respond with a one-yard run midway through the fourth, pushing the l
ead to 31-14. The Bears would add one more score – Irvin's second touchdown catch from Russ – just 36 seconds later. That would be the final score for Mercer, and in the game, as Russ would throw an interception on Mercer's next and final possession.
QUOTING BOBBY LAMB
"I want to applaud our team for playing extremely hard. You look at the stats and they are very balanced. We knew it was going to be a tough day. I thought our defense came out, flew around and made a lot of plays. But at the end of the day, when you look at these final stats, it comes down to this: we had an interception early in the game in the red zone, our punter dropped a snap and that is basically a turnover, we missed a field goal and then you get a punt blocked there. When you take those four mistakes and you mix in what happened in that football game, if we don't make those four mistakes we have a chance to win the game. But unfortunately we made them."
"Wofford is a very good football team. They are a tough, hard-nosed football team. I thought our team played very tough and hard-nosed today. We held them to 205 rushing yards and they are averaging 310 a game. We did a lot of good things but at the end of the day we came up on the short end of the stick and that is the bottom line."
On Marquise Irvin:
"He had a phenomenal day. Unfortunately, we had an injury this week to Avery Ward so we really challenged our receiving corps. We knew we were going to have to throw it and Marquise just answered the bell. He made some big time plays down the field. We probably should have gone to him a little more – 12 catches is a lot – but he probably could have caught 18 to 20 today. Certainly it was a hot day, a tough day, and I am proud of his effort."
On the run game:
"Well, they are No. 1 in the country on defense. They are giving up 252 yards a game and we got 319 so we did enough, yardage-wise, but we didn't get in the end zone like we needed to. We got in the red zone several times and had opportunities to kick field goals but either turned it over or just didn't get it done."
On returning home next week:
"We lose the football game and are back to .500 but we just have to find a way to win the game. We are looking forward to getting back in front of our home crowd. It has been a long stretch – we have been on the road in four out of our last five weeks. I know these guys want to get back to Five Star Stadium and in front of our fans and hopefully come out with a win on Homecoming."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 4-4 (2-3 SoCon)
- Wofford: 5-3 (3-2 SoCon)
UP NEXT
- Mercer: Hosts East Tennessee State on Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. (FOX Sports Southeast)
- Wofford: at Furman on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Team
- Despite the loss, Mercer still leads the all-time series over Wofford, 6-3, but Wofford has won the last three meetings.
Offense
- Mercer registered 319 yards of offense Saturday at Wofford. The Terriers entered the week allowing only 252 yards of offense per game.
- Marquise Irvin caught a school record 12 receptions in the game.
- Marquise Irvin's two touchdown receptions tied a school record.
- With three touchdown passes, Mercer quarterback John Russ now has 72 career passing touchdowns and 101 career touchdowns responsible for.
- Wofford was held to only 205 rushing yards Saturday despite entering the week averaging 310 rushing yards of offense per game in 2016.
- Mercer's defense held Wofford to just 4 of 13 on third down conversions.
- Tyler Ward's 12 tackles – which led all players – marked his 11th career double-digit tackle performance.
- Saturday's game at Wofford marked the first time this year Cole Fisher did not successfully convert a field goal this season.
- Wofford became the first team to returned a block punt for a touchdown against Mercer, doing so in the third quarter.
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.
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