Thursday, August 31
Macon, Ga.
7 p.m.
Mercer University
1-0
48
vs
7
Jacksonville
0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Jacksonville
0
0
0
7
7
Mercer
14
13
21
0
48
Team Stats
JU
MER
Total Yards
241
397
Pass Yards
95
220
Rushing Yards
146
177
Penalty Yards
60
41
1st Downs
11
25
3rd Downs
7
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
28:54
31:06
1st Quarter
JU 0, MER 7
MER - Alex Lakes 18 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 2 plays, 19 yards, TOP 0:50
JU 0, MER 14
MER - Sam Walker 8 yd pass from Kaelan Riley (Cole Fisher kick) 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 1:53
2nd Quarter
JU 0, MER 20
MER - Kaelan Riley 4 yd run (Tanner Brumby rushfailed), 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:21
JU 0, MER 27
MER - Sam Walker 18 yd pass from Kaelan Riley (Cole Fisher kick) 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:03
3rd Quarter
JU 0, MER 34
MER - Edmond Graham 58 yd pass from Kaelan Riley (Cole Fisher kick) 4 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:29
JU 0, MER 41
MER - Kaelan Riley 13 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 3 plays, 13 yards, TOP 0:40
JU 0, MER 48
MER - CJ Leggett 2 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:30
4th Quarter
JU 7, MER 48
JU - Michon SOBERS 5 yd pass from Rylan WELLS (J. ARCE-RAMIREZ kick) 11 plays, 66 yards, TOP 4:54
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
3
YDS
206
INT
1
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
14
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
Photo by: Allyson Lamb
Bears Run Past Dolphins in Season Opener
8/31/2017 11:52:00 PM | Football
Mercer defense, Kaelan Riley shine in victory
MACON, Ga. – Mercer exploded for 48 points and used a staggering defensive performance to defeat Jacksonville, 48-7, in the season opener at Five Star Stadium on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 9,727.
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The victory was the fourth time in five years that Mercer (1-0) has opened the season with a victory. Mercer ran away with the 41-point win as its offense tallied 397 total yards while the defense limited the Dolphins (0-1) to 241 yards of offense.
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Kaelan Riley contributed 260 yards of offense for the Bears in his collegiate debut. Alex Lakes finished the game with 54 yards rushing and LeMarkus Bailey led the defense with 10 total tackles.
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Turning Point
Mercer's ability to force turnovers led to a substantial lead by the middle of the second quarter. Mercer's first touchdown of the game came following an interception by Bailey and was capped off by Lakes' 18-yard touchdown run. The Bears forced three turnovers throughout the game, scoring 14 points off Jacksonville's mistakes.
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It Was Over When
On 2nd-and-5 with 32 seconds left in the first half, Riley finished a nine-play, 72-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Sam Walker, their second touchdown connection of the game. Riley's pass to Walker pushed the Mercer lead to 27-0, all but sealing the deal for the Bears.
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Offensive Star
Riley led the offense on the ground and in the air, finishing 18-of-26 passing with three touchdowns and 206 yards while adding 54 rushing yards on 10 attempts. He rushed for two touchdowns as well. Riley's completion percentage (69.2) ranks as the fourth-best single-game mark in program history.
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Defensive Standout
Bailey proved to be everywhere on defense, finishing the contest with 10 total tackles, including four solo wrap-ups to tie his career-high. Bailey also notched his first interception of the season and second of his career.
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How It Happened
The Bears scored on three of their first four drives to take a commanding 20-0 lead late in the first quarter. Lakes' 18-yard touchdown run was followed by a pair of scores by Riley – one passing and one rushing – that marked his first collegiate touchdowns on consecutive drives. Mercer scored on its final drive of the opening half as Riley found Walker for the second time, this time with an 18-yard highlight-reel touchdown pass to extend the Bears' lead to 27-0.
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Mercer scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to stretch its lead to 48-0. During the scoring spurt, Riley connected with fellow freshman Edmond Graham for an 58-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field, marking Graham's first collegiate touchdown reception. Riley and CJ Leggett added touchdown runs to make it a 48-point lead before Jacksonville pushed one touchdown across late.
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Coach Lamb's Comments
"Certainly happy about the win. Our defense came out and really stuffed them, especially on the first few series. LeMarkus had a great game, flying all over the place to make plays. We got Kaelan settled with some short throws and he did a great job of handling the offense. Overall he had a superb game. We're excited about win number one."
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On fourth-down stops:
"Those were big. When you're playing a triple option team they are going to go for it a lot on fourth down. You kind of know when you get in a certain field zone they are going to go for it. Our coaching staff did a good job on calling the play and then our defense did a great job executing."
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Notables
Team
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The victory was the fourth time in five years that Mercer (1-0) has opened the season with a victory. Mercer ran away with the 41-point win as its offense tallied 397 total yards while the defense limited the Dolphins (0-1) to 241 yards of offense.
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Kaelan Riley contributed 260 yards of offense for the Bears in his collegiate debut. Alex Lakes finished the game with 54 yards rushing and LeMarkus Bailey led the defense with 10 total tackles.
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Turning Point
Mercer's ability to force turnovers led to a substantial lead by the middle of the second quarter. Mercer's first touchdown of the game came following an interception by Bailey and was capped off by Lakes' 18-yard touchdown run. The Bears forced three turnovers throughout the game, scoring 14 points off Jacksonville's mistakes.
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It Was Over When
On 2nd-and-5 with 32 seconds left in the first half, Riley finished a nine-play, 72-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Sam Walker, their second touchdown connection of the game. Riley's pass to Walker pushed the Mercer lead to 27-0, all but sealing the deal for the Bears.
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Offensive Star
Riley led the offense on the ground and in the air, finishing 18-of-26 passing with three touchdowns and 206 yards while adding 54 rushing yards on 10 attempts. He rushed for two touchdowns as well. Riley's completion percentage (69.2) ranks as the fourth-best single-game mark in program history.
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Defensive Standout
Bailey proved to be everywhere on defense, finishing the contest with 10 total tackles, including four solo wrap-ups to tie his career-high. Bailey also notched his first interception of the season and second of his career.
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How It Happened
The Bears scored on three of their first four drives to take a commanding 20-0 lead late in the first quarter. Lakes' 18-yard touchdown run was followed by a pair of scores by Riley – one passing and one rushing – that marked his first collegiate touchdowns on consecutive drives. Mercer scored on its final drive of the opening half as Riley found Walker for the second time, this time with an 18-yard highlight-reel touchdown pass to extend the Bears' lead to 27-0.
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Mercer scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to stretch its lead to 48-0. During the scoring spurt, Riley connected with fellow freshman Edmond Graham for an 58-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field, marking Graham's first collegiate touchdown reception. Riley and CJ Leggett added touchdown runs to make it a 48-point lead before Jacksonville pushed one touchdown across late.
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Coach Lamb's Comments
"Certainly happy about the win. Our defense came out and really stuffed them, especially on the first few series. LeMarkus had a great game, flying all over the place to make plays. We got Kaelan settled with some short throws and he did a great job of handling the offense. Overall he had a superb game. We're excited about win number one."
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On fourth-down stops:
"Those were big. When you're playing a triple option team they are going to go for it a lot on fourth down. You kind of know when you get in a certain field zone they are going to go for it. Our coaching staff did a good job on calling the play and then our defense did a great job executing."
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Notables
Team
- Mercer's 27-0 lead at the half was the program's largest halftime lead since holding a 35-0 advantage against ETSU on Oct. 17, 2015.
- Mercer's 48 points rank ninth all-time for a single game in program history.
- Mercer was 6-for-6 in the red zone.
- Riley threw his first career touchdown pass with four minutes left in the first quarter, connecting on an eight-yard touchdown pass to Walker.
- Riley notched his first career rushing touchdown in the second quarter as the dual-threat quarterback snuck into the end zone for a four-yard run with 12:06 left in the first half.
- Lakes recorded his 29th career rushing touchdown in the first quarter, moving to within one of tying the program record.
- Bailey snatched his second career interception, moving into seventh on Mercer's all-time interceptions list.
- Will Coneway recorded his first collegiate forced fumble in the second quarter, stripping Prince Gray of the ball on Jacksonville's longest play from scrimmage, a 33-yard pass.
- The defense tallied 94 total tackles, ranking fifth-most in a single game in program history.
- Cole Fisher buried six extra points in the lopsided victory, the most of his career and fifth most in a single game in program history.
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