Saturday, September 9
Macon, Ga.
4 p.m.
Mercer University
1-1 , 0-1
27
vs
28
#10 Wofford
2-0 , 2-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Wofford
0
7
7
14
28
Mercer
14
7
0
6
27
Team Stats
WOF
MER
Total Yards
367
274
Pass Yards
93
167
Rushing Yards
274
107
Penalty Yards
50
15
1st Downs
17
14
3rd Downs
4
5
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
33:07
26:53
1st Quarter
WOF 0, MER 7
MER - Marquise Irvin 7 yd pass from Kaelan Riley (Cole Fisher kick) 3 plays, 8 yards, TOP 1:39
WOF 0, MER 14
MER - Avery Ward 15 yd pass from Kaelan Riley (Cole Fisher kick) 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:38
2nd Quarter
WOF 7, MER 14
WOF - Lennox McAfee 33 yd run (Luke Carter kick), 6 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:12
WOF 7, MER 21
MER - Kaelan Riley 1 yd run (Cole Fisher kick), 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:58
3rd Quarter
WOF 14, MER 21
WOF - Lennox McAfee 57 yd run (Luke Carter kick), 7 plays, 82 yards, TOP 2:58
4th Quarter
WOF 14, MER 24
MER - Cole Fisher 32 yd field goal 11 plays, 84 yards, TOP 5:15
WOF 14, MER 27
MER - Cole Fisher 34 yd field goal 4 plays, 9 yards, TOP 1:31
WOF 21, MER 27
WOF - Andre Stoddard 10 yd run (Luke Carter kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:54
WOF 28, MER 27
WOF - Blake Morgan 2 yd run (Luke Carter kick), 5 plays, 28 yards, TOP 2:23
Game Leaders
CMP
14
TD
2
YDS
167
INT
3
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
DB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
Mercer Falters Late Against No. 10 Wofford
9/9/2017 8:31:00 PM | Football
Terriers rally with 14 unanswered points to stun Mercer at home
MACON, Ga. – Mercer fell to No. 10 (Coaches/STATS) Wofford, 28-27, despite taking a 14-point lead into halftime in front of a record crowd of 12,727 at Five Star Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears (1-1, 0-1 Southern Conference) owned a 27-14 advantage with eight minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the contest, but the nationally ranked Terriers (2-0, 2-0 SoCon) rallied with a pair of late touchdowns that clinched their only lead of the contest en route to the road win.
Turning Point
Wofford cut Mercer's lead to 27-21 with 6:18 left as they drove 76 yards on six plays. The touchdown drive was in response to consecutive field goal drives by Mercer and keyed the beginning of Wofford's 14-point rally.
It Was Over When
Kaelan Riley was picked off for the second straight drive with one minute left in the game, ending Mercer's final shot at coming away with the win in its first conference contest of the year.
Offensive Star
Avery Ward started off his senior season in style, notching seven receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown after missing Mercer's last five games dating back to last season. It was Ward's fourth 100-yard game of his career. The touchdown reception was the 12th of his career, tying him with Chandler Curtis and former Bear JT Palmer (2013-14) for most in program history.
Defensive Standout
Fellow senior Kyle Williams totaled 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack to lead the defensive charge for the Bears. Williams' sack was the first by Mercer this season.
How It Happened
A fast start by the Bears propelled them to a 14-point lead after roughly nine minutes of play. Riley connected with Marquise Irvin and Ward for seven- and 15-yard passing touchdowns as Mercer exposed the Wofford secondary early.
Both squads traded touchdown drives in the second quarter via the ground game. Wofford's Lennox McAfee scampered for a 33-yard score early in the frame, only to be countered by a one-yard punch-in by Riley with 21 seconds remaining in the first half. The Bears' final score of the half was set up by 32-yard reception by Tee Mitchell out of the backfield that led to a first-and-goal situation.
Wofford opened the second half with a 57-yard touchdown run by McAfee, cutting Mercer's lead to seven points. However, Mercer's defense redeemed itself soon after with a turnover on downs at its own one-yard line, proving to be one of the game's key turning points.
Mercer caught a break deep in its own territory when Wofford was called for roughing the kicker as punter Grant Goupil was clipped in the end zone. Two plays later, Riley connected with Ward for a 41-yard reception that would eventually set up a 32-yard field goal by Cole Fisher. A 51-yard punt return by Curtis shortly after set up another field goal by Fisher – a 34-yarder – to give Mercer a 27-14 advantage with 8:15 remaining in the game.
The Terriers would storm back behind a 10-yard touchdown run by Andre Stoddard that capped a 76-yard drive. The score was followed by a fumble recovery by Wofford as Ward was stripped at Mercer's own 25. Wofford took its first lead of the game, 28-27, with a two-yard score by Blake Morgan and the extra point with 3:34 left. Mercer had two shots at rallying for the win but saw both drives end in interceptions by the Wofford defense.
Coach Lamb's Comments
"I'm disappointed in the outcome but you have to give Wofford credit. All of these [Southern Conference] games come down to the fourth quarter, and [Wofford] won the fourth quarter. We did some good things, but some uncharacteristic things as well.
"I told the team that it's early in the season. There will be a lot of games that come down to the wire. We can go two ways…we can come in here tomorrow and buckle up our boots and go for the next one, or we can pout and keep losing games because of that. I think this team is resilient and that they'll come back tomorrow ready to work."
Notables
Team
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.
The Bears (1-1, 0-1 Southern Conference) owned a 27-14 advantage with eight minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the contest, but the nationally ranked Terriers (2-0, 2-0 SoCon) rallied with a pair of late touchdowns that clinched their only lead of the contest en route to the road win.
Turning Point
Wofford cut Mercer's lead to 27-21 with 6:18 left as they drove 76 yards on six plays. The touchdown drive was in response to consecutive field goal drives by Mercer and keyed the beginning of Wofford's 14-point rally.
It Was Over When
Kaelan Riley was picked off for the second straight drive with one minute left in the game, ending Mercer's final shot at coming away with the win in its first conference contest of the year.
Offensive Star
Avery Ward started off his senior season in style, notching seven receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown after missing Mercer's last five games dating back to last season. It was Ward's fourth 100-yard game of his career. The touchdown reception was the 12th of his career, tying him with Chandler Curtis and former Bear JT Palmer (2013-14) for most in program history.
Defensive Standout
Fellow senior Kyle Williams totaled 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack to lead the defensive charge for the Bears. Williams' sack was the first by Mercer this season.
How It Happened
A fast start by the Bears propelled them to a 14-point lead after roughly nine minutes of play. Riley connected with Marquise Irvin and Ward for seven- and 15-yard passing touchdowns as Mercer exposed the Wofford secondary early.
Both squads traded touchdown drives in the second quarter via the ground game. Wofford's Lennox McAfee scampered for a 33-yard score early in the frame, only to be countered by a one-yard punch-in by Riley with 21 seconds remaining in the first half. The Bears' final score of the half was set up by 32-yard reception by Tee Mitchell out of the backfield that led to a first-and-goal situation.
Wofford opened the second half with a 57-yard touchdown run by McAfee, cutting Mercer's lead to seven points. However, Mercer's defense redeemed itself soon after with a turnover on downs at its own one-yard line, proving to be one of the game's key turning points.
Mercer caught a break deep in its own territory when Wofford was called for roughing the kicker as punter Grant Goupil was clipped in the end zone. Two plays later, Riley connected with Ward for a 41-yard reception that would eventually set up a 32-yard field goal by Cole Fisher. A 51-yard punt return by Curtis shortly after set up another field goal by Fisher – a 34-yarder – to give Mercer a 27-14 advantage with 8:15 remaining in the game.
The Terriers would storm back behind a 10-yard touchdown run by Andre Stoddard that capped a 76-yard drive. The score was followed by a fumble recovery by Wofford as Ward was stripped at Mercer's own 25. Wofford took its first lead of the game, 28-27, with a two-yard score by Blake Morgan and the extra point with 3:34 left. Mercer had two shots at rallying for the win but saw both drives end in interceptions by the Wofford defense.
Coach Lamb's Comments
"I'm disappointed in the outcome but you have to give Wofford credit. All of these [Southern Conference] games come down to the fourth quarter, and [Wofford] won the fourth quarter. We did some good things, but some uncharacteristic things as well.
"I told the team that it's early in the season. There will be a lot of games that come down to the wire. We can go two ways…we can come in here tomorrow and buckle up our boots and go for the next one, or we can pout and keep losing games because of that. I think this team is resilient and that they'll come back tomorrow ready to work."
Notables
Team
- Mercer saw its five-game home win streak snapped. The streak lasted from Sept. 17, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017.
- The Bears have failed to open SoCon play with a win in each of their four years in the league.
- Mercer collectively committed only two turnovers in the contest.
- Mercer scored on all five trips to the red zone to remain perfect in the category this season (11-for-11).
- Ward was a one-man wrecking ball on Mercer's second drive of the game, hauling in four receptions for 54 yards including his 15-yard touchdown catch.
- Riley's touchdown run was his third in two career games.
- Alex Lakes gained 14 yards on the ground and needs only 21 more to become the program's all-time leading rusher (2,337).
- Three Bears – Malique Fleming, Eric Jackson and Williams – totaled a team-high 10 tackles.
- Williams and Austin Wysor came up with consecutive sacks for the Bears' first pair of the year.
- Six Bears totaled at least 0.5 TFL, including Travonte' Easley and Williams (two apiece).
- Rashad Haynes took the opening kickoff 90 yards to the Wofford eight-yard line, the second longest kick return in program history. It set up Mercer's first touchdown of the game.
- Fisher's first made field goal of the season was a 32-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
- Curtis took a 51-yard punt return into Wofford territory to set up Fisher for his second field goal. It was the fifth-longest punt return in program history. Curtis owns four of the five longest punt returns in program history.
- Goupil punted four times for 164 yards (41.0 yards per punt).
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.
Men’s Basketball Preview | Head Coach Ryan Ridder
Monday, October 27
Women’s Basketball Preview | Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard
Monday, October 27
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 9 vs Furman)
Monday, October 27
Mercer 62 | VMI 0 Post Game Press Conference 10.25.25
Sunday, October 26
