Saturday, November 10
Chattanooga, Tenn.
1 p.m.
Mercer University
5-5 , 4-3
13
at
9
Chattanooga
6-4 , 4-4
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Mercer
0
0
0
13
13
Chattanooga
0
0
3
6
9
Team Stats
MER
UTC
Total Yards
149
309
Pass Yards
78
189
Rushing Yards
71
120
Penalty Yards
88
103
1st Downs
7
15
3rd Downs
2
4
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
24:12
35:48
3rd Quarter
MER 0, UTC 3
UTC - Victor Ulmo 38 yd field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 1:32
4th Quarter
MER 0, UTC 6
UTC - Victor Ulmo 28 yd field goal 12 plays, 48 yards, TOP 6:15
MER 7, UTC 6
MER - Chris Ellington 19 yd pass from Harrison Frost (Cole Fisher kick) 1 plays, 19 yards, TOP 0:05
MER 7, UTC 9
UTC - Victor Ulmo 19 yd field goal 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:53
MER 13, UTC 9
MER - Tyray Devezin 1 yd run (Harrison Frost passfailed), 3 plays, 1 yards, TOP 0:00
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
7
TD
1
YDS
78
INT
1
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
K
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
P
/ FootballPhoto by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Defense Shines in Win at Chattanooga
11/10/2018 6:42:00 PM | Football
Bears hold Chattanooga without a touchdown in SoCon road win
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Mercer earned its first road win over Chattanooga since 1933 as the Bears held the Mocs without a touchdown in a 13-9 Southern Conference victory at Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
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The Bears (5-5, 4-3 SoCon) scored all 13 of their points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 6-0 deficit en route to their third win in four years against Chattanooga (6-4, 4-4). Tyray Devezin scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with two minutes and 29 seconds remaining after Stephen Houzah returned a kickoff 91 yards to the Chattanooga 1-yard line.
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Turning Point
After struggling offensively all game, Mercer had its first breakthrough early in the fourth quarter. The Mocs kicked a 28-yard field goal to go up 6-0 with 12:50 left in the contest, but Stephen Houzah returned the following kickoff 73 yards to the Chattanooga 19-yard line on the next play. Just one play later, Harrison Frost connected with Chris Ellington for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Mercer its first lead of the game after a made extra-point attempt.
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It Was Over When
Mercer's defense forced a turnover on downs with 18 seconds remaining to seal the road win. Chattanooga had taken over with 1:50 on the clock and no timeouts remaining; the Bears allowed just 11 yards on seven plays on the final drive.
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Offensive Star
Backup tight end Chris Ellington's lone catch of the game was his 19-yard touchdown reception from Frost that gave Mercer its first points of the contest.
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Defensive Star
Senior defensive end Isaiah Buehler was a force up front, as he recorded three tackles for loss, including one sack, for a combined 18 yards lost. Buehler added one pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
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Special Teams Star
Stephen Houzah proved to be the Bears' lightning rod, totaling 177 yards on three kickoff returns, including a pair for 73 and 91 in the fourth quarter.
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How It Happened
Mercer avoided a pair of early blows as its defense forced and recovered a fumble and saw the Mocs miss a 41-yard field goal on their first two drives. The Mocs' Alex Trotter reeled off a 63-yard rush on the second offensive play of the game, but was stripped by Kam Lott at the Mercer 1-yard line; the fumble was recovered by Eric Jackson. Mercer forced Chattanooga to punt on the next three consecutive drives, resulting in a scoreless first quarter.
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The Bears' offense failed to gain any momentum in the second quarter, reaching Chattanooga territory just twice. The defense continued to impress, however, as it stopped the Mocs twice on the goal line for a turnover on downs with less than five minutes remaining before halftime. Will Coneway made tackles on both of the goal-line stands.
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Later, on 3rd-and-8 with just over three minutes before halftime, Harrison Frost was intercepted by the Mocs' Derek Mahaffey. Mahaffey returned the interception 61 yards for a score, but a pair of penalties – unsportsmanlike conduct and sideline interference – negated the touchdown and put the Mocs on the Mercer 32-yard line. The Mocs came up empty-handed as they missed their second field goal attempt of the game in the aftermath.
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Mercer's first drive of the second half ended with a blocked punt that set the Chattanooga offense up at the Mercer 20-yard line. Chattanooga scored the first points of the game with a 38-yard field goal as a result of the blocked punt. Both teams punted on the following five combined drives before the Mocs kicked another field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to make it a 6-0 game.
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A 73-yard kick return by Stephen Houzah to the Chattanooga 19-yard line moments later proved to be the spark plug the Bears needed in their comeback win. The return set up Mercer's first score and lead of the game, a 19-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Frost to Chris Ellington on the next play. After Cole Fisher missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 7:22 left in the game, Chattanooga marched 78 yards on nine plays before converting its third field goal of the game to reclaim the lead, 9-7.
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Yet again, Houzah made all the difference with a 91-yard kickoff return on the following play and put Mercer at the Chattanooga 1-yard line with 2:13 on the clock. Tyray Devezin punched in the eventual game-winning touchdown three plays later, giving Mercer a 13-9 advantage. The Bears' defense forced a turnover on downs on Chattanooga's final drive to seal the win.
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Quotables
Bobby Lamb's opening statement:
"We talked all week with our team about this being a 'Character Game', and we really proved what we've got our locker room today. I really thought our guys wanted it more today.
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"It wasn't looking good for a while; offensively, we were struggling, but our defense played outstanding and hung in there all game. The two big returns by Stephen Houzah are probably the two biggest for our team since he's been here."
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Lamb on Mercer's defense…
"From the forced fumble on the first drive to the goal-line stand on fourth down…our defense did its job tonight and I'm so proud of them. We knew at halftime that seven points might win this game today; we needed a little more than that, but it just shows you how well our defense played."
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Notables
» Chattanooga's nine points are the fewest Mercer has allowed in a SoCon game.
» Saturday marked the second time this season Mercer hasn't allowed a touchdown in a game (Jacksonville, Sept. 8).
» Bobby Lamb improved to 11-3 in his career against Chattanooga. The 11 wins are tied for his most against a single opponent (Western Carolina).
» Isaiah Buehler is just the sixth player in program history to tally three or more tackles for loss in a single game. Buehler now has 25 career TFL, the second most all-time at Mercer.
» Nine Bears totaled 11 tackles for loss.
» Matt Shiel tied his own single-game program record with nine punts.
» Tyray Devezin totaled 110 all-purpose yards (73 rushing, 37 receiving).
» Buehler and Dorian Kithcart both recorded one sack apiece.
» Kam Lott and Malique Fleming forced the first and fourth fumbles of their careers, respectively.
» Eric Jackson tallied his first career fumble recovery.
» Chris Ellington's touchdown reception was the second of his career and first this season.
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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.
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The Bears (5-5, 4-3 SoCon) scored all 13 of their points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 6-0 deficit en route to their third win in four years against Chattanooga (6-4, 4-4). Tyray Devezin scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with two minutes and 29 seconds remaining after Stephen Houzah returned a kickoff 91 yards to the Chattanooga 1-yard line.
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Turning Point
After struggling offensively all game, Mercer had its first breakthrough early in the fourth quarter. The Mocs kicked a 28-yard field goal to go up 6-0 with 12:50 left in the contest, but Stephen Houzah returned the following kickoff 73 yards to the Chattanooga 19-yard line on the next play. Just one play later, Harrison Frost connected with Chris Ellington for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Mercer its first lead of the game after a made extra-point attempt.
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It Was Over When
Mercer's defense forced a turnover on downs with 18 seconds remaining to seal the road win. Chattanooga had taken over with 1:50 on the clock and no timeouts remaining; the Bears allowed just 11 yards on seven plays on the final drive.
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Offensive Star
Backup tight end Chris Ellington's lone catch of the game was his 19-yard touchdown reception from Frost that gave Mercer its first points of the contest.
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Defensive Star
Senior defensive end Isaiah Buehler was a force up front, as he recorded three tackles for loss, including one sack, for a combined 18 yards lost. Buehler added one pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
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Special Teams Star
Stephen Houzah proved to be the Bears' lightning rod, totaling 177 yards on three kickoff returns, including a pair for 73 and 91 in the fourth quarter.
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How It Happened
Mercer avoided a pair of early blows as its defense forced and recovered a fumble and saw the Mocs miss a 41-yard field goal on their first two drives. The Mocs' Alex Trotter reeled off a 63-yard rush on the second offensive play of the game, but was stripped by Kam Lott at the Mercer 1-yard line; the fumble was recovered by Eric Jackson. Mercer forced Chattanooga to punt on the next three consecutive drives, resulting in a scoreless first quarter.
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The Bears' offense failed to gain any momentum in the second quarter, reaching Chattanooga territory just twice. The defense continued to impress, however, as it stopped the Mocs twice on the goal line for a turnover on downs with less than five minutes remaining before halftime. Will Coneway made tackles on both of the goal-line stands.
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Later, on 3rd-and-8 with just over three minutes before halftime, Harrison Frost was intercepted by the Mocs' Derek Mahaffey. Mahaffey returned the interception 61 yards for a score, but a pair of penalties – unsportsmanlike conduct and sideline interference – negated the touchdown and put the Mocs on the Mercer 32-yard line. The Mocs came up empty-handed as they missed their second field goal attempt of the game in the aftermath.
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Mercer's first drive of the second half ended with a blocked punt that set the Chattanooga offense up at the Mercer 20-yard line. Chattanooga scored the first points of the game with a 38-yard field goal as a result of the blocked punt. Both teams punted on the following five combined drives before the Mocs kicked another field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to make it a 6-0 game.
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A 73-yard kick return by Stephen Houzah to the Chattanooga 19-yard line moments later proved to be the spark plug the Bears needed in their comeback win. The return set up Mercer's first score and lead of the game, a 19-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Frost to Chris Ellington on the next play. After Cole Fisher missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 7:22 left in the game, Chattanooga marched 78 yards on nine plays before converting its third field goal of the game to reclaim the lead, 9-7.
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Yet again, Houzah made all the difference with a 91-yard kickoff return on the following play and put Mercer at the Chattanooga 1-yard line with 2:13 on the clock. Tyray Devezin punched in the eventual game-winning touchdown three plays later, giving Mercer a 13-9 advantage. The Bears' defense forced a turnover on downs on Chattanooga's final drive to seal the win.
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Quotables
Bobby Lamb's opening statement:
"We talked all week with our team about this being a 'Character Game', and we really proved what we've got our locker room today. I really thought our guys wanted it more today.
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"It wasn't looking good for a while; offensively, we were struggling, but our defense played outstanding and hung in there all game. The two big returns by Stephen Houzah are probably the two biggest for our team since he's been here."
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Lamb on Mercer's defense…
"From the forced fumble on the first drive to the goal-line stand on fourth down…our defense did its job tonight and I'm so proud of them. We knew at halftime that seven points might win this game today; we needed a little more than that, but it just shows you how well our defense played."
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Notables
» Chattanooga's nine points are the fewest Mercer has allowed in a SoCon game.
» Saturday marked the second time this season Mercer hasn't allowed a touchdown in a game (Jacksonville, Sept. 8).
» Bobby Lamb improved to 11-3 in his career against Chattanooga. The 11 wins are tied for his most against a single opponent (Western Carolina).
» Isaiah Buehler is just the sixth player in program history to tally three or more tackles for loss in a single game. Buehler now has 25 career TFL, the second most all-time at Mercer.
» Nine Bears totaled 11 tackles for loss.
» Matt Shiel tied his own single-game program record with nine punts.
» Tyray Devezin totaled 110 all-purpose yards (73 rushing, 37 receiving).
» Buehler and Dorian Kithcart both recorded one sack apiece.
» Kam Lott and Malique Fleming forced the first and fourth fumbles of their careers, respectively.
» Eric Jackson tallied his first career fumble recovery.
» Chris Ellington's touchdown reception was the second of his career and first this season.
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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.
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