Mercer Rights the Ship Against VMI

Saturday, October 19

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

3-4 , 2-2

VMI

4-4 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

VMI

Mercer

Photo by: Ava Johnson

10/19/2019 10:01:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears back in win column at Five Star Stadium

By: Jace Sanders

MACON, Ga. – Tyray Devezin rushed for 193 yards and Harrison Poole broke up a school record five passes to lead Mercer to a 34-27, Southern Conference victory over VMI on a rainy afternoon at Five Star Stadium Saturday.

The Bears (3-4, 2-2 SoCon) snapped a four-game skid with the victory and cooled off one of the hottest teams in the league in VMI (4-4, 3-2 SoCon) in a game that took 4:28 to complete – there was a 57-minute weather delay in the third quarter related to Tropical Storm Nestor.

Turning Point
Leading by seven after the halftime break, Mercer drove the ball into the red zone on its opening drive of the second half. Coach Bobby Lamb decided to reach into his bag of tricks on a field goal attempt on 4^th and 1 from the 9-yard line. Holder Harrison Frost executed a perfect shovel pass to tight end Chris Ellington who walked into the end zone to extend the lead to two touchdowns.

Offensive Star
A junior, Devezin was back at full strength after an ankle injury sustained in the second game at Presbyterian limited him over the past several weeks. He took out all of the pinned up frustration on the Keydet defense, carrying the ball 25 times for 193 yards – the second-most in a single game in school history.

Defensive Star
Cornerback Harrison Poole had a career night in the defensive backfield, setting the school record with five pass breakups in the contest. Poole also recorded nine tackles in the contest with five solos and four assists.

Stat Geek
Kaelan Riley took over at the quarterback position in the second half for Mercer – after starter Robert Riddle suffered a leg injury late in the second quarter – and completed nine of his 15 pass attempts for 127 yards and a touchdown. Riddle was 12-for-18 for 132 yards, a touchdown and an interception before his early exit.

Chris Ellington led the team with six receptions and 74 yards in the game – Ellington, Yahsyn McKee and Steven Peterson each caught touchdown passes.

Despite the loss, VMI quarterback Reece Udinski set the FCS record for consecutive passes without an interception after attempting 46 passes – needing just 44 to break the previous record of 342 entering Saturday's contest. Udinski finished the night 26-for-46 with 263 passing yards and a touchdown.

Notable

Tyray Devezin's 193 rushing yards in the contest were the second-most in a single-game in school history. The school record belongs to JaTarri Donald, who ran for 202 yards against Davidson in 2013.
Harrison Poole etched his name in the school record books with five pass breakups in the game. Previously, the record was held by multiple Bears with three in a single game.
Redshirt freshman kicker Caleb Dowden remained perfect on field goals and extra points this season – 9-for-9 on field goals and 23-for-23 on extra points. Before Saturday, he was one of two players in the FCS that was still perfect.
The win at Five Star Stadium was Mercer's first victory at home in 364 days – the last win came on October 20 of last year against Western Carolina.

Up Next
Mercer will look to carry the momentum over to a Southern Conference road contest against The Citadel in Charleston next Saturday. The game is set for a 2 p.m. kick on ESPN+.

Follow the Bears
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