Mercer Drops Home Opener to Austin Peay

Saturday, September 14

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

2-1

Austin Peay

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Austin Peay

Mercer

Photo by: Ava Johnson

9/15/2019 12:41:00 AM | Football

Box Score Post-Game Notes

Bears suffer tough loss in front of capacity crowd

By: Jace Sanders

MACON, Ga. – Middle Georgia showed up in full force for the 2019 home opener at Five Star Stadium Saturday, but Mercer dropped a tough one, 34-48, to a well-rounded Austin Peay team.

The crowd, listed at 11,478 for the game, was treated to a back-and-forth game early that the Governors (2-1) eventually were able to pull away with in the second half to spoil the Bears (2-1) home opener.

Turning Point
The two teams were all tied at 13 in the third quarter when the game turned on its heel in Austin Peay's favor. With 9:10 remaining in the frame, Baniko Harley caught a five-yard touchdown pass from JaVaughn Craig to put APSU up a score.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Kordel Jackson picked one off and tip-toed down the sideline for a 29-yard pick-six to take all the momentum. Jackson ended up with another pick-six in the fourth quarter, this one returned for 69 yards to essentially ice away the game for Austin Peay.

Offensive Star
Wide receiver David Durden was the key playmaker for a Mercer passing attack that tallied 287 passing yards on the night – Durden responsible for 129 of those yards on nine catches, both career highs. The sophomore also made a highlight-reel catch for the Bears' first touchdown of the game and added another touchdown catch with 39 seconds remaining to tie his career-high of two in a game.

Defensive Star
On the day that the local community was celebrated, Sandersville-native Will Coneway led all players with 13 tackles – five solo and eight assists. Coneway was also responsible for 1.5 tackles for loss during the game and helped key Mercer's defensive stand that ensured a tie ballgame at the half.

Stat Geek
The nation's leader in passing touchdowns, Robert Riddle, added four more to his resume to bring his season total to 11 – he entered Saturday's contest with the seventh-most passing touchdowns in all of Division I football. Riddle finished the game 29-for-47 passing with 287 yards and the four touchdowns.

Mercer was led on the ground by Tyray Devezin's 48 net rushing yards on a night that the running game could never seem to get going.

Notable

Mercer fell to 3-1 all-time against Austin Peay with the loss Saturday – the Bears defeated the Governors in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
A group of 11,478 fans packed into Five Star Stadium for the home opener at the venue - Mercer has averaged 11,094 fans per game in its home openers since revamping the program in 2013.
Mercer saw its perfect red zone efficiency come to an end Saturday, when one of its seven trips to the red zone ended with a fumble. The Bears have taken 14 trips inside the 20 and have come away with points on 13 of those.
David Durden ran back the opening kickoff to the Austin Peay 15-yard line, a 77-yard return. Durden entered the game leading the country in kickoff return yards with 45.3 per return.
FULL NOTES

Up Next
The Bears will bounce back into Southern Conference play next weekend with another tough road contest. Mercer is set to square off with No. 13 Furman at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C., with a 1 p.m. (ET) kick.

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