Second Half Stand Secures Mercer Win

Saturday, October 9

Cullowhee, N.C.

3:30 p.m.

Mercer University

4-1 , 3-0

Western Carolina

0-6 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

Western Caro.

10/9/2021 6:49:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Mercer upends WCU on Catamounts' homecoming

By: Zach Durkee

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Following a massive win over Samford in their last time out and getting more votes in the national polls, Mercer could not afford a letdown. The Bears bent but did not break at Western Carolina.

In the second SoCon road contest of the season, Mercer (4-1, 3-0 SoCon) dropped Western Carolina (0-6, 0-3 SoCon) 34-24.

Mercer's 3-0 start in league play is the best mark through three contests since joining the SoCon.

Following a Catamount fumble on the opening drive, the Bears struck first when Fred Payton connected to Parker Wroble on a five-yard toss to the endzone for a 7-0 lead, which culminated after seven plays on 54 yards that took 2:13 off the clock. Two drives later, Mercer doubled the lead when Payton called his own number on a one-yard sneak into the endzone for the 14-point advantage.

Behind a fifty-yard drive, the hosts found the endzone and halved the Mercer lead when Kenny Benjamin was credited with the one-yard score on a drive that featured two successful conversions on fourth down. On the ensuing Mercer drive, Fred Davis – the reigning national offensive player of the year – ran two yards into the endzone to reinstate the 14-point advantage and set the halftime score to 21-7.

When Mercer stalled on the opening drive of the second half, the Catamounts responded with an 80-yard, six play drive that finished with a TJ Jones four-yard scamper for the score. Even though the Bears stalled inside WCU territory, they upped the lead back to double-digits when Devin Folser split the uprights with a 50-yard field goal on the very next drive.

WCU took the momentum back when they recovered a Bear fumble and used it to drive 52 yards for a touchdown to draw the deficit down to three at 24-21. Following another stalled Mercer drive, the Catamounts leveled the game at 24 apiece when Richard McCollum drilled a 24-yarder.

As the clock hit a bit more than nine minutes left in the final stanza, Folser drilled a 51-yard field goal so Mercer could regain the lead, 27-24. The Bears found themselves into Folser's range when Payton scrambled for 15 yards on a 3^rd-and-35 at nearly midfield.

On WCU's ensuing drive, Lance Wise quelled any attempt of a comeback by the Catamounts as he picked off a forced Carlos Davis pass and returned it to the WCU one-yard line. Mercer pushed their lead to 10 when Davis found the endzone for the second time on the afternoon.

Payton, the Bears' signalcaller, tossed 114 yards on 10 completions, one of which was for a score. Davis paced Mercer with 128 yards and a pair of scores in the contest.

Drew Cronic Quotables

Full Press Conference

On weathering the storm and coming away with a victory
"It's good to get the win, it's great to win on the road. We found ways to get it done. We have to play good all the time, we have to learn how to do that. There were moments in this game where we had lulls and championship teams don't do that. They figure out ways to play good all the time. Now, championship teams do figure out a way to win when it's looking bad and we did that today. We're fortunate today that we were able to make one more play."

On the opportunistic defense that can force turnovers.
"That was huge, that blew that game open right there at the end when Lance did that and took it back. That's something Coach Taylor really harped on. They've really focused on the turnover battle this summer, this August and those things are showing up."

On coming home for two weeks
"It'll be big this game, we need a big crowd there and everyone ready to roll. We have to prepare to be great and then we need to get into that stadium and play the best football game we've played."

Offensive Star
Devin Folser was automatic on the day, splitting the uprights on two big kicks. Folser tied the school record with a 50 yard field goal and then followed that up by breaking the school record with a 51 yard field goal. Fred Davis rushed for over 100 yards for the second game in a row when he posted 128 yards on the ground today.

Defensive Star(s)
Lance Wise was a force on defense, tying for the team lead in tackles (8), solo tackles (6) and forced a fumble. The biggest play of the game was when Wise intercepted the ball with 6:21 remaining in the game and returned it 56 yards to the one yard line to completely swing the momentum. Ken Standley had eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and forced a fumble.

Stats That Matter
The Bears have been shattering school records all year long. Today was no different. Devin Folser broke the school record for longest field goal when he split the uprights from 51 yards. This is the fourth game that the Bears have broken or tied a program record.

Notables

The Bears start the season 3-0 in SoCon play for the first time in program history.
Fred Davis rushed for over 100 yards for the second game in a row, rushing for 128 yards against the Catamounts.
The series history is now 6-2-0 in favor of Mercer.
Mercer is 3-1-0 against the Catamounts in Cullowhee.
The Bears had a total of 225 yards on the ground with Fred Davis (128) and Brandon Marshall (91) combining for 219.
Devron Harper led the Bears with three catches for 56 yards with a long of 47.
Fred Payton threw for 114 yards and a TD.
22 different Mercer players made a tackle.

Up Next
Mercer will return to the friendly confines of Five Star Stadium this upcoming Saturday against VMI. Kickoff against the Keydets is slated for 4 p.m.

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.