Bears Top Catamounts, 45-28, in High-Scoring Contest

Saturday, March 20

Macon, Ga.

4 p.m

Mercer University

2-5 , 2-2

Western Carolina

1-7 , 1-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Western Carolina

Mercer

Photo by: Will Hanley

Bears Top Catamounts, 45-28, in High-Scoring Contest

3/20/2021 10:14:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Mercer picked up its second Southern Conference win of the season.

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Nakendrick Clark rushed for a career-high 92 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Mercer Bears topped the Western Carolina Catamounts, 45-28, in a high-scoring affair inside Five Star Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears scored six touchdowns (five rushing, one passing) in the contest and rushed for 308 yards, the most in the Drew Cronic era.

Western Carolina (1-7, 1-4 SoCon) moved the ball just 15 yards on its opening drive before being forced to punt, and Mercer showed that it is capable of scoring quickly, as its offense moved 75 yards in just nine plays. Brandon Marshall accounted for the first 35 yards of the drive with a pair of rushes that went 18 and 17 yards respectively. Freshman quarterback Carter Peevy displayed impressive accuracy for the fans in Five Star Stadium, completing four passes for 47 yards on Mercer's first possession before Clark found the endzone from two yards out to give the Orange & Black a 7-0 lead.

Mercer (2-5, 2-2 SoCon) forced the Catamounts to go three-and-out on their second possession and methodically marched down the field, scoring after a drive that went 71 yards on 14 plays and took over six minutes. Five players – Clark, Peevy, Julian Beris, Fred Davis and Deondre Johnson accumulated yards on the ground, and the Bears were also aided by a pair of Western Carolina penalties. Davis capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown rush for his first of two scores on the day, and after one quarter, Mercer held a 14-0 advantage.

The Bears found the endzone again on their second drive of the second quarter with all 34 yards of the seven-play drive coming on the ground. Clark scampered for 26 yards on four carries, but it was Peevy who called his own number and crossed the goal line for Mercer's third touchdown of the day. The Orange & Black's opening drive of quarter number two lasted a mere 2:05 and extended the home squad's lead to 21-0 with 9:49 remaining in the quarter.

The Catamounts got on the board with a five-play, 32-yard drive in under two minutes. In similar fashion to Peevy, quarterback Ryan Glover scored a quarterback sneak to pull the Catamounts within two scores, 21-7, with 7:39 left in the first half. The Purple & Gold's defense forced Mercer to go three-and-out and gain just four yards on its next drive and needed only 31 seconds to score following the Bears' punt. A short field and pair of Mercer penalties helped the Catamounts get deep in its opponent territory, and Donnavan Spencer capped the drive with a one-yard rush across the goal line, pulling WCU within a touchdown, 21-14.

Cronic's Bears showed the poise of a veteran team, as they responded to the Catamounts' touchdown with an 11-play, 90-yard drive that lasted more than five minutes and resulted in seven points. A 19-yard rush by Johnson and a 22-yard connection from Peevy to Ty James highlighted the drive. Davis put an exclamation point on the possession with a one-yard score, giving Mercer a 28-14 halftime lead.

Neither team found the endzone on its first possession of the second half, but Mercer's ground attack chewed up almost seven minutes of game clock on the Bears' second drive of the final half. The home team kept the ball on the ground for 13 of the drive's 15 plays. Clark and Peevy did the majority of the heavy lifting on the drive with Clark scampering for 18 yards on five carries and Peevy proving he is a dual-threat behind center. The freshman signal caller rushed five times for 19 yards and found Johnson and Beris through the air. Clark made his way into the endzone from five yards out, capping off the 86-yard drive which lasted 6:38 and gave Mercer a 35-14 advantage.

The Catamounts answered with a touchdown of their own, driving 79 yards in 3:12. The Bears had no answer for Glover on the drive as he threw for 43 yards and ran for another 29 before handing off to Spencer who scored the Catamounts' third touchdown of the Southern Conference battle.

Mercer's final touchdown of the day came courtesy of James' beautiful over-the-shoulder catch with a Western Carolina defender giving him no room to breathe. Peevy's 19-yard touchdown pass gave the Bears a commanding 42-21 lead with 11:32 to play, but the comfortable feeling did not last long.

On Western Carolina's first play from scrimmage following Mercer's score, Spencer ran 53 yards to house, much to the dismay of the home crowd, and cut the Orange & Black's lead to 42-28.

After a scoreless drive, Danijah Gammage and Isaac Dowling made a huge stop on fourth-and-six, stopping Spencer for a loss of two yards. The Bears took over on the Western Carolina 46-yard line and marched to the Catamounts' 27 before the drive stalled. Caleb Dowden calmly knocked down a 45-yard field goal with 4:18 to play, extending the Bears' lead to three possessions, 45-28.

Western Carolina picked up two first downs on its drive, but Yahsyn McKee quickly put an end to any hopes of a miracle comeback for the visitors. McKee picked off a severely underthrown ball deep in Mercer territory.

Mercer was unable to do any additional damage following the interception and was forced to punt, but the Bears' defensive unit showed they are a force to be reckoned with. Glover completed his first pass of the drive to Luke Sutton, but Solomon Zubairu met him behind the line of scrimmage, forcing a loss of five yards. After back-to-back incompletions, Michael Campbell quickly wrapped up Spencer on fourth-and-15, and Mercer retained possession. The Bears were able to run out the clock and secure the 45-28 triumph.
Postgame Show

Kraig Doremus · Mercer Football Postgame - vs. WCU

Offensive Star
Graduate student Nakendrick Clark rushed for a career-high 92 yards and his first two touchdowns in a Mercer uniform. The Statesville, N.C., native carried the ball 23 times (4.0 yards per carry) and joined Fred Davis as the only two Bears to score multiple touchdowns in the win. Clark has amassed a team-best 260 yards this season.

Defensive Star(s)
Kainalu Pu'u Robinson and Danijah Gammage combined for 18 tackles in the win. Gammage had Mercer's lone sack of the day and also made 2.5 tackles for loss.

Stats That Matter
The ground game was strong for Mercer as eight players received carries. The foursome of Clark, Johnson, Marshall and Davis carried the ball 51 times for 252 of the Orange & Black's 308 yards.

Notables

The Bears picked up their fifth win over the Catamounts. After dropping the first two games, Mercer has now defeated Western Carolina in each of the last five contests.
Mercer evened its Southern Conference record at 2-2.
The Bears improved to 2-1 in Five Star Stadium under Cronic.
The 45 points are the most in Cronic's tenure.
Both Clark and Davis scored their first touchdowns in a Mercer uniform.
The Orange & Black rushed for 308 yards, its most under Cronic and highest total since a 323-yard outburst against Campbell on September 23, 2019.
Mercer found the endzone six times for its highest total since a 2019 defeat of the Catamounts. In that win, Mercer scored seven touchdowns.
The Bears' five rushing scores were tied for its most since September 13, 2014 against Stetson. Mercer scored six touchdowns on the ground in the 49-0 win over the Hatters.
Robinson recorded his first career double-digit tackle game.

Up Next
The Bears will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., to take on the Chattanooga Mocs on March 27 at 12:00 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.