Mercer Heads to No. 9 Chattanooga

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Football team heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., to face No. 9 ranked Chattanooga in Southern Conference action. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. from Finley Stadium.

If you can't make the game, catch the broadcast on ESPN+. As always, the game will also be broadcast by Rick Cameron and his crew on The Creek (100.9 FM) and the SportsMic App.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
» Date | Time: Saturday, March 27 | 12 p.m.
» Teams: Mercer (2-5, 2-2 SoCon) at Chattanooga (3-1, 3-0 SoCon)
» Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. | Finley Stadium (20, 668)
» Television: ESPN+
» Television Talent: Chris Goforth (PxP), Scott McMahen (Analyst), Dave Keylon (Sideline)
» Radio: Mercer Sports Network | 100.9 The Creek FM | SportsMic
» Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (PxP), Roger Jackson (Analyst), Charles Davis (Sideline)
» Live Stats: GoMocs.com
» Twitter Updates: @MercerFootball
» Game Notes: Mercer | Chattanooga | SoCon

The matchup pits the Bears against the Mocs and is the 31st meeting between these two programs. Chattanooga leads the all-time series, 20-9-1.

SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs of Chattanooga enter the matchup with the Bears with a 3-1 overall mark and 3-0 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga enters the game ranked No. 9 in the FCS, which is its highest ranking since 2016. This is the first time since 2016 the Mocs have started league play 3-0.

The offense is led by senior quarterback Drayton Arnold. Arnold has completed 46.6 percent of his passes and thrown for 660 yards and two touchdowns this season. Tyrell Price and Gino Appleberry lead the ground attack for the Mocs as they have 53 and 47 carries, respectively. Price has rushed for 226 yards and four scores while Appleberry has run for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Reginald Henderson is the top target for Arnold. Henderson has 15 receptions for 285 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Mocs lead the Southern Conference Is total defense (220.8), passing yards allowed (82.8), scoring defense (17.0) and tackles for a loss (8.8). Kam Jones leads the squad with 34 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss this season. Ty Boeck follows with 31 tackles. Last week, Boeck was named the Stats Perform National Defensive Player of the Week and SoCon Defensive Player of the Week.

Quick Hits

On Monday, Caleb Dowden was named the Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week presented by Geico. Dowden scored nine points for the Bears in their 45-28 win over Western Carolina on Saturday. Dowden, a redshirt sophomore from Statesboro, Ga., went 6-for-6 on point-after attempts and tied his career long with a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
For the third straight game against the Catamounts of Western Carolina, the Bears scored 40 or more points. This time the Bears scored 45 points, four points shy of the eighth-most scored in a single game. The previous two meetings against Western Carolina Mercer scored 49 points (Aug. 31, 2019) and 59 points (Oct. 20, 2018). The 45 points scored is the second most in a Southern Conference game this season.
The Bears rushed their way into their record book against Western Carolina. Mercer tallied 68 rush attempts, the most in a single game in Mercer history. The previous high was 61 at Samford on Nov. 12, 2016. This was only the second time in program history, Mercer rushed the ball 60 times in a game. On the 68 carries, Mercer tallied 308 years, the eighth most in a single game. It was the first time since Sept. 28, 2019, that Mercer rushed for over 300 yards in a game.
During the 2018 season, the Bears earned their first road win over Chattanooga since 1933. Mercer defeated the Mocs, 13-9, in Southern Conference action. Mercer scored all 13 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 6-0 deficit. 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, which was the game winning play.
In the Bears' win over Western Carolina, Nakendrick Clark and Fred Davis scored their first touchdowns donning the Orange and Black. Clark scored his with 9:45 left in the first quarter, while Davis added his with 1:52 left in the first quarter. Both Clark and Davis rushed for two touchdowns in the win.
Mercer has recorded 16 sacks in seven games played this season. This is the second-most sacks by a Southern Conference team. Isaac Dowling leads the team with five sacks. He is one of nine Mercer players to record a sack this season. The 16 sacks are the fourth most in program history and are six more sacks than the Bears tallied in 2019. Mercer's third highest sack total is 20 and came in 2015.
Over the past five seasons, the Bears have won three games against Chattanooga. Mercer won the 2017 and 2018 matchups before seeing their winning streak snapped last season. Two of the three wins for the Bears came at Five Star Stadium.
After playing in a limited role in the fall, redshirt junior linebacker Danijah Gammage has been making an impact during the spring season. He tallied a career-high 11 tackles in the win against The Citadel and followed that up with two seven-tackle performances the last two weeks. In the win over Western Carolina, Gammage recorded the first sack of his career. Over six games that Gammage has played in the season, he has tallied 31 tackles, three off of his career-high. He has tallied five tackles for loss and one sack this season, which are career-highs.
In the Bears' win over Western Carolina, the Bears Nakendrick Clark and Fred Davis scored their first touchdowns donning the Orange and Black. Clark scored his with 9:45 left in the first quarter, while Davis added his with 1:52 left in the first quarter. Both Clark and Davis rushed for two touchdowns in the win.

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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Players Mentioned

Nakendrick Clark

Fred Davis

Tyray Devezin

Caleb Dowden

Isaac Dowling

Danijah Gammage

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