Bears' Winning Streak Snapped by Bulldogs

Saturday, April 17

Birmingham, Ala.

1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT)

Mercer University

5-6 , 5-3

Samford

4-3 , 4-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

Samford

Photo by: Jen Jones

4/17/2021 6:40:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Mercer suffered a 44-20 defeat to Samford.

By: Kraig Doremus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer Bears were unable to string together five consecutive wins as they suffered a 44-20 setback to the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham.

Deondre Johnson ran for career high 158 yards on 22 carries, becoming Mercer's first 100-yard rusher of the season. Johnson also found the endzone on two occasions. Carter Peevy and Harrison Frost combined to go 13-of-26 under center for 256 yards. Defensively, Isaac Dowling made a career best 17 stops, while forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass.

Mercer (5-6, 5-3 SoCon) put together a strong first drive with Johnson scampering for 19 yards to the Mercer 44-yard line on the team's first play from scrimmage. On the Bears' third play, Peevy ran for 30 yards before being tackled at the Samford 34-yard line. Mercer advanced to the Bulldogs' 17-yard line thanks to 17 yards on two carries from Johnson, but those yards were erased on the following two plays, and following an incomplete pass on third down, a 33-yard field goal attempt was wide left.

Samford's (4-3, 4-3 SoCon) opening drive stalled at the Bears' 38-yard line, and Mercer was unable to take advantage of a 14-yard rush from Johnson on its second drive, which ended on its own 35-yard line. The Bulldogs got on the board via a 44-yard field goal with 4:02 to play and after a three-and-out by the Orange & Black, Samford's DeMarcus Ware ran into the endzone from 30 yards away, extending the Bulldogs' lead to 10-0 with 1:02 remaining in the opening quarter.

Mercer punted to open the second period but pinned Samford deep in its own territory as the Bulldogs' drive began at their three-yard line. Samford gained 30 yards over its first six plays, and on the seventh play, Liam Welch's 56-yard pass moved the 'Dogs to the Mercer 11-yard line. Two plays later, Samford's Jay Stanton's four-yard TD run along with the extra point by Michael Fineran extended the home team's lead to 17-0.

Samford added a pair of touchdowns before the Bears got on the board as time expired in the first half. Peevy's 38-yard pass to Ty James moved the Bears from their own 19 to Samford's 43-yard line, and later in the drive, Peevy connected with his roommate, Ethan Dirrim, for 36 yards to move the Bulldogs' one-yard line. Johnson did the honors, punching the ball across the goalline for the touchdown as the clock hit 0:00.

The air attack worked wonders for the Bears on their first drive of the third quarter. After Johnson moved the chains on third-and-one, Peevy found Isaia Harris for 64 yards, moving the Orange & Black to the Samford two-yard line where Julian Beris scored to make it a three-possession game, 31-14 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs responded, marching to the Mercer five-yard line where they eventually faced fourth-and-goal, and Fineran entered for a 22-yard field goal try. His attempt was blocked by Yahsyn McKee, who kept the Bulldogs from adding to their lead and gave Mercer the ball its 20-yard line. Peevy's 23-yard scramble into Samford territory was the highlight of the drive, but three players later, Samford recovered a fumble at its own 34 with 4:11 to play in the period and did not allow the Bears to pull within 10 points.

The Bears' defense held strong with DJ McDaniel recording a pair of quarterback hurries on Samford's three-and-out drive, but Mercer did only slightly better after regaining possession. Peevy found Brandon Marshall for a 14-yard gain which moved the Orange & Black into Samford territory, but the Bulldogs stopped Johnson on fourth-and-two for a turnover on downs with just 12 seconds left in the third quarter.

Once again, Mercer's defense showed its impressive playmaking ability after the Bulldogs took over. Samford had first-and-goal from the Bears' four, but Richie Coffey made his presence known, stopping Stanton for a loss of three yards on first down before breaking up a pass intended for Kendall Watson on the next play. Dowling hit Chris Oladokun as he reached the line of scrimmage on third-and-goal, keeping the Bulldogs out of the endzone and limiting them to only a field goal, which Fineran converted from 20 yards with 12:05 remaining in the game.

Frost took over under center on the second play of Mercer's next drive and quickly found James for a 16-yard gain and a first down. Nakendrick Clark picked up 12 yards on two carries, forcing Samford to burn a timeout and stop the Bears' momentum. The timeout did no good for Samford as Frost promptly hit Marshall for 29-yards, moving the Bears to Samford's 18-yard line. Two plays later, he connected with Dirrim on a 16-yard TD pass to make it a 34-20 contest with 9:42 to go.

Facing fourth-and-17 from Mercer's 39, the reliable Fineran increased the Bulldogs' lead to 17 points with a 47-yard try that found its way inside the uprights with 7:26 on the clock. The 'Dogs then stopped Mercer near midfield, and Stanton sprinted 48 yards to the Mercer four-yard line to start the 'Dogs' drive. Immediately after timeout disaster struck for Samford, as Dowling forced Welch to fumble the football, which was recovered by Mercer's Chris Hill with 2:45 to play.

The Bears started the drive on their one-yard line and needed only three plays to get to the Samford 40 as a pass interference penalty, 24-yard run by Johnson and 12-yard toss from Frost to James moved Mercer into Bulldog territory. The Bears' drive stalled there, however, as a pair of incompletions and two sacks gave the ball back to Samford. On the first play of the drive, Stanton ran 44 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Bulldogs' lead as Samford handed Mercer a 44-20 loss in the regular season finale.

Post-Game Show

Kraig Doremus · Coach Cronic Interview Vs Samford

Offensive Star
Johnson was a force to be reckoned with, running for 158 yards and two scores. The redshirt sophomore from Reidsville, Ga.,'s longest run was 22 yards, and he averaged an impressive 7.2 yards per carry.

Defensive Star(s)
Dowling, who had back-to-back 16-tackle games to start the 2020-21 campaign, made a career best 17 stops on Saturday, including 11 tackles solo. The freshman linebacker from Lawrenceville, Ga., also forced a fumble and broke up a pass.

Stats That Matter
Johnson ran for 158 yards, and the Bears picked up 246 yards as a team with Johnson and Clark combining for 212 yards. Johnson and Beris accounted for all three of Mercer's touchdowns in the loss.

Notables

Johnson set a new career high with 158 rushing yards. It was the first time a Bear surpassed 100 yards rushing this season.
Johnson's two touchdowns are his most in a single game.
Harris set a career high with 71 receiving yards and tied his career best with two receptions.
Dowling broke his career high of 16 tackles with 17 stops (11 solo, 6 assisted) in Saturday's defeat.
Dowling's 17 tackles are tied for the third most in one game in Mercer football history.
McKee made five solo stops in the game, the most of his career.
Michael Campbell matched his career high with six solo tackles. TJ Moore also set a new personal high with four solo stops.
Hill recovered his first career fumble and made two tackles for a loss, a new career high.
The Bears' 246 yards on the ground were their second highest total this season. Mercer had 308 rushing yards in a March defeat of Western Carolina.
Mercer eclipsed 200 yards rushing against Samford, Western Carolina and Chattanooga.
The Bears' 58 solo stops were their most on the season, surpassing the 50 solo tackles made against VMI.
Mercer matched its season high with eight tackles for a loss.
The Bears rushed for 1,844 yards throughout the regular season, the most since 2016.
The Orange & Black's 935 tackles in 2020-21 are second only to the 2019 squad's 1,0003 stops.
Mercer's defense sacked the opposing quarterback 28 times, which ranks second in program history. The 2013 squad, which marked the return of Mercer football, recorded 35 sacks.

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