Saturday, November 12
Macon, Ga.
3 p.m.
Mercer University
7-3 , 5-2
13
vs
23
Furman
8-2 , 6-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Furman
3
7
10
3
23
Mercer
0
7
0
6
13
Team Stats
FUR
MER
Total Yards
460
313
Pass Yards
297
263
Rushing Yards
163
50
Penalty Yards
30
55
1st Downs
20
19
3rd Downs
6
4
4th Downs
0
4
TOP
29:45
30:15
1st Quarter
FUR 3, MER 0
FUR - Williams, Ian 44 yd field goal 6 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:56
2nd Quarter
FUR 3, MER 7
MER - Ty James 3 yd pass from Fred Payton (Devin Folser kick) 11 plays, 63 yards, TOP 6:01
FUR 10, MER 7
FUR - Huff, Tyler 7 yd run (Lepvreau, Axel kick), 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:29
3rd Quarter
FUR 17, MER 7
FUR - Harris, Joshua 56 yd pass from Huff, Tyler (Lepvreau, Axel kick) 2 plays, 85 yards, TOP 0:49
FUR 20, MER 7
FUR - Williams, Ian 36 yd field goal 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:51
4th Quarter
FUR 23, MER 7
FUR - Williams, Ian 36 yd field goal 9 plays, 62 yards, TOP 4:59
FUR 23, MER 13
MER - Travion Solomon 11 yd pass from Fred Payton (Fred Payton rushfailed) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:12
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
28
TD
2
YDS
263
INT
0
No. 11 Mercer Falls to No. 16 Furman 23-13
11/12/2022 9:02:00 PM | Football
Devron Harper had a career-high 14 receptions for 192 receiving yards
MACON, Va. – No. 11 Mercer (7-3, 5-2) dropped its home finale to No. 16 Samford (8-2, 6-1), 23-13 at Five Star Stadium on Saturday evening.
Devron Harper had a career-high 14 receptions for 192 receiving yards. Quarterback Fred Payton set the Mercer single-season passing yards record late in the first half with a completion to Trey Adkins.
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Payton now has 2,505 passing yards on the season, eclipsing the previous Mercer record held by John Russ since 2016 when he threw for 2,345 passing yards that season.
The 13 points scored by Mercer were the fewest scored by the Bears all season. The Mercer offense couldn't get into a rhythm as they had trouble running the ball all night. Furman held Mercer to just 53 rushing yards, its fewest all season. It didn't help the Bears' offense when wide receiver Ty James was disqualified from the game in second quarter for targeting when he tackled the Furman punt returner after the Paladin returner fumbled the punt.
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Furman's offense was able to stay balanced, rushing 35 times for 167 yards and a touchdown. Through the air, Furman quarterback Tyler Huff was 19-for-31 for 293 yards and a touchdown.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both defenses showed up from the start in this one. Furman got on the board first when they connected on a 44-yard field and took a 3-0 lead with just over two minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Mercer offense responded on its next possession. The Bears went 10 plays, 63 yards in six minutes as Fred Payton found Ty James in the corner of the end zone to put the Bears up 7-3.
Furman turned it over on downs twice and Mercer once before Furman quarterback Tyler Huff had a 7-yard rushing touchdown on third and goal to give Furman a 10-7 lead at the half.
In the second half both teams had explosive plays that went for a touchdown or set them up for points. On Furman's second offensive possession of the second half, Furman quarterback Tyler Huff found wide receiver Joshua Harris over the middle who broke a couple of tackles and took it all the way for a 56-yard touchdown to extend Furman's lead to two scores at 17-7.
Mercer's next offensive drive stalled at the Mercer 33-yard line when Payton caught his own pass and lost 10 yards on the play forcing the Bears to punt.Â
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One the following Furman possession, Furman's Tyler Huff found running back Dominic Roberto wide open over the middle for a 50-yard gain that set up a Furman 36-yard field goal to make it 20-7 Furman. After Mercer punted on four plays, Furman drove 62 yards and kicked another 36-yard field goal to extend their lead to 23-7 with just over nine minutes to play.
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Still down two possessions, Mercer needed to score and score quickly which they did. The Bears went seven plays, 75 yards and Fred Payton found Travion Solomon over the middle for an 11-yard touchdown.
The drive was set up by a 52-yard reception from Devron Harper. The Bears needed just 3 minutes and 12 seconds to score.That was a 7 play, 75 yard drive that took just 3:12 off the clock#RaiseTheBar | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/IOtH2Hsnvh
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 12, 2022
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However, Mercer was unable to convert the two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game. Furman's defense held Mercer on its next possession to pick up the 23-13 win.
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UP NEXT
Mercer heads to Birmingham, Alabama to take on No. 10 Samford on Saturday, Nov. 19. The Bulldogs (9-1, 7-0) have already clinched at least a share of the Southern Conference regular season championship.
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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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