Mercer University
4-2 , 2-1
East Tennessee State
1-4 , 0-2
Football Uses Big Second Quarter To Stifle East Tennessee State
10/7/2023 4:00:00 PM | Football
It was the second-straight win for the Bears (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) who snapped a 0-for-3 drought at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, while also improving to 9-5 in the month of October under head coach Drew Cronic. The Bucs (1-4, 0-2) fell to 4-5 all-time in the series with the Orange & Black, and have now dropped six-straight league matchups dating back to last season's 55-33 setback in Macon.
| THE BASICS |
| SCORE: Mercer 24, East Tennessee State 6 RECORDS: Mercer 4-2, 2-1 SoCon; East Tennessee State 1-4, 0-2 SoCon LOCATION: Johnson City, Tenn. (William B. Greene Jr. Stadium) |
| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
No scoring.
|
| 2ND QUARTER |
| Ty James carried a bulk of the load on a 6-play, 67-yard scoring possession midway through the second period. The senior caught two passes for 66 yards on the drive, but it was Carter Peevy's lunge over center from the 1-yard line that finished it off. MU 10, ETSU 0 A 22-yard punt return from Devron Harper right before the intermission set the Bears up near midfield, and the Carter Peevy-to-Ty James show continued after that. Peevy found James on a 19-yard strike on the ensuing play from scrimmage, then fired off a 30-yard scoring pass to the senior wideout on the next play. MU 17, ETSU 0
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| 3RD QUARTER |
| A shanked punt attempt set the Bucs up at the 20-yard line on their initial possession of the second half, but the hosts went backward on the next three plays. Regardless, ETSU would get on the board with a 44-yard field goal from Ewan Johnson. MU 17, ETSU 3 East Tennessee State took over near midfield late in the third quarter and put together an 8-play, 39-yard drive that stalled inside the red zone. A 12-yard run by quarterback Timothy Dorsey on a key 3rd-and-8 situation moved the hosts down to the 14-yard line, but the Bears tightened up after that and limited the Bucs to a 23-yard field goal. MU 17, ETSU 6
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| 4TH QUARTER |
Mercer put the final points of the day on the scoreboard with 6-1/2 minutes left in the final period when Ty James hauled in a 50-yard pass from Carter Peevy and galloped into the endzone. Peevy completed all three of his pass attempts on the possession for 73 yards, including the long strike to James. MU 24, ETSU 6
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
| + Senior Ty James matched a school record with 14 catches for 285 yards and two scores. It was the ninth 100-yard receiving day of the Conyer native's career and pushes his program-best career receiving yards total out to 2,836. + Sophomore Carter Peevy threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-27 passing with no interceptions against the Bucs. A dozen of his passes went for 10 or more yards, including six strikes that ate up 20 or more yards. + Junior Ken Standley and sophomore Isaiah Washburn both led the Mercer defense with nine tackles apiece, with Standley also registering 1-1/2 tackles for loss. Both players also tallied a quarterback hurry. |
| NOTABLES |
| + Saturday's victory marked Mercer's first road win in the series with East Tennessee State. The Bears had lost three previous matchups with the Bucs at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium by a combined 11 points. Three of the Mercer's five wins in the series have been by 18 or more points. + The Bears held East Tennessee State to just 108 yards, including just 48 in the firsy half. Ten of ETSU's 15 possessions on the afternoon netted 10 or fewer yards, including a trio that produced negative yardage. + The Orange & Black defense finished Saturday's outing with 10 tackles for loss, including a trio of sacks. The 10 tackles for loss was the most for the Bears since posting the same amount in a win over Gardner-Webb on Sept. 24, 2022. The sack total was the most for Mercer since tallying five quarterback drops against The Citadel the week prior (Sept. 17, 2022). |
| UP NEXT |
| The Bears will open up a two-game home stand on October 14 when they welcome nationally-ranked Chattanooga to Macon for a 4 p.m. contest at Five Star Stadium. |
| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow Mercer Football on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Football on Facebook. |
| SUPPORT THE BEARS |
| Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit SupportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu. |
Team Stats
MER 3, ETS 0
MER - Griffith,Reice 33 yd field goal 15 plays, 70 yards, TOP 06:36
MER 10, ETS 0
MER - Peevy,Carter 1 yd run (Griffith,Reice kick), 6 plays, 67 yards, TOP 02:30
MER 17, ETS 0
MER - James,Ty 30 yd pass from Peevy,Carter (Griffith,Reice kick) 2 plays, 49 yards, TOP 00:28
MER 17, ETS 3
ETS - Johnson,Ewan 44 yd field goal 4 plays, -7 yards, TOP 01:26
MER 17, ETS 6
ETS - Johnson,Ewan 23 yd field goal 8 plays, 39 yards, TOP 04:03
MER 24, ETS 6
MER - James,Ty 50 yd pass from Peevy,Carter (Griffith,Reice kick) 5 plays, 78 yards, TOP 02:14
