Unde-NINE-able! No. 14 Bears Rally Past No. 24 Western Carolina

Saturday, October 26

Macon, Ga.

3:30 p.m.

Mercer University

7-1 , 4-1

Western Carolina

4-4 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Western Caro.

Mercer

Unde-NINE-able! No. 14 Bears Rally Past No. 24 Western Carolina

10/26/2024 3:38:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Home-standing and 14^th-ranked Mercer rendered its most rushing yards in nearly two seasons and used 24-straight points to rally back from an early 24-7 deficit on the way to a 44-34 victory over 24^th-ranked Western Carolina on Saturday evening at Five Star Stadium.

The triumph marked the ninth-straight series victory for the Bears (7-1, 4-1 SoCon) who also tacked up their seventh-straight home win in the process as well. Western Carolina (4-4, 3-1) fell to 1-5 all-time in Macon with the result, and have not tasted a victory over the Bears since a 24-21 nailbiter in Cullowhee, N.C., on Oct. 10, 2015.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 44, Western Carolina 34
RECORDS: Mercer (7-1, 4-1 SoCon); Western Carolina (4-4, 3-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga.. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Western Carolina was methodical on the game's opening possession, capping a 10-play, 68-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run from Jalynn Williams. Cole Gonzales completed four of his five pass attempts for 33 yards, while Branson Adams carried the ball twice for 23 yards. WCU 7, MU 0

The Catamounts used a clutch 4^th Down conversion to keep a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive alive on their following possession. The ground game proved key again, encompassing 33 yards on five attempts, including a 9-yard scoring run from Jalynn Williams. WCU 14, MU 0

.@whitt_newbauer rolls left and finds @DeeWeeBig3 for a gain of 22-yards and a @CadenceBank 1st Down! pic.twitter.com/3DGgFlWmBj
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) October 26, 2024

2ND QUARTER

An offsides call on a 37-yard field goal attempt gave the Bears new life amid an eventual 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that got the hosts back in the ballgame. Whitt Newbauer connected with Kelin Parsons on a 27-yard pass-and-catch that moved MU inside the 5-yard line, before finding a wide-open Brayden Smith in the middle of the end zone on the very next play. WCU 14, MU 7

Western Carolina answered back on the ensuing possession, culminating a 7-play, 51-yard scoring drive with a 31-yard field goal off of the foot of Paxton Robertson. Cole Gonzales fueled the possession with a 49-yard pass to Calvin Jones on a key 3^rd-and-10 situation from the WCU 35-yard line. WCU 17, MU 7

Although Cole Gonzales did plenty of damage with his arm amid a 7-play, 62-yard touchdown drive, it was his legs that inevitably capped the drive. Mercer flushed the signal caller out of the pocket on a 3^rd-and-8 situation at the 12-yard line, but Gonzales zig zagged his way into the end zone to make it a three-score afternoon. WCU 24, MU 7

Dwayne McGee shouldered the entire load on a touchdown drive late in the second period. The senior transfer busted out an 11-yard scamper on first down, and then scored on a 64-yard jaunt seconds later to trim the deficit. WCU 24, MU 14

Whitt Newbauer shone brightly on the ensuing Mercer possession, and pulled the Bears to within a field goal thanks to a 5-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that milked just 60 seconds off of the game clock. Newbauer completed both of his pass attempts for 70 yards, including a 42-yard strike to Kelin Parsons, and culminated the drive with a 2-yard bootleg. WCU 24, MU 21

.@whitt_newbauer puts it right in stride to @ParsonsKelin 🎯 pic.twitter.com/YFDhYWEaSz
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) October 26, 2024

3RD QUARTER

Dwayne McGee took the game in his own hands again to fuel Mercer's opening possession of the second half. A roughing the passer penalty on 2^nd-and-8 from the MU 23-yard line advanced the ball quite a bit, but it was McGee's 59-yard sprint two plays later that highlighted the drive. MU 31, WCU 24

Mercer used its ensuing possession to add to its lead, capping a 6-play, 45-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. Whitt Newbauer fueled the scoring drive with a 39-yard pass to Sawyer Burt, but the possession eventually stalled inside the 15-yard line. MU 34, WCU 24

Go up and get it @BraydensmithMU 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/N22KZ703du
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) October 26, 2024

4TH QUARTER

Western Carolina stopped its scoring drought with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was culminated with Cole Gonzales's 3-yard touchdown pass to Zion Booker. Gonzales completed a trio of passes for 46 yards on the possession, but the drive was aided bigly on a costly pass interference penalty midway through. MU 34, WCU 31

Mercer had another scoring opportunity set up on the ensuing play when Brayden Smith returned the kickoff to the WCU 41-yard line and used a clutch personal foul after the play to move the ball down to the 26-yard line. Western Carolina would hold tough, however, and the hosts were forced to settle for a season-long 40-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. MU 37, WCU 31

Western Carolina continued to keep the Bears within striking distance when it added a 44-yard field goal from Paxton Robertson with just less than 5-1/2 minutes left. The 8-play, 60-yard scoring drive was aided by a pair of penalties by the hosts, but the Catamounts had a 17-yard touchdown nullified by a holding call before settling for three points. MU 37, WCU 34

Mercer put the final points on the board with just less than two minutes left thanks to a 31-yard touchdown run by CJ Miller. Dwayne McGee toughed out a 21-yard gainer on the opening play of the drive, but the Bears also converted a key 3^rd-and-2 situation later in the drive to keep it going. MU 44, WCU 34

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️

Kept it on the ground for the entire 6-play, 77-yard @Truist scoring drive as @_cj2m caps it off with a 31-yard touchdown!

Q4 | 1:52
Mercer 44, Western Carolina 34 pic.twitter.com/v2kBIRit95
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) October 26, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Dwayne McGee accounted for 245 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including 223 yards on the ground (18 carries). It is the second-best rushing performance in the 50-plus seasons of the program, and the most rushing yards since Fred Davis ran for 276 yards on 28 carries against Samford on Oct. 2, 2021.
+ Freshman Whitt Newbauer threw for 234 yards and one touchdown on 10-of-21 passing, while also adding a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Newbauer averaged 23.4 yards per completion in Saturday's victory – the fifth-highest average per completion mark in program history.
+ Senior Kelin Parsons caught four passes for 102 yards to lead the receiving corp, but had three catches for 97 yards in the first half alone. It is the second-straight 100-yard receiving game for Parsons who registered a 6-catch, 106-yard performance last week at Samford.
+ Sophomore Brayden Manley led the Bears with a career-best nine tackles, including a career-high 2-1/2 sacks.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer has registered 44 or more points in six out of the last seven matchups with Western Carolina. The Orange & Black has averaged 49.3 points per game at home across that span.
+ The Bears finished with 314 rushing yards against Western Carolina on Saturday – the 12^th-most rushing yards in program history, and the most rushing yards for Mercer since it posted 346 rushing yards at VMI on Oct. 29, 2022.
+ Mercer's 548 offensive yards on Saturday marked the second time this season (Presbyterian) that the Bears have registered 500 or more total yards in a contest. It is the most total yards for MU since amassing 554 offensive yards at Wofford during the 2022 campaign.

UP NEXT

The Bears will wrap up a season-longest two-game home stand on November 2 when they suit up to battle Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State (5-3, 3-1 SoCon) on Homecoming at Five Star Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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