Viva La Defense! No. 12 Bears Hold Off No. 23 East Tennessee State

Saturday, November 2

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

8-1 , 5-1

East Tennessee State

5-4 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

East Tennessee State

Mercer

Viva La Defense! No. 12 Bears Hold Off No. 23 East Tennessee State

11/2/2024 2:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Home-standing and 12^th-ranked Mercer scored 20 points off of four East Tennessee State turnovers and limited the nation's 8^th-ranked rushing offense to just 13 yards on the ground as the Bears tacked up their eighth-straight home win with a 37-31 triumph over the 23^rd-ranked Buccaneers on Saturday.

It was a program-record fourth Top-25 win of the season for the Bears (8-1, 5-1) who have now captured four of the last five matchups in the 10-game-old series with East Tennessee State (5-4, 3-2). The Buccaneers fell to 0-2 this season against nationally-ranked teams, including a 38-35 home loss to then-No. 2 (now No. 1) North Dakota State in September.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 37, East Tennessee State 31
RECORDS: Mercer (8-1, 5-1 SoCon); East Tennessee State (5-4, 3-2 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga.. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

An interception by Dainsus Miller set the Bears up inside East Tennessee State territory early in the first quarter, and Mercer took the lead four plays later. DJ Smith hit Brayden Smith with a 7-yard gainer on third down to set up a 36-yard field goal off of the foot of Reice Griffith. MU 3, ETSU 0

East Tennessee State answered on the ensuing play from scrimmage to take its first lead of the afternoon. Jaylen King took a 3-step drop and found a wide-open Hakeem Meggett down the center of the field on a 68-yard touchdown strike. ETSU 7, MU 3

The Buccaneers took over near midfield on their following possession and capped off a 9-play, 46-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard plunge by backup quarterback Gino English. Mercer appeared to have stuffed the drive minutes earlier, but a costly holding penalty on a 3^rd-and-14 situation gave ETSU an automatic first down inside the 10-yard line. ETSU 14, MU 3

Bears on the board first after a @Ford field goal from .@ReiceKicks !

Q1 | 10:57
Mercer 3, ETSU 0 pic.twitter.com/ulb4PWTpO7
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 2, 2024

2ND QUARTER

Mercer used its special teams and defense to tack a touchdown up on the board early in the second period. After a 39-yard punt from John McConnell pinned the Buccaneers at their own 1-yard line, Chris Joines punched the ball out of the hands of Bryson Irby on the ensuing play from scrimmage and Brayden Manley jumped on the loose ball in the end zone. ETSU 14, MU 10

Mercer's defense came up big, again, on the ensuing possession to retake the lead. Brayden Dudley crunched ETSU quarterback Jaylen King as he threw the ball on a 3^rd-and-5 attempt, and Marques Thomas picked off the errant pass and returned it 25 yards down the far sideline for a touchdown. MU 17, ETSU 14

BACK-TO-BACK DEFENSIVE TD'S ‼️🔥@MarquesThomas10 with a @Truist pick-six and we have the lead!

Q2 | 12:16
Mercer 17, ETSU 14 pic.twitter.com/ihhaXXxiEE
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 2, 2024

3RD QUARTER

The Bears brought some momentum out of the locker room, stuffing East Tennessee State on the initial possession of the second half, before putting together an 8-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Mercer got a break on a costly ETSU personal foul to keep the drive going, but Whitt Newbauer still completed all four of his pass attempts for 56 yards, including a 34-yard scoring toss to Kelin Parsons. MU 24, ETSU 14

It was more non-offensive points for the Bears later in the period. Tripp Slaton dove in front of Nate Brackett's punt attempt deep in ETSU territory, and Mic Wasson scooped up the loose ball and returned it 20 yards for a score. MU 31, ETSU 14

East Tennessee State finally broke its offensive drought on the ensuing possession when backup quarterback Gino English engineered a 5-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to get the Bucs back in it. English completed all three of his pass attempts on the possession for 58 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown strike to AJ Johnson. MU 31, ETSU 21

SPECIAL TEAMS TOUCHDOWN ‼️

Tripp Slaton blocks the punt and @WassonMic returns it for the @Truist TD! 💥

Q3 | 4:38
Mercer 31, ETSU 14 pic.twitter.com/kee5w7MFNb
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 2, 2024

4TH QUARTER

TJ Moore's school record-setting sixth interception of the season set the Bears up in East Tennessee State territory, and the hosts eventually added to their lead on a 36-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. Whitt Newbauer found Adjatay Dabbs on a 12-yard gainer on first down, and nearly had another touchdown pass on the next play, but his laser sailed off the outstretched hands of Tyrell Coard in the end zone. MU 34, ETSU 21

Gino English took the offense on his shoulders on a 5-play, 79-yard touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter that took just 50 seconds off of the game clock. English ran for eight yards on the opening play of the drive, then went 3-for-4 for 56 yards, including a 9-yard scoring pass to AJ Johnson. MU 34, ETSU 28

Mercer used a big penalty, as well as a big run from Dwayne McGee, to put the final nails in the coffin with less than two minutes left to play. ETSU jumped offsides on a pivotal 4^th-and-1 situation at the 35-yard line, and McGee broke loose on a 16-yard scamper to move MU down to the 20-yard line three plays later. The hosts eventually settled for a 31-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. MU 37, ETSU 28

East Tennessee State opted for a chess-like strategy on the ensuing possession, driving down to the Mercer 27-yard line before kicking a 44-yard field goal to make it a one-score game. East Tennessee State recovered an onside kick minutes later, but the play was negated on an offsides penalty. The next onside kick was touched by the placekicker one yard too early. MU 37, ETSU 31

INTERCEPTION ‼️

That's 6 of them on the year for @TMoore1215 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ntuiKhSPXT
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 2, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Dwayne McGee logged a season-best 25 carries for 124 yards to register his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.
+ Freshman Whitt Newbauer came in off of the bench to throw for 124 yards and one touchdown on 11-of-18 passing.
+ TJ Moore recorded a team-best eight tackles, while also tallying his school-record sixth interception of the season. Junior Marques Thomas logged six tackles and an interception on Saturday as well.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears moved to 5-7 all-time on Homecoming, but have now captured three of their last four Homecoming games at Five Star Stadium. It was their second win over a nationally-ranked team on Homecoming.
+ Mercer limited the SoCon's top rushing offense (8th NCAA) to just 13 yards on 30 carries. It is the fifth time this season that MU has yielded 29 or fewer rushing yards in a contest.
+ The Orange & Black has now captured eight-straight home games that stretches all the way back to a 31-17 victory over Wofford last season. Mercer has also captured five of its last six contests against nationally-ranked opponents.

UP NEXT

The Bears will close out the road portion of their Southern Conference schedule on Saturday when they make the long trip to Lexington, Va., to take on league rival VMI (1-8, 1-4 SoCon). Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting the VMI Tickets website.

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SUPPORT THE BEARS

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