Quick-strike Bears Blank VMI, Clinch Share Of SoCon Title

Saturday, November 9

Lexington, Va.

1:30 p.m.

Mercer University

9-1 , 6-1

VMI

1-9 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

VMI

Quick-strike Bears Blank VMI, Clinch Share Of SoCon Title

11/9/2024 2:11:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

LEXINGTON, Va. – Visiting and 10^th-ranked Mercer racked up more than 500 yards of total offense and pitched its first road shutout in more than a decade as the Bears clinched at least a share of their first conference title in 92 years with a 34-0 shutout of VMI on Saturday at Foster Stadium.

It was the seventh victory in the last eight regular season road outings for the Bears (9-1, 6-1 SoCon) who also matched a program superlative with their sixth conference win of the season as well. With the win, as well as Western Carolina's loss at East Tennessee State earlier Saturday, the Orange & Black clinched at least a share of its first SoCon title in program history, as well as its first league title since capturing the 1932 Dixie Conference crown.

VMI (1-9, 1-5) fell to 1-5 all-time at home against the Orange & Black, and has now dropped three-straight meetings in the series – all by 34 or more points.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 34, VMI 0
RECORDS: Mercer (9-1, 6-1 SoCon); VMI (1-9, 1-5 SoCon)
LOCATION: Lexington, Va. (Foster Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Bears used a big-gainer to highlight a 5-play, 61-yard scoring drive that put the first points of the afternoon on the board late in the first quarter. Dwayne McGee broke loose for 61 yards on the opening play of the possession, but Mercer netted no yards on the next three plays before getting a 32-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. MU 3, VMI 0

A 61-yard run for @DeeWeeBig3 has us in the red zone! 💨 pic.twitter.com/dCw3BhdMsO
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 9, 2024

2ND QUARTER

Dainsus Miller's fourth interception of the season set Mercer up near midfield early in the second quarter, and the visitors made it a two-score game five plays later. Whitt Newbauer's 11-yard run on a key 3^rd-and-8 situation set up a 4-yard touchdown run by CJ Miller seconds later. MU 10, VMI 0

Mercer capped a 13-play, 88-yard scoring drive right before the half on Whitt Newbauer's 4-yard pass to Kelin Parsons in the back of the endzone. Newbauer completed a trio of passes for 44 yards on the possession, but it was his 37-yard scramble on 2^nd-and-10 at the VMI 42-yard line that fueled the final result. MU 17, VMI 0

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️

A 13-play, 88-yard @Truist scoring drive is capped off by a @whitt_newbauer 3-yd touchdown pass to @ParsonsKelin 🙌

Q2 | 0:17
Mercer 17, VMI 0 pic.twitter.com/b2SIbEm1yP
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 9, 2024

3RD QUARTER

Mercer set up shop at its own 31-yard line on its second possession of the second stanza, and needed just two plays to pad their lead. Dwayne McGee was topped at the line on the initial down of the drive, but Whitt Newbauer found a wide-open Parker Wroble seconds later on a 69-yard scoring strike. MU 24, VMI 0

The Bears continued to pour it on with their ensuing possession, driving 61 yards on six plays before settling for a 30-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. Whitt Newbauer hit Apollos Cook on a 55-yard gainer to move the Orange & Black inside the 30-yard line, but the Keydets held tough after that. MU 27, VMI 0

.@whitt_newbauer shows off the arm strength again as he finds @ApollosCook for a gain of 55-yards! 💪 pic.twitter.com/CCLxv73ics
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 9, 2024

4TH QUARTER

A pair of big-gainers fueled a short drive for the Bears that put the final points of the afternoon on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter. Micah Bell scampered for 21 yards on the opening play of the possession, and Whitt Newbauer followed with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Parker Wroble. MU 34, VMI 0

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️

What a play from @parker_wroble who's got his second @Truist touchdown of the day! 👀🔥

Q4 | 9:32
Mercer 34, VMI 0 pic.twitter.com/J9niMnIbBi
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) November 9, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Freshman Whitt Newbauer threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-30 passing with no interceptions. He also logged eight rushing attempts for 42 yards.
+ Senior Parker Wroble caught three passes in Saturday's win, while also establishing career highs for both receiving yards (102) and touchdown receptions (2).
+ Redshirt sophomore Micah Bell led the ground troops with 12 carries for 69 yards. Senior Dwayne McGee logged nine carries for 67 yards.
+ Redshirt senior Ken Standley tallied a game-best 12 tackles, including a trio of solo stops and two tackles for loss.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's result gave Mercer its first road shutout since blanking Stetson, 49-0, in DeLand, Fla., on Sept. 13, 2014. It also marked MU's first-ever road shutout of a Southern Conference rival.
+ Mercer has now captured seven of its last eight regular season road games dating back to a 24-6 triumph at East Tennessee State last season. Saturday's victory also marked MU's fourth road win this season – its most since posting four victories away from home during the 1932 campaign.
+ Five of Mercer's six scoring drives on the afternoon spanned six or fewer plays, included three that milked 41 seconds or less off of the game clock.

UP NEXT

The Bears will close out the road portion of their regular season schedule on November 16 when they head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on perennial national champion Alabama (6-2) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. A limited number of tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/AlabamaTix.

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SUPPORT THE BEARS

Support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email maf@mercer.edu.