No. 14 Mercer Fends Off The Citadel, Matches Best Start Since 2013

Saturday, September 21

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

4-0 , 2-0

The Citadel

2-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

The Citadel

Mercer

No. 14 Mercer Fends Off The Citadel, Matches Best Start Since 2013

9/21/2024 6:41:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Junior D.J. Smith amassed nearly 330 yards of total offense, including a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore Tyrell Coard, as 14^th-ranked Mercer stayed perfect through four games for the first time since 2013 with a 38-21 victory over The Citadel on Saturday evening at Five Star Stadium.

It was the fifth-straight series win for the Bears (4-0, 2-0 SoCon) in their 22-game-old series with The Citadel (2-2, 0-1), and Mercer has now won 12 of its last 14 games in Macon as well. It is the fourth-straight season that the Orange & Black has won each of its first two home games.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 38, The Citadel 21
RECORDS: Mercer (4-0, 2-0 SoCon); The Citadel (2-2, 0-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Two long-gainers highlighted a 3-play, 65-yard touchdown drive for the Bears that milked just 83 seconds off of the game clock. Dwayne McGee threw the first punch on a 42-yard scamper around the left side, and DJ Smith finished off the scoring opportunity one play later when he delivered a dime to Tyrell Coard down the middle of the field. MU 7, CIT 0

The hosts went to work again on their next possession, using a healthy dose of pass calls to fuel a 7-play, 58-yard touchdown drive. DJ Smith completed all three of his passing attempts for 62 yards, and then finished off the possession with a 1-yard dive up the middle. MU 14, CIT 0

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️@IAmPr1metime0 puts it on a rope to @The_TyrellCoard for the @TruistNews TD! 🎯

Q1 | 7:22
Mercer 7, The Citadel 0 pic.twitter.com/FeQq5Tp1pW
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 21, 2024

2ND QUARTER

The Citadel drove inside the Mercer 5-yard line early in the second quarter before coughing up the football on a bad snap, but still managed to get on the scoreboard three plays later. Dominick Poole got his hands in front of a DJ Smith pass, tipped it into the air and then pulled it down and ran 13 yards into the end zone. MU 14, CIT 7

Johnathan Bennett's 60-yard pass to Javonte Graves Billips moved the Bulldogs inside the red zone for the second-straight drive, but the visitors came away with points this time around. Johnny Crawford used a short rush to move The Citadel to the 5-yard line, and then hauled in a 5-yard touchdown reception from Bennett. MU 14, CIT 14

Mercer put a jolt back into its offense on the ensuing possession, driving 75 yards in eight plays before capping off the drive on a 9-yard oopty oop. Brayden Smith hauled in a short pass from DJ Smith, then pitched it back to Tyrell Coard who sprinted to the pylon for the go-ahead score. MU 21, CIT 14

It did not take long for the Bears to tack up another touchdown on the scoreboard. On the ensuing play from scrimmage, TJ Moore stepped in front of a pass from Johnathan Bennett and returned it 39 yards down the near sideline. MU 28, CIT 14

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️@IAmPr1metime0 → @BraydensmithMU → @The_TyrellCoard for the @TruistNews TD! 🤩

Q2 | 1:05
Mercer 21, The Citadel 14 pic.twitter.com/YAgaGsLnjK
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 21, 2024

3RD QUARTER

A 54-yard pass on a key 3^rd-and-8 from its own 3-yard line keyed a 12-play, 99-yard touchdown drive for The Citadel that inched them back into the contest. Johnathan Bennett completed three passes for 71 yards on the possession, but Garrison Johnson finished it off with a pair of carries for the final three yards. MU 28, CIT 21

Mercer used the ensuing possession to quickly make it a two-score game again. DJ Smith did a bulk of the work on the 8-play, 65-yard drive, throwing for 29 yards and rushing for 31 more, including a 20-yard scoring scamper to finish off the possession. MU 35, CIT 21

TOUCHDOWN BEARS ‼️@IAmPr1metime0 is dynamic in the open field as he takes in from 20-yards out for the @TruistNews TD! 💨

Q3 | 3:58
Mercer 35, The Citadel 21 pic.twitter.com/t7tHsbXsgP
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 22, 2024

4TH QUARTER

Mercer stopped a big 4^th-down conversion attempt to set up shop at its own 17-yard line, and put together a 12-play, 68-yard scoring drive to put the final points of the night on the board. The Bears drove all the way down inside the 20-yard line, but a pair of costly penalties stalled the drive and the hosts were forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal off of the left foot of Reice Griffith. MU 38, CIT 21

The 32-yard @Ford Field Goal from @ReiceKicks is good!

Q4 | 7:26
Mercer 38, The Citadel 21 pic.twitter.com/nLRlUcmj74
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 22, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior D.J. Smith registered 329 yards of total offense on the night, throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing with one interception, while also carrying the ball 10 times for 76 yards and two additional scores.
+ Senior Dwayne McGee nearly cracked the 100-yard rushing plateau again, but had to settle for a 17-carry, 94-yard performance. He also caught one pass for seven yards.
+ Sophomore Tyrell Coard caught two passes for 39 yards and two touchdowns, while also logging four rushing attempts for 13 yards. Senior Kelin Parsons led the receiving corps with five receptions for 75 yards.
+ Seniors Isaac Dowling and Marques Thomas led the Mercer stop unit with eight tackles on Saturday. Thomas finished with 2-1/2 tackles for loss, including a quarterback drop.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer matched the 2013 squad for the second-best start to a campaign in the 50-plus seasons of the program. The 4-0 start is the best in the modern era (2013-present) of the program, but the 1931 Mercer Bears opened their season with a 5-0-1 record before suffering their first setback.
+ Sophomore Reice Griffith went 4-for-4 on point after touchdown kicks on Saturday to move into sole possession of first place in Mercer's record book for consecutive extra points made. Griffith has now converted on 55-straight PAT attempts.
+ The Bears have now captured five-straight Southern Conference home openers and moved to 5-6 in such contests with Saturday's result. Mercer has now won six-straight games against Southern Conference opponents dating back to last season as well.

UP NEXT

The Bears will take to the road again next week when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to go head-to-head with SoCon rival Wofford (2-1, 0-0 SoCon). Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting WoffordTerriers.com/Tickets.

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