No. 12 Mercer Stymies No. 23 Wofford, Attains Best Start In School History

Saturday, September 28

Spartanburg, S.C.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

5-0 , 3-0

Wofford

2-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

Wofford

No. 12 Mercer Stymies No. 23 Wofford, Attains Best Start In School History

9/28/2024 2:43:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Visiting and 12^th-ranked Mercer limited 23^rd-ranked Wofford to just 146 yards of total offense, including a paltry 16 yards on the ground, to fuel a 22-3 win over the Terriers on Saturday and tack up its best start in the 51 seasons of the program.

The triumph gave Mercer (5-0, 3-0) its seventh-straight victory against a Southern Conference opponent, while also giving the Bears their third win in the last four outings against nationally-ranked FCS opponents, including a pair of wins this season (Chattanooga). It was the fourth-straight series loss for the Terriers (2-2, 0-1) who fell to 1-2 against top-20 opponents this season, including a road victory earlier this season at then-No. 14 Richmond.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 22, Wofford 3
RECORDS: Mercer (5-0, 3-0 SoCon); Wofford (2-2, 0-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Spartanburg, S.C. (Gibbs Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The first fumble of the season for the Bears set the hosts up at the Mercer 17-yard line, and Wofford was able to put the first points of the afternoon on the board. A seven-yard scurry on 3^rd-and-11 saved the possession from producing negative yardage, and Devery Cagle's 28-yard field goal gave MU its first deficit of the season. WC 3, MU 0

The Bears knotted things back up with a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive late in the opening period. DJ Smith completed all four of his pass attempts for 49 yards, but Wofford held tough after the visitors set themselves up with a 1^st-and-Goal situation at the 6-yard line. Reice Griffith inevitably connected on a 22-yard field goal. WC 3, MU 3

.@Kendall_Harris7 goes down low to make the catch on 3rd Down for a @CadenceBank First Down! pic.twitter.com/njC3Pltnn6
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 28, 2024

2ND QUARTER

Hess Horne engineered a 9-play, 47-yard scoring drive that gave the Bears their first lead of the afternoon just more than midway through the second quarter. Horne completed two passes for 37 yards, including a 31-yard gainer to Adjatay Dabbs on a key 3^rd-and-10 situation, but Mercer ultimately settled for a 36-yard field goal from Reice Griffith. MU 6, WC 3

SACK 😤 @AndrewZock1 pic.twitter.com/139Rf3kVYc
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 28, 2024

3RD QUARTER

The Bears tacked up the first unconventional points of the afternoon to provide the first score in the second half. After stuffing the Terriers for three-straight plays inside their own 10-yard line, Mercer's Kaleb Hutchinson leapt in front of Sam Spence's punt attempt in the middle of the end zone. MU 8, WC 3

Blocked punt for a SAFETY ‼️ 🔥@kalebhutch went airborne to block the punt! 👐

Q3 | 6:00
Mercer 8, Wofford 3 pic.twitter.com/knD8ilRt0C
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 28, 2024

4TH QUARTER

Unconventional points were the story again for the Bears in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Juwan Johnson stepped in front of a 2^nd-down pass from Amari Odom and returned it 36-yards untouched to the end zone to give MU its first two-score advantage of the afternoon. MU 15, WC 3

An interception by Dainsus Miller on the ensuing possession by Wofford set the Bears up at the hosts' 23-yard line, and it took just two plays to convert the turnover into points. Brayden Smith toughed out a 2-yard rush on the ensuing play from scrimmage, and then hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Hess Horne seconds later. MU 22, WC 3

PICK 6 ‼️@IamJuwanJohnson sits under the route and takes it back 40-yards for the @TruistNews TD! 🤩

Q4 | 13:27
Mercer 15, Wofford 3 pic.twitter.com/3ajIQ9a76x
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 28, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Dwayne McGee led the Mercer ground game with 17 carries for 55 yards, while redshirt sophomore CJ Miller toted the ball eight times for an additional 29 yards.
+ Redshirt freshman Kendall Harris caught six balls for a team-best 59 yards, while sophomore Brayden Smith hauled in four passes, including a 21-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter.
+ Redshirt junior Hess Horne registered a career day in relief of junior DJ Smith under center. Horne threw for 100 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on 10-of-17 passing with one interception. He also finished with two rushing yards as well.
+ Three different players recorded interceptions for the Bears, including junior Dainsus Miller who turned in a pair of picks. Chris Joines got on the interception party as well, while Juwan Johnson returned his pickoff 40 yards for a touchdown in the final period.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears limited the Terriers to just 16 yards (20 carries) on the ground - the fourth time this season that Mercer's defense has yielded 19 or fewer rushing yards.
+ Mercer's four interceptions in Saturday's victory marked its most pickoffs since recording four interceptions in a home win over Western Carolina on Oct. 8, 2022.
+ The 2024 edition of the Bears is the first squad to open a season with five-straight victories. The 1931 squad won its first four games of the season, before settling for a tie at John Carroll in Week 5.

UP NEXT

The Bears will get a much-needed bye week next week, but will resume their 2024 regular season schedule on October 12 when they welcome Ivy League foe Princeton (1-1) to Macon for a 3:30 p.m. contest at Five Star Stadium. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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