Atkinson, Zock Crowned With SoCon Weekly Awards

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The stream of weekly performance awards from the Southern Conference continued to flow freely for Mercer on Monday afternoon when freshman quarterback Braden Atkinson was crowned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, while sophomore defensive end Andrew Zock was named as the league's Defensive Player of the Week.

Both individuals were instrumental on Saturday as the Bears wrapped up the home portion of their regular season schedule, while also capturing their second-straight outright SoCon championship, with a convincing 63-17 win over league nemesis Chattanooga.

Monday's announcement marked the fourth league weekly award of the season for Atkinson. It is the first career SoCon weekly award for Zock.

A product of Rolesville, N.C., Atkinson threw for 321 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing with one interception against the Mocs. He broke three single-season school records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and pass completions, while also tallying scoring tosses of 33, 6, 12, 6 and 32 yards. Four different receivers registered touchdown receptions.

Zock, a native of Citra, Fla., posted 3-1/2 tackles for loss (-21 yards), including 1-1/2 sacks (-9 yards) to cement himself as Mercer's single-season leader in both categories. He tallied six tackles on the night, including two solo stops, while also logging both a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.

Sixth-ranked Mercer (9-1, 8-0 SoCon) will snap the lid on their regular season schedule on Saturday when it treks to southeast Alabama to take on Southeastern Conference foe Auburn (4-6, 1-6 SEC) in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

Atkinson, Zock Crowned With SoCon Weekly Awards

Players Mentioned

Braden Atkinson

Andrew Zock

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