No. 22 Bears Battle Back To Stymie Visiting Wofford

Saturday, September 13

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

1-1 , 1-0

Wofford

0-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Wofford

Mercer

No. 22 Bears Battle Back To Stymie Visiting Wofford

9/13/2025 11:19:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MERCER – Home-standing and 22^nd-ranked Mercer racked up nearly 470 yards of offense and used CJ Miller's acrobatic touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to take the lead for good as the Bears captured their sixth-straight Southern Conference opener with a 22-21 victory over Wofford on Saturday evening at Five Star Stadium.

The Bears (1-1, 1-0 SoCon) improved to 7-6 all-time in conference openers with the result, while also tacking up their fifth-straight victory against a league opponent, as well as their seventh-straight win against league foes in Macon. It was the fifth-straight series loss for the Terriers (0-3, 0-1) who have now dropped five-straight outings dating back to last season.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 22, Wofford 21
RECORDS: Mercer 1-1 (1-0 SoCon); Wofford 0-3 (0-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Five Star Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Mercer scored points on the game's opening possession as Reice Griffith capped an impressive 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive with a 19-yard field goal. Braden Atkinson completed all six of his pass attempts for 54 yards on the possession, including a 16-yard strike to Brayden Smith early on. MU 3, WC 0

The Bears went to work again on their next possession, driving 50 yards on seven plays before CJ Miller finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown dive up the middle. The drive was highlighted by Braden Atkinson's 31-yard pass to Adonis McDaniel on a key 4^th-and-3 situation at the Wofford 46-yard line. MU 10, WC 0

Fumble‼️

Great effort play from @BliTommy to force the fumble at the 1-yard line and @Isaacprince_11 falls on it for the touchback! 🫡#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/QmNoSLfWzY
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 13, 2025

2ND QUARTER

Wofford needed just one play to get itself back into the game with just 3-1/2 minutes left before the intermission. Ethan Drumm connected with Ivory Aikens near midfield and the sophomore took care of the rest to finish off the 80-yard scoring catch. MU 10, WC 7

The Bears would provide the final points of the second quarter, however, as Reice Griffith connected on a 40-yard field goal as time expired to push the lead back to six points. The scoring opportunity was set up on the previous play when Braden Atkinson found a wide-open Kendall Harris on a 32-yard pass-and-catch. MU 13, WC 7

Big gain for @M_Bell27 💨#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/aJ1gN9UrJf
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 13, 2025

3RD QUARTER

Wofford needed just more than 90 seconds of the game clock to take its first lead of the evening. Ihson Jackson-Anderson registered both a 16-yard run, as well as ensuing 10-yard catch, to set up Ethan Drumm's 51-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Scott. WC 14, MU 13

Eli Campbell's interception and ensuing 53-yard return on the ensuing Mercer possession set the visitors up inside the 10-yard line. Wofford opened the possession with a 5-yard run up the middle, and Ethan Drumm finished it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to CJ Adams. WC 21, MU 13

Mercer scratched the scoreboard again a few minutes later when Reice Griffith recorded his third field goal of the night, this time from 44 yards out. The drive was aided on a costly holding penalty by the Terriers early in the possession, but the Bears also converted a key third-down situation midway through with Braden Atkinson's 23-yard pass to Kendall Harris. WC 21, MU 16

.@ReiceKicks connects on a 44-yard @Ford field goal which ties his career long!

Q3 | 6:56
Wofford 21, Mercer 16#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/vwqiEjOzLw
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 14, 2025

4TH QUARTER

Mercer bridged the third and fourth quarters with what would turn out to be the final scoring drive of the evening. CJ Miller's 6-yard scamper moved the hosts inside the red zone, and then made a leaping catch in the end zone two plays later to put the Bears ahead for good. MU 22, WC 21

Touchdown Bears!

Braden Atkinson with a perfectly thrown ball to @_cj2m for the 16-yard touchdown! 🎯🔥

Q4 | 14:03
Mercer 22, Wofford 21#WeOverMe pic.twitter.com/jm17M3O33u
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) September 14, 2025

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Freshman Braden Atkinson threw for 316 yards and one touchdown on 26-of-37 passing in his collegiate debut. Eight of Atkinson's passes on the evening went for 15 or more yards.
+ Redshirt sophomore Kendall Harris matched a career-high with six receptions, while also registering a career-best 101 receiving yards. Half of Harris's receptions chewed up 15 or more yards apiece.
+ Sophomore Andrew Zock turned in a team-best eight tackles while also matching a school record with 4-1/2 tackles for loss. Zock also established a new MU record with his 22^nd career quarterback hurry as well.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's result gave the Bears their sixth-straight win in SoCon openers. Mercer, who also now sports a five-game win streak against league foes, has now captured 14 of its last 16 outings against SoCon foes. MU has now won seven-straight league games at Five Star Stadium as well.
+ Mercer improved to 11-7 all-time in the series with Wofford, and has now won five-straight games against the Terriers. That includes a three-game win streak against the Terriers in Macon.
+ Mercer improved to 25-11 against FCS teams in the month of September since bringing football back to campus in 2013. The Orange & Black has also won six-straight games in the calendar's ninth month.

UP NEXT

Mercer will open the road portion of its regular season schedule on September 20 when it treks to Charleston, S.C. to take on The Citadel at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and tickets can be purchased by visiting The Citadel's ticket portal.

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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.