Mercer bounces back from first SoCon loss with a blowout victory over Wofford

After dropping its first conference game a week ago, the Mercer Bears bounced back by knocking off Wofford 45-14.

The Bears were blown out at home by VMI a week ago after reeling off three consecutive wins to open up Southern Conference play.

A week after being held to just 200 yards of offense, the Bears put up more than 500 yards of offense against Wofford. The Bears got out to a good start scoring on the first drive of the game when Fred Payton hit Ty James for a 26-yard touchdown.

On the following drive, Mercer forced a quick three-and-out. After being held to just 18 yards against VMI and no touchdowns, Fred Davis rebounded with a touchdown to extend the Bears’ lead to 14 midway through the first quarter.

It looked as though the Bears might allow the Terriers back into the game as Bryce Corriston hit Alec Holt for Wofford’s first score of the game.

It was quickly followed by a scoop-and-score touchdown for Joe Beckett to tie the score at 14 after Payton mishandled the snap.

After the two teams traded punts, Mercer looked as though it would break the tie but as Payton sprinted for the end zone the ball popped free on a big hit by a Wofford defender.

On the first play of the next drive, the snap went over Corriston’s hand and into the end zone. Mercer linebacker Isaac Dowling recovered the fumble for the touchdown to put the Bears up 21-14 with under six minutes left in the first half.

Mercer kicker Devin Folser was another player who struggled against VMI, missing a pair of field goals against the Keydets. Folser got a bit of redemption against Wofford, hitting a 29-yarder just before the end of the first half. Mercer took a 24-14 lead into the half.

The Bears never looked back with three touchdowns in the second half and the defense that gave up 45 a week ago held Wofford scoreless after the break. Wofford was forced to punt on each of its second-half drives and had just one drive all night go for an offensive score.

It was the first time Mercer has beaten Wofford since joining the Southern Conference in 2014.

The win keeps Mercer (5-2) in the hunt for a SoCon title as it remained tied at the top with ETSU at 4-1 in conference play. VMI and Chattanooga are 3-1 in the conference. Mercer will be on the road next week to take on The Citadel.

Three stars

Ty James, Mercer WR: The theme of this game was bouncing back after the reality-check loss against VMI. James had no catches against VMI a week ago.

Against Wofford, James broke out with five catches for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns, tying a school record.

The UGA transfer was dynamic and used his speed to get behind the Terriers defense on multiple occasions.

Fred Payton, Mercer QB: Payton looked like his confidence might have taken a hit after a pair of fumbles early in the game. But he settled down to go 19-of-27 passing for 357 yards and three scores. It was easily Payton’s best performance this season.

Mercer head coach Drew Cronic stuck with Payton coming off the bad game against VMI and after the early mistakes. Payton rewarded his coach with a tremendous performance through the air.

Mercer defense: The Bears defense put together one of its most complete performances of the season and held the Terriers to 176 yards, including just 58 yards through the air.

Once Mercer got ahead, the defense was able to take away the passing game, which kept Wofford from mounting a comeback.

Michael Campbell came up with an interception and Issac Dowling came up with the fumble recovery for a touchdown. The two turnovers proved to be the key for Mercer as both were big momentum swings.

They said it:

“I think it shows we have a championship mentality to bounce back like we did. We aren’t going to let one bad day carry over. These are the reasons we didn’t play well last Saturday and let’s get those corrected. We were ready to play today and then we executed a lot of things.” - Mercer head coach Drew Cronic on bouncing back from loss to VMI.

“The Citadel beat VMI a few weeks ago. They present a different challenge because of the style of offense they will be a hard-nosed, physical football team. Our challenge this week will be to match that. And I think we will but we still have to go do that. We got to prepare to go do that. There is always another challenge ahead of you.” - Cronic on next week’s matchup against the Citadel.

“They challenge every week to get better. Coming off a big loss last week after giving up a lot of points and a lot of yards, they challenge us to dominate this game and we accepted the challenge.” - Mercer linebacker Isaac Dowling on the message from the coaching staff coming into the game.

“We are a tight-knit family here. And when you transfer in that is all you can really ask for. You come in and you’re nervous. You don’t really know what to expect with a new coaching staff that you have never played for. Everything they told me when they recruited me is 100% true.” - Mercer wide receiver Ty James on transferring in from UGA to Mercer.

What’s next?

Mercer at Citadel

Mercer will travel on the road next week to The Citadel.

A win will solidify the Bears as a contender for the conference title with games against Chattanooga and ETSU, two teams tied with Mercer at the top of the SoCon, left on the schedule.

The Bears would likely still need another VMI loss, but a loss to The Citadel could derail their hopes.

This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 9:56 PM.