Mercer breezes past East Tennessee State
After three straight losses, including back-to-back setbacks of the heartbreaking variety, this was exactly the kind of game Mercer needed.
The Bears snapped their three-game losing streak and improved to 3-3 with a 52-0 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday at Five Star Stadium. The win upped Mercer's record under Bobby Lamb in non-conference games to 12-1, including 11-0 at home.
This game will count as a Southern Conference game next year when the Buccaneers (0-6) officially rejoin the conference.
"We talked about that all week long. We had three tough, very physical, hard-nosed football games that have gone down to the wire, and we weren't able to come up with a win," Lamb said. "So the main focus this week was, 'Let's win a game.' They wanted to win a game because they were 0-for this year, and we wanted to win a game because we hadn't won one in the last three weeks."
Mercer started quickly and never really slowed down, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second to lead 35-0 at the half.
The Bears finished with 29 first downs and 563 yards of offense, led by Tee Mitchell, who rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. Quarterback John Russ threw for 269 yards on 17-of-26 completions with three touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown.
Tight ends Robert Brown and Sam Walker were Russ' primary targets, catching four and three passes, respectively. Brown accounted for 82 yards and two touchdowns, while Walker had 55 yards.
Freshman receiver Marquise Irvin added four catches for 40 yards and his second career touchdown, while fellow freshman Jimmie Robinson had four catches for 62 yards.
"It was awesome. Coming into it, we knew if we'd execute the way we're supposed to we would come out big," Brown said. "We've got to use this as some momentum and get ready for VMI next week, and we've got to work on executing what we do every week."
The Bears were just as strong defensively, holding the Buccaneers to 228 yards of offense and 11 first downs. Lee Bennett led the Mercer defense with four tackles, while Tosin Aguebor had a sack, and Bennett recovered a fumble.
"It was a good job on our part," Bennett said of the shutout. "My teammates executed the way they're supposed to do, and that's a good boost for us going into the SoCon next week."
Mercer jumps back into conference play this week with a home game against VMI. The Bears' only conference win last year in their inaugural season in the conference came against the Keydets.
Mercer is 0-2 in the conference this season, while the Keydets are 0-3 and 1-6 overall. VMI, however, lost 24-21 to Furman in September and 33-27 to conference leader Chattanooga on Saturday.
"It's a big boost for us because VMI took Chattanooga to the brink (Saturday)," Lamb said. "They have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he can really throw it, and he gave us fits up there last year. It will be a great challenge for our team. It's homecoming, and like I told somebody, it's only the third homecoming we have had since 1941, so we need everybody to show up and have a great Saturday."
This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Mercer breezes past East Tennessee State ."