Mercer looks to rebound against Western Carolina

The Mercer Bears got knocked down last week by third-ranked Chattanooga.

Bears head coach Bobby Lamb is interested to see how his team responds to that. He will find out at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Five Star Stadium against Western Carolina, with his Bears coming off a 52-31 loss to the Mocs.

Mercer is 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference while Western Carolina is 1-4 and 0-3 in the conference.

“It’s the great thing about sports and football — if you get knocked down, you have the opportunity to get back up and play again,” Lamb said. “We do that this Saturday against Western Carolina, a team that is 1-4. They’ve played East Carolina, East Tennessee State, The Citadel and Wofford. They’ve had a pretty tough schedule starting out.”

Mercer has, as well, with its losses coming to The Citadel and Chattanooga in conference play and Georgia Tech out of the conference. The Bears have lost to the Catamounts the past two years — 35-21 in 2014 and 24-21 in 2015.

Western Carolina has struggled on defense through its first five games, ranking ninth (last) in the Southern Conference in rushing defense (317.2 yards per game) and total defense (496.2 yards) and tied for eighth in scoring defense (33.6 points per game), while ranking second in pass defense (179.0 yards). Mercer is seventh in total offense (379.4 yards) and fifth in scoring offense (26.2 points).

“They’re big up front, so we have to focus on getting through the offensive line, and hopefully, that’s where the big plays will happen,” Mercer running back Alex Lakes said. “We just need to try and mix it up to keep them from getting comfortable on defense.”

Mercer is tied with Western Carolina for last in scoring defense, while the Bears are fourth in total defense (392.2 yards). The Bears’ passing defense, which is sixth in the conference, could be tested by the Catamounts and quarterback Tyrie Adams and running back Detrez Newsome.

Adams is second in the conference in passing at 262.4 yards per game, while Terryon Robinson is second with 41 receptions, and Newsome is averaging 73.2 yards rushing.

“This year, they have a new quarterback, and unfortunately, this is a name we’re going to hear for a while: Tyrie Adams,” Lamb said. “He is a clone of a guy named Armanti Edwards, who played at Appalachian State. He can really run the ball and throw the ball, as well. He’s only a freshman, so he’ll only get better as the year goes on and the season goes on. Tyrie Adams is a name to be remembered. Terryon Robinson is one of Western’s wide receivers, and he caught 15 passes last week — which I think is a Western Carolina record — against Wofford. He’s got 41 catches on the year and is a matchup problem for us. On the other side, Western has Spearman Robinson who is 6-4 and 215 pounds. He’s done a nice job of catching deep balls and getting matched up on cornerbacks he can go over to catch the ball.　

“It all starts with a guy named Newsome in the backfield. He’s an all-conference running back/kick returner who had a super year last year and made all-conference. He already has 14 catches out of the backfield this year, so they’re explosive on offense with a lot of weapons. After watching the Chattanooga game tape, Western is probably licking their chops to get to us.”

Of note: The third annual Mercer Bears Blondes vs. Brunettes Flag Football will kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The game benefits the Alzheimer's Association, Georgia Chapter, and will be played at Mercer’s intramural field next to Five Star Stadium.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Mercer looks to rebound against Western Carolina."