Focus on finishing pays off in Mercer’s opener

Through the spring and offseason and into the preseason, the Mercer players and coaches focused on finishing.

All that talk paid off in the Bears’ season opener.

After being tied at the half, Mercer controlled the second half against Austin Peay to pull away for a 28-7 win. The Bears will look to continue that momentum in their home opener Saturday against Stetson.

“It’s always exciting to get win No. 1, especially on the road, going on the road for the first time with this team, especially in a place we’ve never been,” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said. “Obviously, we played Austin Peay last year (a 49-21 Mercer win), but it’s completely different when you go on the road, and they have a big crowd and a little bit different atmosphere.

“I thought we reacted well. We didn’t play very well in the first half with three turnovers, but we cleaned all that up in the second half and came out with a big victory.”

The Bears had two turnovers in the first half and had another series end on downs (Lamb counted that as a turnover), along with a missed field goal. That kept the game tied at 7. Mercer scored early in the second half and still held a seven-point advantage when linebacker Lee Bennett picked off a pass deep in his team’s territory to kill an Austin Peay drive in the fourth quarter.

Mercer then scored twice to put the game away.

“We had a lot more energy when we came back out (after halftime),” Bennett said. “Everybody was feeling good, and everybody was confident in what we were doing and following the game plan. And we just executed.”

They certainly did -- on both sides of the ball.

The defense allowed just 244 yards of offense, including just 56 rushing on 33 carries.

Making his first start, redshirt freshman defensive end Isaiah Buehler led the way with two tackles for loss. The Bears also rotated three cornerbacks who had combined for six previous starts as senior Alex Avant missed the game with an injury.

All of those starts were by Jeremy James, while redshirt freshman Brandon Gurley got the start on the other side and true freshman Stephen Houzah played 49 snaps.

“I was extremely pleased with our defense,” Lamb said. “We had a lot of guys who played who haven’t played a whole lot, and they did a great job.”

Mercer rolled up 437 yards with Alex Lakes (159) and Tee Mitchell (101) both rushing for more than 100 yards. Lakes had two touchdown runs, and Mitchell had the Bears’ final two scores -- one on a reception and one on a run.

“I felt good about it because our defense was playing so well,” Lamb said of his thoughts at halftime. “I was disappointed offensively because we turned it over and missed a field goal. We really had four miscues that we could have gotten points on the board. I really felt good coming out for the second half that we were going to run the ball with Lakes and Tee Mitchell, and that’s what we did. Our offensive line took the game over, and our defensive line controlled their front.

“We really finished and finished on a high note there in the fourth quarter. There was no ranting or raving (at halftime). We just said, ‘Here are the facts. We have 200 (yards), and they have 100. We have moved the ball up and down the field. We’ve just turned the ball over. We missed opportunities to score points. But if we go out here and take care of the ball, things will work for us.’ And it really did in the second half. I was really proud of the guys in the second half and the way we finished the game because that’s what we have been preaching all year long.”

Injury updates: Lamb said wide receiver Chandler Curtis suffered a lower leg injury and is day to day entering Saturday’s game with a decision to come Friday. Avant practiced Monday, and Lamb expects him to play. Running back Payton Usher likely will be out for the second straight week.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Focus on finishing pays off in Mercer’s opener ."