The No. 19 Bears (5-1, 4-0 Southern Conference) steamed past Princeton University (2-2, 1-0 Ivy League) on Saturday, 38-14, to extend their winning streak to five in a row.
In the game, an individual program record was set by kicker Reice Griffith ‘27. With an extra point kick in the third quarter, Griffith became the program's all-time scoring leader, surpassing Cole Fisher’s '18 record set in 2018.
The team came out firing against the Tigers defense, covering 72 yards in 13 plays on the first possession of the game, as quarterback Braden Atkinson ‘29 connected with receivers Kendall Harris ‘27 and Adonis McDaniel '27, among other players, to move the ball downfield. Atkinson finally connected with Malik Simmons '26 on a two-yard throw to take an early 7-0 lead.
After defensive end Kobe McInnis '29 forced a fumble to stall a Princeton drive, Mercer found the end zone once again in the first quarter, this time on a 47-yard, nine-play drive orchestrated by Atkinson. The freshman signal-caller targeted Harris for a 20-yard reception in a risky fourth-and-11 play before running back CJ Miller ‘27 punched the ball into the end zone on a 5-yard rush to end the quarter with a 14-0 Bears lead. Miller, who has been injured in recent weeks, shared the backfield with Tyrell Coard '27 and Ty Doughty '29 for the second week in a row.
In the second quarter, both teams put points on the board. Mercer completed another deep pass as Atkinson connected with McDaniel for a 56-yard reception. Atkinson continued his hot streak by finding tight end Samuel Albee ‘27 on a 23-yard pass to the end zone. It was Albee's second game with a touchdown reception this year after posting his first-career score last week.
After leading the team to the Tigers 19-yard line, Atkinson threw his fourth interception of the season, which was returned to the Bears' 43-yard line. Princeton capitalized on the short field position with a 43-yard, six-play drive that ended in the end zone.
Coming out of halftime, the Bears' stingy defense kept the Tigers at bay with a fumble recovered by linebacker Julian Fox '28, his second recovered fumble of the game. The turnover was caused by safety Carmelo O'neal '28, who recorded his first-career forced fumble during his first-career sack. The second-year player leads the team in pass breakups this year with six in six games.
After being set up on Princeton's 46-yard line, Brayden Smith ‘27 scored on a 10-yard reception that capped the seven-play drive. On the Tiger's ensuing drive, Mercer's defense forced another turnover, this time on a failed fourth-down attempt by Princeton. With the ball back, Adjatay Dabbs ‘28 recorded a 10-yard rush to make the score 35-7 heading into the final quarter.
The Bears started the fourth quarter with a field goal from Griffith, who extended his all-time points record at Mercer with the kick to 216.
Stat to know:
In the Bears' fifth-straight win, Atkinson remaining undefeated as the Mercer gunslinger. He has thrown for 300+ yards in four straight games, which broke the school record, and was given the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week award this week for his effort.
Mercer's offense has been high-powered under Atkinson, remaining undefeated and averaging over 31 points per game since he took over the starting job in Week 3 against Wofford College. The last time a freshman quarterback for Mercer averaged over 31 points per game and put together five wins was last season, when the Bears took home the SoCon trophy and made a historic playoff run in the FCS Playoffs.
Mercer has a bye week this upcoming Saturday and the team will take on Virginia Military Institute at home in a crucial conference matchup on Oct. 25.
Nevaeh Wilson '28 is majoring in Journalism and minoring in Film Studies. She has been writing for The Cluster since her freshman year, and has worked for Mercer's ESPN studio. She enjoys watching college and professional sporting events.
