Mercer football (8-1, 7-0 Southern Conference) beat conference foe No. 24 Western Carolina University (6-4, 5-1 SoCon) this Saturday, Nov. 8, 49-47, to get within one win of the program's second straight SoCon title. The win also solidified the No. 12 Bears' position in the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the third straight year.
It was a back and forth, offense-focused brawl between two SoCon heavyweights in Cullowhee, N.C. The game came down to the wire: WCU could have won the game with a 33-yard field goal, but freshman kicker Marcus Trout missed the kick, giving the Bears the close victory.
The Bears came into the match on a historic scoring streak, having put up 62 and 52 points in their last two matches. Quarterback Braden Atkinson '29 extended his streak of 300+ yards and 3+ touchdowns to a record-breaking five this game, finishing the WCU battle with 443 yards and three touchdowns.
WCU tore apart the Mercer secondary under quarterback Taron Dickens' decisive passing and consistent deep-ball threat: the sophomore signal caller finished with 551 yards and a season-high seven touchdown passes. Dickens' playmaking was disrupted by the Bears' defensive line, which collected four sacks and a safety in the game, but he was able to extend plays and scramble out of the pocket to lead the Catamounts with 40 yards.
Mercer's scrappy defense also forced a crucial interception in the second quarter, as well as a pivotal fumble in the third, all of which ended with Bears touchdowns. The game came down to the wire in the final quarter. Mercer's offense had given the team a 12-point lead, and it looked like all they needed was a singular stop to shift the momentum in their favor and put an end to the Catamounts' pesky comeback attempts.
However, the Bears' defense gave up a massive 54-yard touchdown pass from Dickens to Malik Knight, cutting into the Mercer lead early in fourth quarter, 39-34. On the ensuing drive, Atkinson answered with an 81-yard bomb to Adjatay Dabbs '28 on just the third play. After two consecutive punts, WCU engineered another successful touchdown drive, leaving the Bears on the defensive again.
This time, star running back CJ Miller '27, who had racked up two touchdowns in the game already, couldn't find any breathing room against a Catamount front that had struggled against the run coming into the game. Mercer was forced to punt and then gave up another big play that led to WCU retaking the lead for the first time since the first half.
The Bears scrambled to find an answer, and Miller delivered. The running back, who had been injured earlier in the season, continued his penchant for breakaway plays and caught a pass from Atkinson for 49 yards. The reception put Mercer in Catamount territory close to the two-minute warning with a chance to put the game away. A 13-yard dart to Kendall Harris '28 in the end zone was overturned due to offensive pass interference, backing the Bears up 15 yards and into field goal territory. Reice Griffith's '27 kick put Mercer up by just two points with 90 seconds left on the clock.
Dickens put together a six-play, 60 yard drive in less than a minute and a half to put the ball squarely at the Bears 15-yard line with three seconds remaining, the prime opportunity for a game-winning field goal as time expired. Trout, who had only attempted five field goals in his collegiate career going into the game, missed the 33-yarder as the clock hit zeroed out.
The Bears face off against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (5-5, 4-2 SoCon), at home on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Jacob Hossler '28 is an English and Law and Public Policy double major at Mercer University. While not serving as the Sports Editor at The Cluster, he enjoys running, writing and photography.
