Bears crush Wofford on the road 42-7, improve to 4-1 on the year

The No. 13 Mercer Bears had 554 yards of total offense and held Wofford to just 221 yards and won in convincing fashion 42-7 Saturday at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Bears’ (4-1, 2-0 SoCon) offense was well-balanced with 224 rushing yards and 330 passing yards. Devron Harper scored three touchdowns, making it back-to-back three touchdown games for Harper after scoring three last week at Gardner-Webb.

Fred Payton completed 20-of-25 (80%) passes for a season-high 330 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bears also had an effective day on the ground as four different players had rushing touchdowns.

Harper led the Bears with seven receptions for 126 yards and two receiving touchdowns. It marked the second consecutive game for Harper with more than 100 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Austin Douglas was the Bears’ leading rusher with 12 carries for 73 yards and one rushing touchdown.

The Bears’ defense was not to be outdone by its offense and put together another strong performance. The defense held its third straight opponent to under 100 rushing yards as Wofford had just 67 rushing yards on 2.7 yards per carry.

Michael Campbell led the team with 11 tackles and T.J. Moore and Juwan Johnson each had one interception. Both Moore and Johnson now have two interceptions on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After forcing a Wofford three-and-out Mercer marched right down the field. The Bears went 62 yards in 10 plays and Devron Harper took a jet sweep and dove in for an 8-yard touchdown run.

On Mercer’s next possession, the Bears went 80 yards in under three minutes and Al Wooten scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Bears up 14-0.

Two Bears drives were ended by fumbles, however Wofford missed two field goal attempts to keep it a 14-0 game.

With under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Fred Payton found Fred Jackson for a 17-yard gain on fourth and eight. It set up Mercer on Wofford’s 21-yard line. Austin Douglas capped off the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

The Bears began the second half just like they did in the first. Fred Payton led the offense right down the field and found Devron Harper for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Bears up 28-0.

T.J. Moore intercepted a deep pass from Wofford quarterback Jimmy Weirick on Wofford’s next possession.

With 5:53 remaining in the third quarter the Fred Payton completed a 62-yard touchdown pass to Devron Harper. Payton hit Harper in stride on a deep-post and Harper juked a defender for the touchdown.

Wofford got on the board after they were set up on a 72-yard return down to Mercer’s 18-yard line that gave them a short field to work with.

Mercer’s sixth touchdown of the game came on a 41-yard touchdown run from Brandon Marshall. It was Marshall’s first touchdown of the season and fourth rushing touchdown of the game for the Bears.

Mercer returns home to play Western Carolina Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.