Mercer football wins first playoff game, 17-7 over Gardner-Webb, behind stellar defense

The Mercer Bears played in — and won — the first playoff game in school history Saturday afternoon, beating the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 17-7 in a defensive showdown at Five Star Stadium in Macon.

The first-round win gives the Bears a chance to face South Dakota State, the No. 1 seed in the FCS tournament and the defending national champion.

“The last couple years, I feel like that just makes us hungrier and hungrier,” James said. “The hunt is always on, so we ate tonight, but we gotta go hunt again next week. We’re gonna try and get that meal too.”

Mercer will play the Jackrabbits on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m.

The win came in Mercer’s first appearance in the FCS playoffs, a tournament the team nearly made in each of the past four seasons under head coach Drew Cronic.

“I’m so proud of our program to get a playoff win. I think we beat a really good football team,” Cronic said after the game. “Seeing our hard work pay off, for them to be able to get in this tournament and win a game, that means a lot.”

The Bears defense held Gardner-Webb to just 49 rushing yards, a statement performance after the Runnin’ Bulldogs had more than 300 rushing yards in their last game. The defense’s strong performance also included three interceptions, two by young player Myles Weston and the other by senior leader Lance Wise.

Wise’s interception more or less sealed the game in the fourth quarter when the Bears were already ahead 17-7.

“Lance has been active this year, and he’s really had a great senior year and embraced that his eligibility if over,” Cronic said. “And then you look out there and young Myles Weston got a couple picks. That’s huge… Goin’ plus (in the turnover margin), we’ve been doing that lately. It’s complimentary football.”

While the defense stole the show, Mercer’s offense did the job. Wide receiver Ty James had a 100-yard game to fuel the offense.

“We just understood that our opportunities were gonna come,” James said. “You see a defensive game like that and you know, ‘Okay, well we’re gonna make our plays when we get a chance.’”

A gritty first-round game

The teams combined for just six first downs and seven punts early. Mercer took advantage of some Gardner-Webb penalties late in the period, though, and punched in the game’s first touchdown from two yards out early in the second quarter.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs tried to strike back on the ensuing drive, but could not finish the job after completing some solid passes. The Bears then took a two-possession lead after quarterback Carter Peevy took a quarterback draw 73 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0.

Gardner-Webb struck back with about six minutes left in the half when King hit a few long passes to set up a three-yard touchdown pass to the back of the end zone. The Runnin’ Bulldogs threatened again just before the end of the second quarter but threw an interception, keeping the score at 14-7 headed into the break.

Both teams drove down the field multiple times in the third quarter, but combinations of penalties and other mistakes — including a fumble by Gardner-Webb that Mercer recovered — kept the score at 14-7 into the fourth quarter.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs inserted a new quarterback, Gino English, midway through the third. It was unclear if starter Jaylen King was injured, though he remained on the sideline with his helmet on. Head coach Tre Lamb said after the game that the move was because of a combination of King being a little banged up and an attempt to change the pace.

The scoreless run held until Mercer kicked a field goal to make it a two-score game with about nine minutes left after a solid drive. Down 17-7 with their backs against the wall, the Runnin’ Bulldogs still failed to get their offense moving and had to punt.

After Mercer failed to add on and ice the game, Gardner-Webb got one more shot and put King back in to try and drive down the field. The Bears then notched two interceptions in the final few minutes of play to ice the game and punch their ticket to South Dakota.