Greenville, S.C. – Freshman Braden Atkinson threw for 426 yards and four touchdowns to lead 13
th-ranked Mercer to a 52-28 victory over Furman in Southern Conference play Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
With the victory, Mercer improved to 7-1 on the season and maintained its lead atop the SoCon standings at 5-0. The Paladins slipped to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
After Furman raced out to a 13-0 lead on a 14-yard touchdown toss from
Trey Hedden to Evans James and 67-yard run by
CJ Nettles, Atkinson tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Malik Simmons and an 18-yard scoring strike to CJ Miller to put the Bears in front 14-13. Mercer added a touchdown run by Miller and 44-yard field goal from Reice Griffith to score 24 consecutive points and carry a 24-13 advantage into the locker room.
Furman's
Caleb Easterling returned the second half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, but Atkinson answered with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Adjatay Dabbs to restore the double-digit lead at 31-20.
Ja'Keith Hamilton's 64-yard catch and run on a pass from
Trey Hedden was followed a two-point conversion pass to bring the Paladins within 31-28 with 12:41 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bears answered once again by capping each of their next two possessions with one-yard plunges, the first from Atkinson and second from Miller, to extend its lead to 45-28. Atkinson threw his fourth touchdown of the afternoon with a 37-yard toss to Adonis McDaniel in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Mercer gained 628 yards of total offense and converted 36 first downs while holding Furman to just 227 total yards and eight first downs. The Bears' defense sacked Hedden four times and registered seven tackles-for-a-loss.
Nettles rushed 15 times for a career-high 105 yards and a score to lead the Furman offense.
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it travels to face the Chattanooga Mocs. Kickoff is slated for noon at Finley Stadium.
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