The Mercer University football team exploded with a huge first half, before cruising to 49-0 victory over Stetson on Saturday evening at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium.
Mercer recovered a fumble on the opening kick-off of the game and never looked back, building up a 35-0 halftime lead in a contest that it led for all but 48 seconds. The Bears’ offense rolled to a season-high 508 yards of total offense, as Alex Lakes paced the attack with a career-high 151 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
That proved to be more than enough help for the Mercer defense, who forced five turnovers to help pitch its first shutout of the season. The Hatters were held to 244 yards of total offense in the contest, as the Bears’ defense racked up six tackles-for-loss and two sacks on the night.
After ranking second in the FCS in rushing a year ago, the Bears once again used the ground game to dominate the contest. Mercer ran for a season-best 275 yards on the ground, as three players (Lakes, Payton Usher and Tee Mitchell) posted over 11 yards per carry in the game.
