Let the party begin: Mercer officially wins first-ever Southern Conference title with 49-23 win over Furman

The celebration couldn’t officially start until the clock ran out.

But up by 26 points and in control of the game with a quarter and a half left, well, helmets were off and there was a little dancing here and there and smiles galore.

“To see our kids put it together today and leave no doubt to win the first (Southern Conference) championship in school history … is just a really special thing to be a part of,” Mercer head coach Mike Jacobs said. “I knew we were going to be ready to play.”

No, it wasn’t too early to start assuming that Mercer was headed toward clinching the Southern Conference title outright and first 10-win season in the modern era, which it did with a 49-23 win Saturday at Five Star Stadium.

The Bears (10-2, 7-1) didn’t take the foot off the gas and started reaching for the toolbox and the hammer to put a nail in Furman’s coffin pretty early.

The sideline got even looser after Adjatay Dabbs’ highlight catch in big coverage on a pass from D.J. Smith followed by a major second-effort short touchdown run from freshman Billy Martin as fresh uniforms took over early in the fourth quarter.

That put the Bears up 49-16 with 9:28 left, more than officially ending the suspense and allowing for a conference championship trophy to start being engraved. Mercer couldn’t hit the half-century mark, but that was countered by getting dozens of Bears almost a quarter of action. In November. Against Furman.

Jacobs showed impressive deftness as the clock ran out and his team plotted to douse him, the former offensive lineman avoided more than one try.

“They got my back a little,” he said. “I got a little bit of a sixth sense. The first time you win one, they usually get you pretty good. I kinda sensed it coming.”

It was one of the few misses for the Bears.

Jacobs then plopped to the turf in front of his team with the Southern Conference trophy, a mob of Mercer fans, students and family covering a large portion of the field with cameras out and a mock Mercer newspaper page proclaiming them the champs.

Tight end Sawyer Burt, who caught a first-half touchdown pass, fired up a cigar. Off to the side of the team circle surrounding Jacobs stood a crying Mercer president Bill Underwood.

To get to that party point, though, Mercer first had to take care of a nemesis and one of the Southern Conference’s standard-bearers in a rebuilding mode.

“They had so much roster roll-over,” Jacobs said. “They’ve got a bunch of guys that are freshmen and redshirt freshmen that are playing for them right now. They’ve made people work for it.”

Furman (3-8, 2-5) led for a little bit, at 7-0 and 10-7. A scoop and score of 35 yards by Tommy Bliss made it 21-10 and Burt caught a 7-yard score with 1:19 left in the second quarter en route to a 28-13 lead for Mercer.

There were some mild lapses at times early in the third quarter, starting with a three and out, then a punt and penalty that put Furman in good field position at Mercer’s 41.

The Bears adjusted any such thinking, stopping Furman, which did get a dazzling 57-yard field goal from Ian Williams to pull the Paladins within 12 and inspire reminders that Furman is Furman, and is rarely done early.

“We settled in,” Jacobs said. “We’re getting stops on defense. That’s what we try to do. We try to just smother folks, and try not to make many self-inflicted mistakes.”

The Bears and Dwayne McGee and Whitt Newbauer marched Mercer 75 yards, sparked by Newbauer’s 26 yard pass to Adjatay Dabbs to set up McGee’s 12-yard run and then 16-yard touchdown.

Reice Griffith’s kick made it 35-16 with 8:22 left in the third.

T.J. Moore’s seventh interception of the season came on Furman’s first play, and Newbauer dropped another long strike, for 31 yards to Dabbs again, three plays later for another score, and a 42-16 lead with 7:29 left in the third.

The hammer and nail were very close to the Furman coffin.

The Bears couldn’t convert a muffed punt thanks to a tipped interception, but the defense kept Furman frustrated. The Paladins finally managed another score at the 7:55 mark of the fourth quarter, which didn’t even half the margin.

Newbauer, who took over in the middle of the season for the injured Smith, completed 18 of 28 for 257 yards, Dabbs catching eight of them for 181 yards and two scores. McGee went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season during his 74-yard night that included a touchdown and several powerful defender-flattening runs.

“He’s my guy,” Jacobs said of McGee, who also came to Mercer from Lenoir-Rhyne. “He’s like a son to me. We’ve been through a whole bunch of ups and downs, more ups than downs.”

Ken Standley led a balanced defense with nine tackles, one more than Isaac Dowling, while Arias Nash had two sacks. Furman managed 249 yards passing, the first touchdown coming on a 30-yard receiver pass from Gavin Hall. Quarterback Tredy Hedden was 19 of 41 with an interception for 210 yards.

The Paladins managed only 73 yards on 27 carries. Mercer converted on 7 of 13 third downs to 5 of 16 for Furman.

“I thought our defense was who they always are,” Jacobs said. “They’re super consistent. We held them to under 100 yards rushing. All in all, really pleased with their performance.”

One of the happiest seniors on Senior Day was center Riley Adcock.

“This was my 57th game in a row here,” he said. “Sets a Mercer record, they said. Some of the guys mess with me, calling me ‘the old man, move along, go get a job, it’s my turn.’ I’m just enjoying every minute of it.”

Standley had trouble suppressing a smile.

“I’m at a loss for words, really,” he said. “Being here so long, all the work you put in, the countless hours, it just great to see everything come to fruition.”

Almost an hour after the game ended, a few players were back out on the field taking pictures. The field house still had plenty of players, coaches, and family lingering around.

Mercer will watch the selection show at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, hoping for a bye before a first-round home game. The staff still had some postgame recruiting duties to deal with, but soon enough would get to relax and enjoy, while the Bears and a fan base let the feelings of an outright conference championship linger and flow.

The first-year head coach is ready for a little rest, he and the staff needing some time as much as the players. But he and the Bears will happily enforce the 24-hour rule, though they’ll no doubt break it and savor it for longer than that before worrying about the future.

“It’s like a fairy tale, right?” Jacobs said in the makeshift interview room, aka the weight room. “I’m like a prince up here. I feel good about it. We’re ready to roll.”

UPDATE: The Bears were given the No. 7 seed in the FCS Playoffs Sunday. They will get a bye week the first round of the playoffs, then host the winner of Central Connecticut State @ Rhode Island Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.