Mercer wins thriller over WCU 49-47 to earn playoff bid

The Mercer Bears defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts in an all-time Southern Conference classic Saturday, snagging a 49-47 win after a frenzied fourth quarter that ended with a missed field goal by the Catamounts.

The two teams exploded for 30 combined points in the final quarter before Western Carolina’s would-be game-winning field goal try sailed wide right in the final seconds, though neither side could tell for sure if the kick was good for about 30 seconds afterward.

Catamounts fans stormed the field, thinking the kick was good. A small contingent of Mercer faithful leaped in the air, thinking it had missed. Players from both teams celebrated. 

It turned out the Bears had gotten the break they needed — the ball missed the uprights by a hair, giving Mercer an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs and a share of the Southern Conference championship.

“Sometimes you gotta have a little luck,” Bears head coach Mike Jacobs said after the game in an interview with 100.9 The Creek radio. “This team played a phenomenal game, and at the end of the day, they’re champions.

“They played their tails off, they love each other man, they work hard — this is what you get.”

Mercer quarterback Braden Atkinson finished with 443 passing yards and three touchdowns. Adjatay Dabbs hauled in four catches for 147 of those yards, while CJ Miller totaled 148 yards from scrimmage, including 91 on the ground for three touchdowns.

The win was Mercer’s 10th straight victory over Western Carolina and gave them at least a share of the SoCon trophy for the second straight year. The conference has not had a back-to-back champion in seven years.

“It’s the assistant coaches, it’s the players, it’s the families that have committed to us and bought in,” Jacobs said. “It’s consistency, it’s resilience. They’re champions, man, I love ‘em.”

Despite a score on the opening drive by West Carolina, the Bears began the contest with fairly solid defense considering the Catamounts’ offensive prowess behind star quarterback Taron Dickens.

Mercer equalized with a touchdown from Miller later in the first quarter — that score was set up by a 50-yard pass to Brayden Smith — before taking the lead in the second thanks to a safety and Kendall Harris touchdown to make it 15-14.

It would not last, however, as Michael Rossin made an incredible touchdown catch a few minutes before halftime that gave Western Carolina a lead headed into the break, though Reice Griffith did kick a field goal before intermission to make it 21-18.

Both teams added some more scores in the third, a quarter highlighted by a circus catch by Harris for a touchdown. After Atkinson somehow heaved a deep pass as his arm was hit, Harris looked over his shoulder like Willie Mays and reeled in the wobbly pass for a 24-yard score.

That grab made it a 32-21 game, and more scoring for both teams including another CJ Miller touchdown gave Mercer a seemingly commanding 39-27 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Over the next 15 minutes of football, chaos ensued.

The two teams combined for four touchdowns and a field goal in the final period with both defenses gassed. Despite its lead coming in, it seemed Mercer might collapse after the Catamounts scored two touchdowns in about three minutes to take a 47-46 lead with 3:13 left to play.

But the Bears bounced back, driving for two minutes to set up a 37-yard field goal from Griffith to take a 49-47 lead in stunning fashion with 1:30 to play.

The tables turned again, however, as Dickens and Western Carolina kept dicing up Mercer’s defense. It looked like the Catamounts would get a game-winning field goal, but the kick went wide as time expired.

At first, both teams and their fanbases celebrated, thinking they had won — it took about 30 seconds before it became clear that the kick had missed, giving Mercer at least a share of the conference title and an automatic trip to the playoffs.

The Bears will look to secure the championship outright in their Homecoming game in Macon next week against Chattanooga.