MACON, Ga. – Simon Zeidan’s 42-yard field goal as time expired gave No. 18 Mercer a 17-14 win over Western Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Five-Star Stadium. The kick ended a Catamount rally in heartbreaking fashion, and dropped WCU 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference.
The loss was Western Carolina’s 11th straight in the series with the Bears. It came in a game where the Catamount defense did more than enough to win.
WCU forced two interceptions, stopped Mercer on fourth down, and held the Bears scoreless in the first half. The offense managed just 293 total yards and could not turn those stops into points until the game’s final minutes.
Neither offense found a rhythm early. Western Carolina’s best first-quarter chance ended when Jordan Martin-Durham was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Mercer 38-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty caused by head coach Kerwin Bell expressing his frustration handed Mercer 15 free yards, and the Bears drove to the WCU 15. Defensive back Jayden Cornelius ended the threat by intercepting quarterback Jaylen King on a lob pass in the end zone with 43 seconds left in the quarter.
Cornelius struck again in the second quarter, picking off this time quarterback JP Pickles near midfield. He finished with two interceptions. Earlier in the quarter, the defense stuffed Mercer on fourth-and-1 at the WCU 25, where the snap was mishandled, and a 13-yard loss ended the drive. Defensive back Nassor Ashenafi led the defense with 10 tackles, and defensive end Chase Kerns had 1.5 sacks.
The offense could not capitalize right away. Quarterback Lex Thomas threw an interception on third down, a deep ball picked off by Mercer’s Evin McDowell. Western Carolina still got on the board before halftime. Thomas hit receiver Jai Boyd 36 yards at Mercer 16 as part of an 82-yard, nine-play drive. Running back Marlin Cochran then caught a touchdown pass in the endzone with about 30 seconds left, and WCU led 7-0 at the break. Cochran sat the rest of the game with an undisclosed leg injury on the touchdown.
The offense became cold after halftime. WCU’s three third-quarter possessions each ended in a punt after three plays and netted minus-9 yards combined. Mercer took advantage, covering 50 yards in five plays and tying the game on an 18-yard Pickles touchdown pass to receiver Brayden Smith with 38 seconds left in the quarter.
Mercer took the lead in the fourth.. Starting at its own 1-yard line, the Bears needed four plays to go 99 yards. Pickles ran for 26 yards, running back Devon Caldwell added 12, and then Pickles found running back Zahmari Palode-Gary on a pop pass, taking it for a 63-yard touchdown with 6:28 left to make the score 14-7.
Head coach Kerwin Bell called it the backbreaker. The Catamounts sent an all-out blitz, a look they had rarely shown this season, and Mercer had a check ready. Bell said the Bears’ running back slipped free and got behind the defense.
“We didn’t get a hold of him,” Bell said.“And now he’s free down the middle of the field.”
Western Carolina answered with its best drive of the day, a 16-play, 75-yard march that took 4 minutes and 59 seconds. Thomas converted a fourth-and-1 at the Mercer 9 with a 2-yard keeper, but the drive stalled in the red zone. Three straight incompletions followed, and the Catamounts used timeouts to save time. On third-and-goal from the 5, they ran a trick play reminiscent of the “Philly Special.” Boyd took the snap and threw to Thomas, who was wide open in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. The kick tied it at 14 with 1:29 remaining.
That left Mercer too much time. The Bears started at their own 26-yard line after the kickoff and moved quickly. Pickles ran for 4 yards on second-and-11, but a facemask penalty on defensive lineman Trystan Anderson gave Mercer 15 yards and an automatic first down at the WCU 44. That penalty turned what would have been a third-and-7 into a fresh set of downs. Pickles then ran for 15 yards, Palode-Gary added 4, and both teams used their last timeouts before Zeidan’s game-winning kick as time expired.
Mercer ran for 231 yards on 50 carries, while the Catamounts gained 73 yards on 33 carries. Thomas finished 19-of-35 for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Boyd led the receivers with six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Running back Josh Perry led the rushing attack with 50 yards on 12 carries.
Bell praised the defense but said the offense never got going. “Our energy on offense wasn’t where it needed to be,” he said. Bell said Mercer “sort of got us in a box,” limiting the Catamounts on the perimeter and downfield. He noted that WCU faced what he believes is the conference’s top defensive line.
The loss adds to an up-and-down season. With a blowout loss to ETSU two games before, and upsetting the then-ranked No.9 Tennessee Tech at home, WCU is now 0-5 away from Cullowhee this season. Bell is 0-6 against Mercer in his coaching career.
Bell is not writing off the year. WCU has a bye next week, then it’s a must-win-out situation from there. With three games at home, Bell said he believes 6-2 in the league could be enough to share the conference title, and that winning out would put the Catamounts in the playoff picture.
“I think we can win five,” Bell said. “That’s still going to be our mindset when we come back after this break.”
Western Carolina looks to rebound when Chattanooga comes to town Oct. 24. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
