NCAAF

East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Mercer Bears

· NCAA - Football
Final
31 - 37
8-1, 5-0 Home

Big plays on defense, special teams help Mercer edge East Tennessee State 37-31

Those scores, the first of three field goals by Reice Griffith and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Whitt Newbauer to Kelin Parsons had the Bears (8-1, 5-1 Southern Conference) on top 31-14 with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter.

Mercer then chewed up 4:18 before Griffiths' third field goal, a 31-yarder, made it 37-28.

ETSU used two passes to gain 47 yards and opted for a quick 44-yard field goal from Ewan Johnson with 45 seconds remaining. Then the Buccaneers recovered to onside kick, the first nullified by an offside call and the second because the kicker touched the ball before it went 10 yards. The second infraction gave Mercer the ball and the Bears ran out the clock to win the homecoming game.

Dwayne Mcgee rushed for 124 yards for Mercer.

Jaylen King and English combined to go 25 of 44 for 459 yards passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The Buccaneers had 13 yards rushing but Johnson (162), Ephraim Floyd (112) and Hakeem Meggett (108) all had career days receiving.

----

How To Watch

How can I watch East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs. Mercer Bears?
  • TV Channel: Buccaneers at Bears 2021 College Football, week 10, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

MER FG 1st Period 10:49 Reice Griffith 36 Yd Field Goal
ETSU TD 1st Period 10:34 Hakeem Meggett 68 Yd pass from Jaylen King (Ewan Johnson Kick)
ETSU TD 1st Period 2:02 Gino English 1 Yd Run (Ewan Johnson Kick)
MER TD 2nd Period 13:29 Brayden Manley 0 Yd Fumble Return (Reice Griffith Kick)
MER TD 2nd Period 12:16 Marques Thomas 25 Yd Interception Return (Reice Griffith Kick)
MER TD 3rd Period 9:22 Kelin Parsons 34 Yd pass from Whitt Newbauer (Reice Griffith Kick)
MER TD 3rd Period 4:38 Mic Wasson 20 Yd blocked Punt Return (Reice Griffith Kick)
ETSU TD 3rd Period 2:40 AJ Johnson 18 Yd pass from Gino English (Ewan Johnson Kick)
MER FG 4th Period 12:44 Reice Griffith 36 Yd Field Goal
ETSU TD 4th Period 5:55 AJ Johnson 9 Yd pass from Gino English (Ewan Johnson Kick)
MER FG 4th Period 1:37 Reice Griffith 31 Yd Field Goal
ETSU FG 4th Period 0:45 Ewan Johnson 44 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2193.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originETSU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2382.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMER
19 1st Downs 15
4-15 3rd down efficiency 1-16
1-2 4th down efficiency 0-0
472 Total Yards 292
459 Passing 162
25/44 Comp/Att 18/29
10.4 Yards per pass 5.6
13 Rushing 130
30 Rushing Attempts 42
0.4 Yards per rush 3.1
10-73 Penalties 11-89
4 Turnovers 0
1 Fumbles lost 0
3 Interceptions thrown 0
27:01 Possession 32:59

Game Information

Venue: Five Star Stadium

Location: Macon, GA
Attendance: 8,692 · Capacity:
Full Standings

College Football News

QB Thomas Castellanos won't return to Boston College football

QB Thomas Castellanos won't return to Boston College football

Thomas Castellanos will not be returning to the Boston College football team, he announced Thursday night.

No. 21 LSU and Florida are both hoping for a bounce-back following a beatdown

No. 21 LSU and Florida are both hoping for a bounce-back following a beatdown

— No one at LSU and Florida can be happy about what happened last weekend.

Georgia to be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne vs. Vols

Georgia to be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne vs. Vols

Georgia leading rusher Trevor Etienne has been ruled out for Saturday's game against Tennessee.

Florida's DJ Lagway to start vs. LSU after 1-game absence

Florida's DJ Lagway to start vs. LSU after 1-game absence

Florida's DJ Lagway is "ready to play" against No. 21 LSU this weekend, coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

2025 NFL draft position rankings: Kiper, Miller, Reid, Yates

2025 NFL draft position rankings: Kiper, Miller, Reid, Yates

Who are the best players at every position? Our four analysts give their top-fives, plus their combined overall top-10 ranking for the 2025 class.