Bulldog Rally Falls Short At Mercer To Conclude SoCon Play

Saturday, November 11

Macon, GA

2:00 PM

Samford University

5-5 , 4-4

Mercer

8-3 , 6-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	0	7	7	7	21
Mercer	6	0	15	7	28

Final Game Book (PDF)

Bulldog Rally Falls Short At Mercer To Conclude SoCon Play

11.11.23 | Football

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – In the final Southern Conference game of the 2023 season, the Samford football team's fourth-quarter comeback fell just short as the Bulldogs dropped a 28-21 contest to the No. 23 Mercer Bears on Saturday in damp and cold conditions.

With the defeat, Samford moves to 5-5 on the season and finishes the SoCon slate with a record of 4-4. Mercer improves to 8-3 and 6-2 with the victory.

Graduate student Michael Hiers went 25-of-36 passing on Saturday for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hiers also threw an interception late in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs attempted to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit.

On the ground, Jay Stanton paced the Bulldog attack with 98 yards on 16 carries with a long of 30. Stanton did not find the end zone on the ground Saturday and will enter the season finale needing one touchdown to become the career-rushing touchdown king in program history.

On a day where double-digit Bulldogs caught passes, D.J. Rias had his best game since returning from injury as the senior went for 83 yards on six catches and a touchdown. Chandler Smith also hauled in a touchdown to go along with his four catches for 44 yards on the day.

Senior linebacker Noah Martin tallied an eye-popping 19 tackles and one tackle for loss against the Mercer offense. Martin's 19 tackles on Saturday are the most by any SoCon defender this season and the most by a Bulldog since John Staton recorded 22 against Mercer in 2019.

The secondary duo of Garrett Morris and Devin Smith each had eight tackles of their own. Morris also recovered a fumble that was forced by Kourtlan Marsh. The one Samford sack of the day belonged to Joe Mera.

After fumbling on the opening possession of the game, Mercer forced a Bulldog three-and-out before marching 90 yards on 13 plays to open the scoring with a five-yard sprint to the end zone from Bear quarterback Carter Peevey. Following the score, Mercer's kicker missed the PAT to only put Mercer up 6-0.

Samford took the lead in the second quarter when Damonta Witherspoon darted through the line for a 22-yard rushing touchdown on a fourth-and-one play with 11:16 remaining in the first half.

The score remained 7-6 until Mercer found the end zone halfway through the third and converted a two-point try to put the Bears up 14-7.

On the ensuing drive, Hiers found a wide-open Smith in the Mercer end zone to tie the game at 14-all. The 30-yard bullet from Hiers capped off a three-play 75-yard scoring drive for Samford.

Mercer answered with another touchdown to go up 21-14 at the end of the third quarter. The Bears added a score with just over eight minutes left in regulation to go up 28-14.

Looking for a dramatic comeback, the Bulldogs marched 87 yards in 8 plays that were capped off by a Hiers to Rias 10-yard touchdown pass with 4:35 remaining in the final stanza.

Following a much-needed stop from the Samford defense, Mercer picked off Hiers on the second play of the drive ultimately securing the win for the Bears.

The Bulldogs return to Pete Hanna Stadium on Saturday, November 18th for the season finale and Senior Day against UT-Martin. Kickoff is slated for noon CT and can be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets can be found at SamfordTickets.com.

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