SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a match-up of Top 25 teams on Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 22-3 by Mercer at Gibbs Stadium. The Bears had a 6-3 lead at halftime and took advantage of four interceptions thrown by the Terriers to come away with the victory.
 
Wofford, ranked #23 in the nation, opens the season at 2-2 and 0-1 in the Southern Conference. The #12 ranked Mercer Bears are 5-0 and 2-0 in league play. The Terriers were unable to get the offense going, as they were held to 146 total yards. Amari Odom was 9-of-22 passing and Pauly Seeley V was 7-of-14 passing. The Bears were led by quarterback Hess Horne, who entered the game when starting quarterback D.J. Smith was injured in the first half. Horne was 10-of-17 passing for 100 yards.
 
"We did not play well, especially on the offensive side of the ball," said head coach Shawn Watson. "There were too many turnovers and we didn't establish the run game today. We put too much pressure on our quarterback and the passing game. We have to be better in that aspect. I thought our defense played really well for three-and-a-half quarters. We need to get behind them and provide them points. We had some uncharacteristic special teams errors today that we can't let happen. We have things to clean up, that's the bottom line."
 
The Bears had the ball to open the game. On the first play of the game, Isaiah Wadsworth sacked D.J. Smith and forced a fumble which was recovered by Jalen Marshall at the 17-yard line. The Terriers converted the turnover into points with a 28-yard field goal by Devery Cagle for a 3-0 lead at 13:09 in the first quarter. The Bears drove the field with four first downs. Jalen Marshall came up with his second takeaway with an interception in the endzone. With the ball back, the Terriers went three-and-out and punted. The Bears had four first downs and had a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
 
Both teams went three-and-out and punted. Wofford had the ball back with 12:33 on the clock in the second quarter but went three-and-out. On the next drive by the Bears, they had two first downs and took a 6-3 lead on a 36-yard field goal with 6:28 on the clock. Wofford had three first downs on the ensuing drive, but a sack and penalties forced a punt. Mercer ran two plays before the half ended.
 
To begin the second half, Wofford went three-and-out and punted. The Bears also went three-and-out and punted. With the ball back, the Terriers went three-and-out again. Mercer gained one first down before punting. Wofford was forced to punt, but the punt was blocked and went out the back of the endzone for a safety. The Bears had an 8-3 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter. Mercer had two first downs before Javis Mynatt intercepted a pass and returned it 43 yards. After a penalty was added to the play, Wofford took over at the nine-yard line. After two rushes a pass into the endzone was intercepted and the Bears took over. Mercer went three-and-out and punted. On the next drive for the Terriers, Juwan Johnson intercepted Amari Odom and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The Bears had a 15-3 lead with 13:27 left in the game.
 
On the next drive by the Terriers, Odom was intercepted and the Bears took over at the 23-yard line. On second down, a 21-yard pass to Brayden Smith was completed for a touchdown and a 22-3 lead with 11:48 remaining. Wofford went three-and-out and Mercer had a first down which led to a 38-yard field goal attempt that hit off the left upright. Wofford gained a first down and punted back to Mercer. After Mercer went three-and-out, Wofford took over with 3:21 left in the game at the 17-yard line. The Terriers had two first downs and moved across midfield. On fourth-and-seven, a pass by Pauly Seeley was intercepted and the Bears took over with 1:35 remaining. Mercer ran two plays to end the game.
 
Wofford had 146 total yards, with 130 receiving yards. Mercer had 287 total yards, with 157 of those passing yards. Wofford had eight first downs to 15 for the Bears. Wofford was 2-of-14 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Mercer was 5-of-14 on third down. Mercer was called for five penalties, while Wofford was called for seven. Mercer had a 33:47 to 26:13 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Mercer Post-Game Notes
This was the 17^th meeting between Wofford and Mercer. The Bears have won the last four games in the series.  
 
Jalen Marshall had his first career interception in the first quarter. Javis Mynatt had his first career interception in the third quarter. The field goal by Devery Cagle in the first quarter was the first of his career.
 
With Wofford at 2-2 on the season, both losses were to teams ranked in the Top 15.
 
Jalen Marshall led the defense with eight tackles, including three tackles for loss. C.J. Coombes and Maximus Pulley each had seven tackles.
 
The Terriers will be on the road next Saturday, October 5, at Western Carolina for a 2:30 p.m. contest.
 
Game captains were Quincy Hughes and Isaiah Wadsworth.      
 
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 1, 219 as the Spartanburg area was grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.