MACON, Ga. (AP) — Mercer defeated East Texas A&M 23-15 Saturday night in its season opener. Jaylen King threw for a touchdown, and Cameron Goggins returned an interception for a touchdown, leading the 21st-ranked Bears to victory.
Simon Zeidan started the scoring with a 55-yard field goal, giving Mercer a 3-0 lead. King then connected with Jackson Kostmayer for a 12-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 10-0 before the end of the first quarter. Zeidan added two more field goals, from 21 and 33 yards, increasing Mercer’s advantage to 16-0 with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
Fifteen seconds later, Cameron Goggins intercepted a pass from Eric Rodriguez and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown, pushing Mercer’s lead to 23-0. East Texas A&M scored its first points when Rodriguez threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Micah Simpson with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
The Lions narrowed the gap further when Quay Middlebrooks ran into the end zone from the 9-yard line, completing an 80-yard drive. Rodriguez then successfully ran in the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 23-15. However, East Texas A&M’s comeback attempt was thwarted when Rodriguez’s fourth-down pass at the Mercer 9-yard line fell incomplete, intended for Jake Whitehead, and Mercer ran out the clock. Micah Simpson caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown for East Texas A&M.
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