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Football

Postgame Notes - at Mercer

Postgame Notes – at Mercer
Mercer 45, Western Carolina 28
Five Star Stadium
Macon, Ga. | Saturday, March 20, 2021
Att.: 3,527
 
Saturday's result…
  • With the loss, Western Carolina was relegated to a 1-7 start to the season, matching the start of the 2019 season in which WCU finished 3-9 overall, winning two of its final four games;
  • WCU starts the 2020-21 conference season at 1-4 in the SoCon;
  • WCU lost its fifth-straight game in the overall head-to-head series with the Mercer Bears, falling to 2-5 overall in the all-time series;
  • WCU suffered its seventh-consecutive road loss dating back to 2019.
 
Postgame Notes:
  • Senior RB Donnavan Spencer rushed for three touchdowns in Saturday's road loss at Mercer, his fifth career game with two-or-more rushing scores … Spencer has all six of his seasonal rushing TDs in the past four games, five coming in the last two games … Spencer leads the Catamounts in scoring with 36 total points;
 
  • With 20 career rushing touchdowns, Spencer moved into a tie for 11th in program history for career rushing TDs … Spencer matched both Carlton Terry (20, 1987-90) and Melvin Dorsey (20, 1981-83) and moved to within two rushing scores of tying 10th-place David Mayfield (22, 1984-86) in the WCU ledgers;
 
  • With a team-best 78 rushing yards at Mercer, Donnavan Spencer eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his WCU career … He currently has 2,039 career rushing yards, just outside the top 12 in program history … Spencer is just 21 yards shy of matching the 12th-place tie between Melvin Dorsey (2,060 yards, 1981-83) and Anthony James (2,060 yards, 1979-82) – and is just 174 yards shy of WCU's all-time top 10;
 
  • WCU scored four rushing touchdowns in the road loss at Mercer giving the Catamounts 11 rushing scores on the season … QB Ryan Glover matched tailback Mikai Stanley with his second rushing TD on the season in Saturday's game at Mercer;
 
  • The Catamounts scored a season-high 28 points – one more point than the 27 the team secured in the road loss at Samford earlier this season … WCU's 230 yards of total offense – reduced by twice being handed a short-field by its defense and special teams – were the second-fewest gained in a single game this season … WCU only managed a season-low 109 against Furman earlier this spring;
 
  • Senior LB Ty Harris recorded his fifth-consecutive double-digit tackle performance with a team-high tying 11 tackles at Mercer … He has six double-figure tackle games this season and 14 in his career … Harris now has 292 career tackles, 14 tackles shy of matching Steve Yates (306, 1971-74) and is just 22 tackles shy of WCU's career top 10 list (Everett Spellman, 314 from 1984-87);
 
  • Sophomore DT Roman Johnson recorded a team-high tying 11 tackles at Mercer, his career-best by four tackles after securing seven at Furman earlier this season … DB Dorian Davis also posted a career-best with 10 tackles, his first career double-digit tackle game and besting his former benchmark by two;
 
  • For the third time this season, the WCU defense was on the field for 90-or-more total plays in Saturday's road loss at Mercer … the Bears officially had 90 plays for 426 yards with the final three coming on team rushes in game-ending kneel downs … WCU's defense was on the field 91 plays against Furman and 90 against VMI … All told, the Catamount defensive unit has been on the field for 639 total plays this season – an average of 79.9 over the eight seasonal games;
 
  • DB Quintin Talley recorded WCU's first blocked punt since Jacquez Williams did so against ETSU back in mid-October of 2017 … Talley partially blocked the boot, setting-up WCU's second touchdown in the second quarter to pull back to within seven points, 21-14;
 
  • WCU's special teams amassed a season-best 171 return yards on kickoffs led by freshmen Tyree Nelson and Calvin Jones … Nelson nearly broke a return for a touchdown, posting a WCU season-long 59-yard kickoff return … Jones added a season-best 12-yard punt return.
 
Miscellaneous Notes:
  • WCU's captain for the game was senior LB #37 Ty Harris, a native of Dacula, Ga. … Mercer won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half … WCU received the opening kickoff;
  • Graduate transfer QB #7 Ryan Glover carried out the U.S. flag while redshirt junior LB #33 Curtis Roach carried the "All You Got" flag in WCU's pregame run-out at Mercer.
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Players Mentioned

Dorian Davis

#9 Dorian Davis

S
6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
Ty Harris

#37 Ty Harris

LB
6' 1"
Senior
Roman Johnson

#93 Roman Johnson

DT
6' 3"
Sophomore
Curtis Roach

#33 Curtis Roach

SPUR
6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
Donnavan Spencer

#20 Donnavan Spencer

RB
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Calvin Jones

#13 Calvin Jones

RB
5' 10"
Freshman
Tyree Nelson

#26 Tyree Nelson

RB
5' 10"
Freshman
Mikai Stanley

#22 Mikai Stanley

RB
6' 2"
Freshman
Quintin Talley

#24 Quintin Talley

S
6' 0"
Freshman
Ryan Glover

#7 Ryan Glover

QB
6' 2"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Dorian Davis

#9 Dorian Davis

6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
S
Ty Harris

#37 Ty Harris

6' 1"
Senior
LB
Roman Johnson

#93 Roman Johnson

6' 3"
Sophomore
DT
Curtis Roach

#33 Curtis Roach

6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
SPUR
Donnavan Spencer

#20 Donnavan Spencer

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
RB
Calvin Jones

#13 Calvin Jones

5' 10"
Freshman
RB
Tyree Nelson

#26 Tyree Nelson

5' 10"
Freshman
RB
Mikai Stanley

#22 Mikai Stanley

6' 2"
Freshman
RB
Quintin Talley

#24 Quintin Talley

6' 0"
Freshman
S
Ryan Glover

#7 Ryan Glover

6' 2"
Graduate Student
QB