Western at Mercer, a last look

This weekend, in the hopes of boosting the spirit of their fans and team to a fever pitch, the Mercer Bears want their fans to show up wearing all black. To further make the statement, the football team will  also wear their black-on-black uniforms, in what is being billed as a "Black Out" to the Mercer faithful.

After rolling over winless Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay last Saturday, the Bears are ready for what might be their biggest game played to date in Macon, as they meet league leading Western Carolina. They'll need all that and much more to handle the Catamounts.  With two conference losses already, Mercer needs a victory Saturday for any hope to stay in contention for a conference championship.

"They are very impressive on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football" said Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb. "It all starts with Troy Mitchell, he's a special player that has done an outstanding job. Of the quarterbacks in our league that I've seen on tape, he's the best one. He's really a dual-threat guy, who excels with his legs and can really throw on the run as well."

The Catamounts enter the game with an overall record of 4-2 and are 2-0 the Southern Conference, and currently tied with Chattanooga for first place in the conference standing. Coming off a 26-14 victory over Wofford last Saturday, the Cats are averaging 31 points per game and 377.3 yards of total offense. The Cats will also bring one of the league's best defenses to Macon, as they have held opponents to just 20.7 points per game.

The Bears have already played two of the preseason favorites in the SoCon - Furman and Samford, losing by a combined total of only 8 points.   "They're a team that's playing really well; they're about No. 1 in every offensive statistic in the Southern Conference, and they're at the top on defense, too," said Catamount head coach Mark Speir about Mercer. "The guys down there know how to win. Coach (Bobby) Lamb is no stranger to the Southern Conference and to championship football. He's doing a great job down there."

Game time is 4 pm on Saturday, and can be seen on ESPN3.


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