MACON, Ga. – Mercer handled Presbyterian on Thursday night, but it took a while.

It took a while because the dreaded “lightning in the area” resulted in a 90-minute delay. It was a long time to wait for a butt whoopin’.

The Bears won 63-10, totaled 500 yards, twice converted turnovers into touchdowns, had 25 first downs to PC’s nine and left Five Star Stadium with lots of honey and picnic baskets.

Mercer quarterback D.J. Smith completed 20/24 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. One of the incompletions was an interception. PC’s Ty Englehart hit 8/20 for 140 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Cincere Gill caught four of them for 24 yards, 23 of them on one play.

Yes, Mercer has scholarships. No, PC does not.

I really like The Andy Griffith Show, not so much that I wanted to watch it instead of the Presbyterian-Mercer game. Since the electronic play-by-play didn’t start, I surmised that it might be a heat delay.

And I kept watching Andy and Barney. Besides, Western Carolina-North Carolina State was similarly delayed in Raleigh. I reckon it was hot all over. Otis was serving his sentence at the Sheriff’s house. Law enforcement has changed.

Oh, no. Another Andy Griffith episode. Come to find out, it was a lightning delay, and after a third dose of Andy, the game began a bit after 8:30 p.m.

PC opened the game at the 35 and went backwards. Ezra King punted, and Mercer started at the same location on its side of the field. D.J. Smith hit Kendall Harris for 21 yards. Smith scrambled 29 yards two plays later, and Dwayne McGee rambled 11 yards to the three. McGee took care of the remaining distance 3:18 into the game. Reice Griffith added the kick.

The first Blue Hose highlight was Brooks Russ-Martin’s 45-yard kickoff return. PC quick-kicked into the end zone on fourth-and-eight with 10:00 still on the first-quarter clock.

Presbyterian (0-1) forced a three-and-out.

The Blue Hose popped a trick play on the Bears on first down. Englehart threw a lateral to Wyatt Hodges, a backup quarterback, who hit Deverious Abercrombie, a Greenville product, for 21 yards. The Hose had to settle for a 24-yard Mack Mikko field goal.

Mercer (1-0) roared down the field, scoring on a wide-open pass in the left flat from Smith to Kelin Parsons from 13 yards out. Griffith’s kick made it 14-3 with 1:08 left in the period.

PC’s superb linebacker, Hanahan’s Alex Herriott, stopped Mercer with an interception of Smith, but the Bears returned the favor when Myles Redding picked off Englehart.

Four plays later, Smith snuck in from a yard, and Mercer’s lead swelled to 21-3 with 8:40 left in the half.

Bears are not known for racing, but Mercer’s were off to them. Tyrell Coard’s four-yard run hiked the edge to 28-3 with 1:18 to play in the half.

Mercer put up 306 first-half yards to PC’s 74, only 10 of which were on the ground.

In the second half, it didn’t get better. Boom. Boom. Boom. The Bears had their way.

Englehart had a 49-yard completion to Antonio Wright and threw his first touchdown pass to Cincere Gill, 24 yards, with 3:34 left in the third quarter. Mikko added the extra point to bring the Blue Hose within 31.

Dalton Epps, red-shirt soph of Myrtle Beach, nailed Smith for a sack, PC’s first, and the defense held. The third quarter ended, 42-10.

Mercer pierced the fourth with a seven-yard pass, Hess Horne to Parker Wroble, with 10:48 to play.

A bad snap cost the Blue Hose an eighth touchdown. The ninth was a 75-yard Braden Smith punt return. (By then, I knew how to hum the Bears’ fight song.)

Presbyterian gets a chance to vent its frustrations a week from Saturday, Sept. 7, versus Erskine in Greenwood at 7 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

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