Whitt Newbauer threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, leading Mercer to a convincing 49-23 win over Furman in the Southern Conference finale at Five Star Stadium on Saturday. This victory secured the SoCon title for Mercer (10-2, 7-1 SoCon), who took the championship away from Furman (3-8, 2-5 SoCon), the previous year’s champions.
Newbauer completed 18 of his 28 passes, including touchdown throws of 46, 7, and 31 yards. After falling behind 10-7 in the first quarter, the Bears rallied to score three touchdowns and take a 28-10 lead in the second quarter. Ian Williams of Furman managed to narrow the gap just before halftime, kicking a 32-yard field goal to make the score 28-13.
Williams had a standout performance, making three field goals in total and tying his school record with a 57-yard kick to open the second half, cutting Mercer’s lead to 28-16. However, Mercer quickly responded with a 16-yard touchdown run by Dwayne McGee, followed by a 31-yard touchdown pass from Newbauer to Adjatay Dabbs, which was set up by an interception from TJ Moore.
Furman’s Trey Hedden threw for 210 yards and one touchdown but struggled with an interception, completing 19 of 41 passes. Colton Hinton was a key target for Hedden, making nine catches for 109 yards and scoring on a 30-yard pass from running back Gavin Hall that initially gave Furman a 7-0 lead.
Newbauer’s connection with Dabbs shifted the score to 14-10 just before the end of the first quarter. Shortly after that, Tommy Bliss of Mercer scooped up a fumble from Hedden and returned it 35 yards, extending the Bears’ lead to 21-10 after the extra point.
Mercer dominated the game with a total offense of 503 yards compared to Furman’s 322, including 213 rushing yards and 290 passing yards. On the defensive side for Furman, linebacker Evan DiMaggio made a significant impact, recording a game-high 18 tackles, with 2.5 tackles for a loss on what was his final game.
