MACON, Ga. – The Presbyterian College football team began its 112^th season with a bit more waiting than was initially planned, forced to sit through a 90-minute weather delay before falling to the Mercer Bears on the road (63-10).

Mercer utilized a 35-0 flurry near the middle of the bout to turn a 7-3 lead into a much greater deficit, finishing the night with 500 yards of total offense.

Wrapping up near midnight at Five Star Stadium, the Blue Hose found their first points of the new campaign from Mack Mikko (26-yard field goal) and Cincere Gill (24-yard touchdown reception).

PC will remain on the road next Saturday for their second encounter of the year, making a short drive to Due West to face the Flying Fleet of Erskine. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM, broadcasted on Flo Football.
 
FINAL SCORE: Mercer, 63 – Presbyterian, 10
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-1) – Mercer (1-0)
LOCATION: Five Star Stadium (Macon, Ga.)
 

NOTABLES
 
- Senior linebacker Alex Herriott (one of the most decorated defensemen in PC's Division I era) assembled seven tackles on the night, officially tying Jarrett Nagy and recently-inducted Big South Hall of Famer Justin Bethel for third-place in the Blue Hose career record book (279).

- Tailback Zach Switzer accounted for an impressive 191 yards in kick return duties, breaking the school's D-I record for a single game (Jeremiah McKie held the previous mark with 151 versus VMI in 2013).

- Safety Brooks Russ-Martin finished one tackle away from his personal-best (nine) as the Scotsmen registered six stops behind the line of scrimmage.

- Sebastian Conwell and Dalton Epps tag-teamed a pair of sacks for PC's defense, while Herriott published his first career interception in the 2^nd quarter.

- Gill tallied his fourth score in a Presby uniform near the end of the 3^rd, part of an 8-for-20 evening by junior signal-caller Ty Englehart.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Switzer's second kick return of the night went for 45 yards after his squad fell behind 7-0, although PC couldn't generate any momentum from that sprint and was made to punt.

- Head coach Steve Englehart's club whipped up an effective trick play to start their third series, as redshirt-freshman Collin Hurst charted Nathan Levicki on a double-pass that went for 37 yards.

- The Blue Hose couldn't event the odds at seven apiece from there, however, settling for a 26-yard field goal from reigning Freshman All-American Mikko.

- That's when the Bears reeled off their lengthy scoring spree, penning a 28-3 lead at intermission and outscoring Presby 35-7 in the final two frames.

- On 3^rd and 13 midway through the 3^rd, PC managed its longest play from scrimmage of the meeting, as Englehart dropped off a 49-yard screen pass to transfer RB Antonio Wright.

- Gill raced by the Mercer secondary just two snaps later, capping a 75-yard drive that lasted one minute and 23 seconds.

- Mercer outscored the Blue Hose 21-0 in the last period, as quarterback D.J. Smith accounted for 345 yards of total offense.

 
UP NEXT
 
- PC makes the hop, skip, and jump to Due West in nine days, competing against an Erskine crew who failed to win a game last season in 11 attempts.

- Presbyterian has owned the Flying Fleet to the tune of 29 wins over them in only 32 tries. Each of the last 10 matchups between the two have gone PC's way, holding Erskine to single digits in nine of those 10 affairs.

- Prior to playing the Blue Hose, Erskine will line up against St. Andrews this Saturday for a 4:00 PM start.