Home VMI loses at Mercer, 38-3, on Saturday, to fall to 1-1 in Southern Conference play
Football, Sports

VMI loses at Mercer, 38-3, on Saturday, to fall to 1-1 in Southern Conference play

Chris Graham

vmiVMI came back to earth on Saturday, falling to 1-1 in SoCon play with a 38-3 loss at Mercer in Macon, Ga.

The Keydets (2-3, 1-1 SoCon) trailed 21-0 at halftime, and fell victim to big plays – Mercer (3-2, 1-1 SoCon) scored on the first play from scrimmage when Al Wooten II rushed around the corner for a 76-yard TD run, and the Bears got a 73-yard punt return from Devron Harper at the 13:18 mark of the third quarter for a 28-0 lead.

Mercer finished with 401 yards of total offense, with 298 yards on the ground. Keydets quarterback Collin Ironside finished with 176 yards through the air, but was sacked three times and picked off once while the Bears defense held VMI to 42 net rushing yards.

“It was a really disappointing afternoon of football for us,” first-year VMI coach Danny Rocco said. “We got outplayed and outcoached. We got off to a bad start, which we talked about all week long the need to get off to a fast start. We were minus-3 in the turnover margin, and we gave up a punt return for a touchdown. You’re not going to beat anybody playing like that. We played poorly in all three phases.”

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

Latest News

isaac mckneely
Basketball, Sports

Analysis: Tony Bennett is letting his Virginia team try to do more in transition

elijah gertrude
Basketball, Sports

Virginia Basketball Notebook: Tony Bennett on Elijah Gertrude, Jordan Minor

Virginia coach Tony Bennett and freshman combo guard Elijah Gertrude had agreed before the start of the season that Gertrude should redshirt this year so that he could focus on rehabbing his knee.

chesapeake bay
Climate, U.S. & World

Maryland moves to curb striped bass fishing in spring spawning season

Spurred by slumping striped bass reproduction in Maryland waters, the state Department of Natural Resources is moving to curtail fishing for the popular migratory species during its spawning run next spring.

earth globe
Climate

Roddy Scheer: How do enhanced geothermal power plants differ from regular geothermal?

climate change
Climate

Roddy Scheer: War is horrible, and it is no less so for the environment

earth
Politics

Tom H. Hastings: Guerrilla war in cities and other evolutionary missteps

veteran uniform
Politics

Robert C. Koehler: War does nothing but create the certainty of more war