MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 20^th-ranked Mercer football team limited North Alabama to just 97 yards of offense in the second half, and delivered a final offensive blow with Micah Bell's 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, as the Bears captured their third-straight season opener with a 17-7 win over the Lions in the FCS Kickoff Classic on Saturday evening inside Montgomery's historic Cramton Bowl.
 
Mercer (1-0) improved to 8-3 in season-opening contests since football returned to campus in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus, and are now 3-1 in such outings under head coach Drew Cronic. Saturday's contest marked MU's first-ever meeting with the Lions (0-1) who opened up their sixth campaign as an NCAA Division I FCS squad.
 
The Bears will hit the road again next weekend when they travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on 22^nd-ranked Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally by ESPN+ and the SEC Network.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 17, North Alabama 7 RECORDS: Mercer 1-0; North Alabama 0-1 LOCATION: Montgomery, Ala. (Cramton Bowl - FCS Kickoff Classic)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Devron Harper returned the game's opening kick 43 yards to the North Alabama 49-yard line to set up the afternoon's first points. Mercer used six-straight running plays to progress all the way down to the 23-yard line, and Carter Peevy found preseason all-American Ty James in the corner of the end zone on the ensuing play. MU 7, UNA 0   North Alabama set up shop near the midfield stripe late in the first period, and used a 9-play, 49-yard touchdown drive to knot things back up. The Lions picked up a key first down on a 3rd-and-6 situation inside the red zone, then scored one play later on Demarcus Lacy's 1-yard touchdown dive. MU 7, UNA 7

2ND QUARTER

The Orange & Black got a 24-yard field goal from Reice Griffith with less than five minutes left to take a 10-7 advantage into the locker rooms. That kick culminated an 11-play, 59-yard scoring drive that milked just less than 3-1/2 minutes off of the clock. MU 10, UNA 7

3RD QUARTER

No scoring

4TH QUARTER

Mercer bridged the third and fourth quarters with a methodical 8-play, 41-yard drive that was capped on Micah Bell's 3-yard scamper into the north end zone. Bell carried the ball 5 times for 21 yards on the possession, including a 16-yard jaunt on second down that moved the Bears into the red zone. MU 17, UNA 7

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

•    Transfer Micah Bell ran for 73 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on 20 carries to pace the Mercer offense, while sophomore Carter Peevy threw for 115 yards and a first-quarter touchdown on 12-of-17 passing. •    Senior Isaac Dowling was named FCS Kickoff Classic Most Valuable Player after recording a team-best 10 tackles, including 1-1/2 tackles for loss (1/2 sack). Junior Myles Redding logged nine tackles, including five solo stops. •    Jordan Swain gave Mercer its first blocked field goal since Yahsyn McKee's swat against VMI on Oct. 16, 2021 at Five Star Stadium. Swain finished his night with three tackles as well, including an assist on a sack.

NOTABLES

•    Saturday's game was interrupted by an 87-minute lightning delay. The teams vacated the field at 4:41 p.m. CT, and did not resume play until 5:58 p.m. During the delay, the game shifted from an ESPN broadcast to ESPNU programming. •    The Bears limited North Alabama to just 95 passing yards, the fewest allowed by the Orange & Black since holding VMI to just 78 yards through the air on October 29 of last season. It is the fifth time in the last 2-plus seasons that the Mercer defense has held an opponent to fewer than 100 passing yards. •    Mercer improved to 17-1 under head coach Drew Cronic when leading at halftime. The Bears took a 10-7 lead into the locker rooms on Saturday. The Bears are now 14-0 under Cronic when holding opponents to 20 points or less.