The Sports Xchange
Sep 10, 2016

Quarterback Justin Thomas accumulated 149 yards of total offense in one half to lead Georgia Tech to a 35-10 win over Mercer University on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

The senior competed 5 of 10 passes for 80 yards and rushed seven times for 69 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown run to help the Yellow Jackets (2-0) win their 10th straight home opener.

Backup quarterback Matthew Jordan played the second half and led the team on one scoring drive and had another end at the 2 on a fumble. He rushed 12 times for 44 yards and two touchdowns.

Mercer (0-2) was led by quarterback John Russ, who completed 24 of 38 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown, and rushed eight times for 24 yards. He completed seven passes to Marquise Irvin for 73 yards.

Georgia Tech finished with 444 total yards, 364 yards rushing and 80 passing. Qua Searcy led the Yellow Jackets with 91 yards on seven carries.

Mercer, an FCS team, had 320 yards in total offense -- 235 passing and 85 rushing.

The Bears scored first after Georgia Tech fumbled the ball away on its initial possession. Avery Ward hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Russ to give Mercer a 7-0 lead with 4:00 left in the first quarter.

Georgia Tech responded with three touchdowns and took a 21-7 halftime lead. Thomas scored on a 13-yard keeper, Jordan scored on a 1-yard run and Marcus Marshall scored on a 10-yard run.

Mercer added a 31-yard field goal by Cole Fisher to open the second half.

Georgia Tech tacked on two scores in the second half -- a 1-yard run by Jordan and an 11-yard keeper by third-string quarterback TaQuon Marshall.