Atkinson leads Mercer in 49-47 win over Western Carolina, which gets 7 TD passes from Dickens

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) — Braden Atkinson threw three touchdown passes, CJ Miller ran for three scores, and Mercer defeated Western Carolina 49-47 on Saturday in a shootout to win the Southern Conference title.

Mercer clinched the SoCon’s automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.

Reice Griffith’s 37-yard field goal gave the Bears their 49-47 lead with 1:30 remaining before Taron Dickens drove the Catamounts to the 15-yard line with 3 seconds left. Marcus Trout then missed a 33-yard field-goal attempt on the final play.

Dickens threw seven touchdown passes, including three in the fourth quarter when the Catamounts twice rallied from a 12-point deficit. They took a 47-46 lead on his final TD pass, a 42-yarder to James Tyre, but they failed on a 2-point attempt that would have given them a three-point lead.

Dickens completed 33 of 49 passes for 551 yards. Malik Knight had 141 yards receiving, scoring twice for the Bears (8-1, 7-0), who are tied for 10th in the FCS coaches poll.

Atkinson was 23-for-39 passing for 443 yards. Adjatay Dabbs had 147 receiving yards and Miller ran for 91 yards for the Catamounts (6-4, 5-1), 24th in the FCS poll.

Western Carolina had the edge in total yards, 599-568.

Dickens, a sophomore, had a career-high of 528 yards with six TD passes against Samford earlier this season.

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