Freshman Atkinson throws 5 TD passes in Mercer's 45-21 win over Samford

MACON, Ga. (AP) — Braden Atkinson had his best day in his young career, throwing for career highs of 365 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-21 win over Samford on Saturday.

Atkinson, a freshman, has thrown for over 300 yards in three of his four starts for the Bears (4-1, 4-0 Southern Conference). He was 22 of 35 against the winless Bulldogs (0-5, 0-3) including a 64-yard play to Samuel Albee to open the scoring and a 66-yard connection to Ty Doughty for his final TD. In between, he threw a pair of scoring passes to Brayden Smith and another to Javarius George.

Doughty rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries and led the Bears with 77 yards receiving. Antonio Butts Jr. had a 1-yard TD rush.

Brady Stober was 14 of 22 for 234 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception for the Bulldogs. Sam Pickett III had one of those scores on a 77-yard play and Preston Bird the other on a 63-yarder. Cam Bland added a TD on the ground.

Mercer rolled up 557 total yards and held Samford to 61 on the ground.

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