Mercer uses all phases and holds off East Texas A&m 23-15

MACON, Ga. -- — Jaylen King threw for a touchdown and Cameron Goggins had an interception return for a touchdown and Mercer held off East Texas A&M 23-15 in a season opener on Saturday night. The Bears enter the season ranked 21st in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. Simon Zeidan opened the scoring with a 55-yard field goal to put Mercer up 3-0. Before the end of the first, King threw a 12-yard touchdown to Jackson Kostmayer for a 10-0 lead. Zeidan added field goals of 21 and 33 yards to extend the lead to 16-0 with 30 seconds before halftime. Fifteen seconds later, Eric Rodriguez threw a 38-yard pick-6 to Goggins for a 23-point lead. The Lions got on the scoreboard when Rodriguez threw a 48-yard touchdown to Micah Simpson with 2:01 left in the third. They closed to within 23-15 when Quay Middlebrooks ended an 80-yard drive running into the end zone from the 9. Rodriguez ran it in for the two-point conversion. East Texas A&M turned it over on downs with 35 seconds, when on 4th-and-goal at the Mercer 9, Rodriguez threw high over the head of wide open Jake Whitehead and the Bears killed the clock. Simpson caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown for the Lions. —- Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here