Nick Sessions' pick-6 on first play of game sparks New Mexico State to 51-14 romp over Mercyhurst

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- — Nick Sessions returned an interception 26 yards for a score on the first play of the game and Trey Hedden threw two touchdown passes to help New Mexico State roll to a 51-14 victory over FCS member Mercyhurst on Saturday night. After Sessions picked off Alex Gevaudan and scored to give the Aggies the lead, the Warriors answered with Byron Cardwell Jr's 2-yard touchdown run to tie it 7-all. TJ Washington Jr. scored on a 16-yard run for New Mexico State (1-1), but the lead was 13-7 after a missed point-after kick. Camden Lewis caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Gevaudan to give Mercyhurst (0-2) a 14-13 lead with 12:44 left in the second quarter, but it was all Aggies after that. Ilya Uvaydov kicked a go-ahead 39-yard field goal, and Jones followed with a 48-yard touchdown run to help the Aggies take a 23-14 lead into halftime. Jones caught a 2-yard scoring toss from Hedden 4 seconds into the final quarter and Terrione Graves hauled in an 83-yard scoring strike from Hedden a couple minutes later for a 44-14 advantage. Backup Adam Damante connected with AJ Williams III for a 23-yard touchdown and the game's final score with 4:29 left. Hedden completed 11 of 20 passes for 253 yards, and Damante was 3 for 3 for 65. Jones rushed 19 times for 137 yards. Gevaudan totaled 147 yards on 13-for-21 passing. New Mexico State had 553 yards of offense to Mercyhurst's 237. Up next Mercyhurst: At New Mexico on Saturday. New Mexico State: At Hawaii on Saturday. ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here