Macon, Ga. — Three of the key things the Stetson football team focuses on every week is winning the turnover battle, limiting penalties and stopping opposing big plays.

Mercer turned the tables in all three categories on the Hatters Saturday night at Five Star Stadium, exploding for 34 second quarter points to turn a competitive game into a 57-14 victory for the home team.

Mercer improved to 2-0 on the season with the victory while the Hatters slip to 1-1.

The Bears took advantage of three first half interceptions and got a boost from 100 yards in penalties against the Hatters. With that, Mercer needed just 13 offensive plays to score five touchdowns in the second quarter to blow the game wide open.

After falling behind 14-0 early in the game, the Hatters cut the deficit in half on a 12-yard TD pass from Ryan Tentler to Chris Crawford from 12-yards out with 5:29 left in the first quarter.

Mercer answered that with a drive that ended in a field goal, but the Hatters appeared ready to get back into the end zone when Tentler's pass was deflected and the batted up in the air before Mercer's Corey Lockett came down with the interception to end the threat.

From there, it was all Mercer. The Bears scored on a three-yard run by John Russ, a 49-yard pass from Russ to Avery Ward, a 69-yard run by Tee Mitchell, an 18-yard pass from Russ to Marquise Irvin and then a 46-yard pass from Russ to Mitchell with just 11 seconds left in the half.

After halftime both teams turned over the offensive work to backups. The Hatters were able to produce the only points in the quarter when Blake Plattsmier capped an 11-play drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge.

Mercer capped the scoring in the fourth quarter when Bears backup quarterback Taylor Brumby capped a 32-yard drive with a one-yard TD plunge. Brumby rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, all in the second half.

Overall, Mercer quarterback John Russ completed 16-of-19 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half. The 336 passing yards for Russ set a new single-game record for the Bears.

Overall, Mercer finished with 623 yards of total offense, which is the third most the Hatters have allowed in a game. Stetson finished with 299 yards of offense, but only 43 of those yards came on the ground.

Tentler completed 8-of-16 passes for 163 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Like Russ, he did not play in the second half.

On a night with few defensive highlights, the Hatters were led by All-American Donald Payne with 12 tackles, including two for loss.