Clan-Members » You battle your way through it.Troy Tulowitz

ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech was struggling to put Mercer away.Coach Paul Johnson wanted to keep his offense on the field.So he called a fake punt that worked to perfection.Chase Alford rumbled 21 yards after taking a direct snap, leading to a touchdown that clinched the Yellow Jackets 35-10 victory over Mercer on Saturday.Quarterback Justin Thomas ran for a touchdown before sitting out the second half with what was described as a minor injury.Backup Matthew Jordan had a couple of 1-yard TD runs, the second one coming after the fake to finally finish off the scrappy Bears , a 4-year-old Southern Conference program playing its first game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.I was like, `Lets go. Weve got another shot, Jordan said.The Yellow Jackets (2-0) overcame an early 7-0 deficit. Thomas tied the game on a 13-yard scoring run late in the first quarter, and short-yardage specialist Jordan put the Yellow Jackets ahead to stay with his first TD.Mercer (0-2) started the second half with a 17-play, 61-yard drive that consumed nearly 8 1/2 minutes, leading to a field goal that cut the deficit to 21-10. On Georgia Techs next possession, the Bears appeared to force a three-and-out.With the temperature climbing into the 90s on a sunny, sweltering day, Johnson didnt want his defense to go back on the field so quickly.So he turned to Alford to pull off the fake.We needed to get another possession, the linebacker said. Coach said to run it. I was able to get some good blocking and get the first down.Thomas ran seven times for 69 yards and completed 5-of-10 passes for 80 yards before calling it a day. He couldve gone back in if needed, according to Johnson.No need. Jordan did just fine, rushing 12 times for 44 yards.Mercer stunned the home crowd by jumping ahead on John Russ 32-yard TD pass to Avery Ward, after Georgia Tech fumbled the ball away on the opening possession of the game.Im awfully proud of the effort and grit they showed out there, Bears coach Bobby Lamb said.The Yellow Jackets turned to their running game to wear down Mercer, finishing with 364 yards on the ground. Qua Searcy led the way with 91 yards and six other players were in double figures rushing.I was hoping we would play better, Johnson said. Theres a lot of things we can improve on, a lot of things we can get better at. Its a process.Russ was 24 of 38 for 225 yards. The Bears were limited to 85 yards rushing.SHAKING THINGS UPJohnson followed through on his threat to make lineup changes after a lackluster win over Boston College in the season opener.Searcy got the nod at A-back, Andrew Marshall started at left tackle and Grant Aasen took over the punting duties (though only for one ugly kick). Also, Marcus Marshall started at B-back after freshman Dedrick Mills was suspended for violating team rules.Andrew Marshall wound up playing extensively at right tackle when Trey Klock went out in the first half with what appeared to be an injured right leg.THE TAKEAWAYMercer: The Bears picked up a $300,000 payday for making an 87-mile trip to Atlanta, which didnt even require a hotel stay. We take a lot of money home, Lamb quipped.Georgia Tech: Its hard to read much into a victory over an outclassed opponent, though the Yellow Jackets at least got a chance to send out some little-used players. Third-string quarterback TaQuon Marshall scored his first college touchdown on a late 11-yard run.UP NEXTMercer: The Bears return home to meet Tennessee Tech, still looking for their first win of the season.Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets will take a step up in competition when they host Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference next Saturday. This will be the first meeting between the schools since 2009. Georgia Tech has not lost to the Commodores since 1941, going 11-0-1 since then.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---AP College Football site: www.collegefootball.ap.org Steven Adams Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Kevin Hervey Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Russell-Westbrook-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Abdel Nader Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Devon Hall Thunder Jersey .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. TORONTO -- Pitching was dominant when the Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros played a four-game series at Minute Maid Park last week.The Blue Jays won the series 3-1 by an aggregate score of 10-5.The teams open a three-game series at Rogers Centre on Friday with indications that the hitters could be slightly more effective.The Astros are coming off a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in which they won 15-7 and 10-2, and had 35 hits combined in the two games. The 25 runs matched the total from their previous 11 games.Its been crazy, feast or famine right now for us, said catcher Evan Gattis, who homered and had four RBI in the second game.After dropping the first game of the series to the Twins, the Astros won the next three and are 43-27 since May 22. Carlos Correa has homered in three straight games and Jose Altuve was 5-for-8 in the doubleheader.We had one continual day of offense that didnt stop, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. It was a fun day; a long day, pretty exhausting, but to walk out of here with two wins after being down by a lot of runs in the rain is a pretty good feeling.The Twins led 5-0 in the third Wednesday before the game was called because of rain, forcing a doubleheader Thursday.The Blue Jays went 4-3 on a trip to Houston and Kansas City despite being outscored 19-17.Their offense also showed signs of revival as they won two of three games from the Tampa Bay Rays, winning 7-5 and 7-0 with a 9-2 loss in between upon their return home.You get in those ruts where you are having trouble scoring runs, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. People dont want to hear it, but tthats baseball.dddddddddddd If you have been around baseball awhile, you see that. You battle your way through it.Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the Blue Jays win Wednesday to snap a club-record string of 17 straight solo home runs. They had not homered with a runner in scoring position since July 20, an 18-game span.The Astros will be without closer Ken Giles for the series. He is taking paternity leave and was preparing to return to Houston to be with his wife, who is expecting their first child.Luke Gregerson is expected to be reinstated from the disabled list Friday to take Giles spot in the bullpen.The Astros start rookie right-hander Joe Musgrove (0-0, 0.79 ERA) against Toronto left-hander Francisco Liriano (6-11, 5.34) in the opener.Musgrove made a superb major league debut against the Blue Jays on Aug. 2 when he took over from starter Lance McCullers, who was forced from the game with an elbow injury. The 23-year-old struck out eight and allowed one hit and one walk in 4 1/3 innings in a game the Blue Jays won 2-1.He made his first major league start five days later, allowing five hits and one run while striking out six in seven innings.Liriano makes his second start for the Blue Jays since he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He did not factor in the decision in the Blue Jays 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals last Friday. He allowed seven hits, two walks and three runs (two earned) while striking out five over six innings. ' ' '