The last time folks outside of central Kentucky paid much attention to Mercer County was in 2006, when it made off with the Class AA championship in 2006.

 

It’s time to take notice of the Titans again.

 

This Mercer team isn’t yet being considered a championship contender, but it is doing things it hasn’t done since that special season seven years ago — and even longer, in at least one case.

 

To put it simply, the Titans are winning. They have won their first three games out of the gate, giving them their best start since 2006, when they went 15-0.

 

And they are on track for a second straight winning season, one year after finishing over .500 for the first time since, you guessed it, ’06.

 

And they haven’t even opened the gates at their home field yet. That will finally happen Friday, when Mercer faces another 3-0 team, Central Hardin, in its home opener.

 

It will be a tough test for Mercer, probably the toughest it has faced to date. But if the Titans have shown us anything in the first three weeks of this season, it is that they are better prepared for such tests than they have been since, that’s right, 2006.

 

So what is it that has made Mercer better?

 

Naturally, it starts with the players. The Titans have more experience and more talent, giving them an array of weapons ranging from a rapidly improving quarterback and a talented trio of receivers to an aggressive defensive line and an athletic secondary.

 

Mercer has won in large part behind a potent offense that is averaging 36.3 points and 317 yards per game.

Quarterback Drew Davis, a sophomore who took over as the Titans’ starter for the second half of last season, has thrown for 532 yards and seven touchdowns, including three TDs last week in a come-from-behind win over West Jessamine.

 

His top three receivers — Russell Sims, Layne Peavler and Chris Crawley-Goodman — have combined to catch 24 of Davis’ 29 completions, with Sims leading the way with 11 catches. And Mercer has used a balanced rushing attack featuring senior Chris Voris and sophomore Kobe Ford at tailback and Davis, all three of whom have rushed for between 102 and 121 yards.

 

Mercer’s defense was in need of improvement after allowing 29.2 points per game last year, and there has been improvement. The Titans are allowing 3 more yards per game than their offense is averaging, but their opponents have scored only 20 points per game, and they have forced nine turnovers, including three interceptions by Peavler and two fumble recoveries by freshman Grayson Blevins.

 

Then there’s the coaching staff, which remained mostly intact for the second straight year. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s headline-worthy in Harrodsburg, where coaches have been coming and going with regularity since Marty Jaggers resigned following the 2008 season.

 

The Titans went through four coaches in four years following Jaggers’ departure, including one who stayed for only one day. The fourth in that line was Chris Pardue, the former Boyle County coach who spent four years as offensive coordinator at Campbellsville University before Mercer hired him in May 2012.

 

Pardue has given every indication that he'll be there a while — he continued to live in nearby Perryville even while he was coaching at Campbellsville — and the stability that he and his staff have provided is something Mercer’s program badly needed.

 

Two weeks ago, Mercer got a significant win when it defeated Danville for the first time in school history after losses to the Admirals in 12 previous meetings. Last week, the Titans rallied from a 20-14 deficit in the second half to beat an improved West Jessamine team. This week, they cracked the Associated Press 4A top 10 at No. 10.

 

Now things get even more challenging for the Titans, as they face a three-game stretch that is easily the toughest part of their regular-season schedule. Following Friday’s game against Central Hardin, they visit Anderson County on Sept. 20, then open District 4A-5 play Sept. 27 against defending champion Lexington Catholic.

 

So by the first of October, we’ll have a pretty good idea of what Mercer is made of. But even at this early stage of the season, it’s clear that the ingredients are there for the Titans’ most successful season since, well, you know.

I believe you jumped the gun with this article. Mercer gets beat the next 2 weeks by Anderson & Lex Cath. Then they will most likely lose to Boyle & Dunbar. Finish 5~5. Mercer imo does not have a running back even close to last years Johnson and the defense gives up way too many points .

I believe you jumped the gun with this article. Mercer gets beat the next 2 weeks by Anderson & Lex Cath. Then they will most likely lose to Boyle & Dunbar. Finish 5~5. Mercer imo does not have a running back even close to last years Johnson and the defense gives up way too many points .

 

 

Mercer is a better team than what they were last season and starting out 3-0 this season still warrants the article. Pardue has the program going in the right direction and that is what people should take from the article. Everyone in this area knows Mercer won't beat LexCath, Boyle or Anderson. Dunbar game is a toss up. They beat Dunbar last year.