For a brief, delirious moment on Saturday, fans of Mercer and Western Carolina each believed their team had won.

After a field goal put Mercer ahead 49-47 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens led a drive that set up the Catamounts to answer with a potential game-winning field goal of their own. But with 3 seconds left, kicker Marcus Trout’s 33-yard attempt drifted just right of the uprights as time expired.

However, confused Western Carolina fans stormed the field, convinced their team had won. At the same time, a small group of Mercer supporters jumped for joy, sure the kick had missed.

One of Trout’s teammates lifted the kicker into the air to celebrate a field goal that only Trout seemed to know had missed. Players from both sides celebrated, believing they were the victors.

For the next thirty seconds or so, hardly anyone in the stadium — not the players, fans or coaches — seemed certain whether the kick was good. In the end, Mercer emerged victorious in the back-and-forth FCS contest between the two Southern Conference leaders, holding onto its 49-47 win with Trout’s kick confirmed to have missed.

It was a rare sight — two celebrations unfolding at once, one erased in a matter of seconds.

With the win, Mercer improved its record to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the Southern Conference, while also clinching their second straight conference title and an automatic bid for the FCS playoffs.

Mercer quarterback Braden Atkinson threw for 443 yards and three touchdowns on 23-for-39 passing. Wideout Adjatay Dabbs added 147 receiving yards, and CJ Miller totaled 148 yards from scrimmage, including three rushing scores.

The win marked Mercer’s tenth straight victory over Western Carolina, which fell to 6-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference. Dickens threw for 551 yards and seven touchdowns, but his effort wasn’t quite enough to deliver West Carolina its first win over Mercer since 2015.