Football Rolls to 48-20 Victory over New Haven Saturday
NORTH ANDOVER, MA - James Suozzo (Everett, MA)
rushed for three touchdowns while throwing for another two, as the
Merrimack football team cruised to a 48-20 victory over New Haven
Saturday afternoon on Homecoming Weekend at Warrior Field.
The Warriors improve to 5-2 overall, 4-1 in the conference and
remain within a half-game of first-place Southern Connecticut, who
sits at 5-1 in the Northeast-10 after beating Stonehill on
Saturday. Merrimack hits the road for two critical games beginning
at American International next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the
Northeast-10 "PackCast" Game of the Week before a showdown with
Southern Connecticut on October 30.
In the victory, captain Chris Laham (Westwood,
MA) broke yet another school record as he is now the
all-time school leader for career receiving yards with 2,298. Laham
needed 61 yards Saturday to break Elfren Quiles' record, and he
broke the school mark with a 29-yard reception in the third
quarter.
The Warriors, who led 34-13 at halftime, started the scoring as
Suozzo connected with Laham from 39 yards out for the early 7-0
lead. They doubled the lead late in the first as Suozzo scampered
into the end zone from four yards out to cap a six-play, 79-yard
drive, that was highlighted by a 39-yard rush by Anthony
Smalls (Dorchester, MA) and a 25-yard reception by
Patrick Easley (Tulsa, OK) that moved the ball to
the four-yard line.
After just an 11-yard Charger punt on the ensuing drive,
Merrimack took advantage of great field position and upped the lead
to 21-0 after Suozzo rushed into the end zone from seven yards out
for his second score of the day.
The Chargers cut the lead to 21-7 as Chris Osiecki found Kameel
Lashley in the end zone, but the Warriors responded immediately as
Smalls found the end zone from five-yards out, pushing the lead to
28-7. The big play on the drive came on fourth and six at the UNH
27-yard line as Suozzo found Jeremiah Watts (Clovis,
CA) across the middle for a 22-yard gain setting up a
first and goal.
The hosts made it 34-7 after taking advantage of excellent field
position yet again, as Suozzo completed an eight-play, 30-yard
drive with his third rushing score of the game, this time from
one-yard out with 1:39 remaining.
"We came out right from the start today," said head coach John
Perry." "We talked about getting a fast start, and today, we were
ready to go offensively, defensively and on special teams right
away. All good teams can run the ball, and today, we got the
running game going again. Smalls and Suozzo had very good games.
Once we get that balance going of executing offensively and
defensively, we are a pretty good team."
New Haven added a touchdown of its own with 15 seconds left as
Osiecki found Sharieff Hall from 10-yards out to cut the lead to
34-13 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Warrior defense took over in a scoreless third quarter,
forcing two turnovers as Jason Fischer (Freeland,
MD) and Garrett Boyd (Newburyport, MA)
both came up with interceptions, stifling two Charger drives.
After catching a career-high 15 balls last week against
Assumption, Watts found the end zone in the fourth quarter, putting
the game away, as he caught a 19-yard pass from Suozzo to increase
the lead to 41-13. The Chargers picked up their third touchdown of
the game on the next drive, but Watts was there to recover the
onside kick, preventing a possible comeback.
Freshman Jimon Hill (North Chicago, IL) added
his first collegiate touchdown in the fourth, rushing into the end
zone from 28-yards out.
After rushing for under 100 yards in last week's loss to
Assumption, Smalls returned to form, getting 140 yards on 21
carries. Suozzo finished with 290 total yards, 81 rushing and 209
passing, completing 13-of-27 passes. Laham had five catches for 94
yards, while Watts totaled four receptions for 61 yards.
Merrimack's offense, ranked fifth in the country, totaled another
483 yards in the win, while scoring a season-high 48 points.
Shawn Loiseau (Shrewsbury, MA), third in the
conference in tackles, anchored the defense once again, posting 13
tackles, including 11 in the first half. Forcing two turnovers, the
defense limited New Haven to 284 total yards, as sophomore
Tony Johnson (Lynn, MA) tallied two of Merrimack's
four sacks in the win. Fischer had a sack and an interception,
continuing his breakout season at cornerback.
Osieski threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-34
passing but also had two interceptions. Hall led the receivers with
eight catches for 81 yards, while Josh Smart rushed for 40 yards on
15 carries as New Haven dropped to 3-4 overall, 2-4 in the
conference with the loss.
