Football Cruises to 52-14 Win over Saint Anselm in Home Opener
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Greg Abelli
(Billerica, MA) totaled 182 receiving yards in the first
half, while Shawn Loiseau
(Shrewsbury, MA) was everywhere defensively as Merrimack
cruised to a 52-14 victory over Saint Anselm in the home opener
Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.
Abelli wasted no time as he got the Warriors on the board with a
67-yard touchdown reception midway through the first quarter.
After the Hawks grabbed the 14-7 lead at the end of the first,
Merrimack rattled off five straight second quarter touchdowns.
Justin Marsan
(Methuen, MA) picked off his third pass of the season, and
James
Suozzo (Everett, MA) rushed into the end zone from 17
yards out to tie the game at fourteen. On the ensuing Hawk drive,
Loiseau ended the day for injured quarterback Michael Pierce,
sacking the sophomore and forcing a fumble with Ryan McCarthy
(Newton, MA) jumping on it. Anthony Smalls
(Dorchester, MA) scampered in from there on the next play
from 10-yards out, giving the hosts a lead they would not
relinquish.
With Pierce out, Saint Anselm (1-4, 1-2 NE-10) struggled to move
the ball with Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, Gene Cellini and Marc Wilson
all seeing time at quarterback.
With the Hawks punting on fourth down on the next drive,
Tony
Johnson (Lynn, MA) blocked the punt, and it was
recovered in the end zone by Ethan Weaver
(Brooklyn, CT) for his first career touchdown. Merrimack
concluded the second quarter with a pair of long touchdown passes
on third downs as Suozzo hit Abelli for a 36-yard score and
Isaiah Voegeli
(Hyannis, MA) for a 45-yard score to take a 42-14 halftime
lead.
They cruised from there in the second half, picking up 10 third
quarter points on a Greg Molloy
(Newmarket, NH) field goal and a rushing score from
Smalls, his second of the game.
Suozzo finished with 264 passing yards on 11-of-24 passing with
three touchdowns in three quarters of action, while Abelli, who was
over 100-yards receiving in the first quarter for the third
straight week, finished with 182 receiving yards and two scores.
Smalls totaled 102 yards and two scores on the ground, his first
game of the season over the century mark as the top-ranked offense
in the conference racked up 475 yards.
Loiseau, who entered Saturday's game second in the conference in
tackles per game, led the way defensively with 18 tackles,
including 14 in the first half, to go with 1.5 sacks and three
hurries. McCarthy had another strong day, recovering a fumble and
intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter. The Warriors forced
three turnovers, picking up a special teams score for the second
straight week, while allowing just 43 rushing yards on 34
carries.
Merrimack (2-2, 2-0 NE-10) visits Bentley University Friday
night at 7 p.m. for a showdown with the Falcons.
