Football Closes Out its Season in Connecticut
Merrimack Football
Game #10 vs. Southern Connecticut State, November , 2011, 1 p.m., Jess Dow Field
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MERRIMACK CLOSES THE SEASON ON THE ROAD IN CONNECTICUT
Game 10 - Merrimack College (5-4, 4-3 NE-10) vs. Southern Connecticut State (7-2, 6-1 NE-10)
UPDATE
Merrimack closes out its 2011 season with a conference road game at Southern Connecticut. The Warriors are coming off of a disappointing 38-34 loss last week at AIC.
SERIES
Merrimack is 3-8 all-time against the Southern Connecticut State Owls with Merrimack winning three out of the last five games including the last two at Southern Connecticut.
SECOND HALF STRUGGLES CONTINUE AGAINST AIC
The Merrimack football team lost a disappointing game last Saturday to the AIC Yellow Jackets by the score of 38-34. The Warriors were leading at halftime 28-22 but they were unable to maintain the lead in the second half as their offense sputtered. The offense was only able to put up 107 yards in the second half and one touchdown. The first half was dominated by the Merrimack running game as both James Suozzo and Jimon Hill broke the 100 yard plateau in the half. Hill opened up the scoring for the Warriors with a 20 yard scoring run and then scored Merrimack's second touchdown of the day from seven yards out. Suozzo connected with Isaiah Voegeli for two consecutive scoring strikes from seven yards out and 25 yards out respectively. Suozzo scored Merrimack's lone second half touchdown off of a nice five yard touchdown scamper. The Merrimack defense was unable to hold AIC out of the endzone as they scored with under three minutes to play to take the game. Hill finished with 143 and two touchdowns on the ground while Suozzo finished with 139 rushing, 136 passing and three total touchdowns. Voegeli led all receivers with six catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Tony Johnson recorded his team leading 7.5 sack and also forced a fumble on the afternoon. Artis Holt had an interception and Shawn Loiseau finished with seven tackles.
VOEGELI THIRD IN THE COUNTRY IN RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME
Isaiah Voegeli tallied his 14th receiving touchdown of the season in the loss to AIC on Saturday. Voegeli ranks third in the nation in receiving yards per game with 126.9 yards/game. Voegeli recorded his 14th receiving touchdown of the season off of a 25 yard scoring strike from James Suozzo early in the second quarter. He is tied for third in the country in receiving touchdowns. Voegeli has recorded at least five catches, 118 yards and one touchdown in each win this season.
PERRY'S HIGH-SCORING OFFENSE RETURNS
John Perry's high scoring offense is back at it in 2011 as they are first in the NE-10 and seventh nationally in total yards per game (477.7). The Warriors are also ranked second in the NE-10 and sixth nationally in points per game (41.0). The offense is led by James Suozzo who has recorded 1,793 yards and 14 touchdown passes on the season. Suozzo has also racked up 598 rushing yards, which is good for second on the team, and 12 rushing scores, which is good for first on the team. The Merrimack defense has also put forth a strong effort this season forcing 134 third downs and only allowing 43 first downs on those attempts.
LOISEAU SECOND IN THE COUNTRY IN TACKLES/GAME
After his seven tackle performance in Saturday's loss to AIC senior All-American Shawn Loiseau is ranked second in the country in tackles per game with 12.0 tackles a game. Loiseau has racked up a team-high 108 tackles so far this season. Loiseau has recorded three consecutive seasons of 100 plus tackles for the Warriors.
SUOZZO AND HILL CRACK 100 YARD PLATEAU
The Merrimack running game looked unstopable on Saturday afternoon in the first half as James Suozzo and Jimon Hill both broke the 100 yard plateau. Hill ran for 120 and two touchdowns in the first half while James Suozzo ran for 102 yards. The second half wasnt as freindly to the two runners as they only combined for 60 rushing yards in the second half as the Warriors offense couldnt get going.
JOHNSON 2nd IN NE-10 WITH 7.5 SACKS
Tony Johnson is second in the conference with 7.5 sacks after racking up a sack against AIC. Johnson is 2.5 sacks behind league leader Tom Herd from New Haven. After setting the single-season school record in 2008 as a freshman with 11.5 sacks, which ranked second in the country, Tony Johnson enters the game this week with 36 career sacks, most in school history.
LOISEAU ADDS 7 TACKLES TO MERRIMACK RECORD
Senior preseason All-American Shawn Loiseau had himself a quiet game on Saturday as he racked up seven tackles. The seven tackles is Loiseau's lowest output of the season and only second time all year he has been held under 10 tackles. Loiseau has racked up 3.5 sacks on the year and has notched at least one tackle for a loss in every game for the Warriors this year. Loiseau has 369 career tackles which ranks him third in conference history.
MERRIMACK SCORES 369TH POINT OF SEASON
Merrimack recorded 34 points against AIC on Saturday to bring their season total to 369 points in nine games. The 41.0 points per game is second in the NE-10 and sixth in the nation for the season. The Warriors have scored 60 or more points two times this season, which makes them the only team in the NE-10 to do so.
SUOZZO NEARS NUMEROUS SCHOOL RECORDS
James Suozzo is closing in on virtually every quarterback school record. Suozzo needs 5 touchdowns, 477 passing yards, 65 completions, and 153 attempts for the school record for a career. He has an outside shot at the career rushing records, needing 124 attempts and 724 yards this season.
