Football Returns Home to Face Saint A's Saturday Afternoon

10/20/2012 12:00:00 AM

Watch/Listen | Game Notes (.pdf) | Live Stats | Twitter (@MC_Athletics) 

NORTH ANDOVER – Mass. - Merrimack returns to Martone-Mejail field on Saturday after nearly a month on the road. Merrimack is coming off of a 22-20 loss at the hands of the Stonehill Skyhawks on Saturday. Saint Anselm is coming off their first win of the season as they downed the Pace Setters by the score of 48-21 in front of their home crowd.

SERIES

Merrimack has a lifetime 6-4 record against Saint Anselm including a 58-7 victory over the Hawks last season on the road. Merrimack has won three straight contests against the Hawks and they are averaging 50.3 points per contest.

THREE SECOND HALF TURNOVERS DOOM MERRIMACK AT STONEHILL

The Merrimack football team was defeated on Saturday afternoon by the Stonehill Skyhawks on their Senior Day as three second half cost the Warriors the victory, falling 22-20. Merrimack took the 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter after a 27 yard touchdown scamper by senior quarterback Joe Clancy but they allowed a late 24 yard field goal and lost by two. The Warriors had a chance on their final posession of the game as Steve Serwon hauled in a 16 yard pass but he fumbled the ball and the Skyhawks fell on it for the victory. Captain Joe Clancy continued his strong play for the Warriors as he broke the 300 yard passing plateau for the fifth time on the season after going 39-for-61 for 312 yards and two total touchdowns. Jimon Hill racked up a career-high 10 catches for 80 yards in the loss for the Warriors.

VOEGELI LEADS NE-10 IN ALL RECEIVING CATEGORIES

Senior wide receiver Isaiah Voegeli continued to lead the Warriors and the nation in catches on Saturday as he grabbed 10 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown. For the season, Voegeli has 66 catches for 817 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks third in the country in total receiving yards, second in receiving yards per game and first in receptions per game with 11. He sits atop the NE-10 in all receiving categories and has been named to the NE-10 Honor Roll on five ocassions so far this season including four straight weeks. Voegeli set the NE-10 record in week five with 17 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the Warriors 63-14 victory over Pace.

In only his sixth collegiate start, Merrimack senior Joe Clancy broke the 300 passing yard plateau for the fifth time in the Warriors loss on Saturday. Clancy finished the game going 39-for-61 for 313 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Clancy leads the NE-10 in passing yards with 2,191 and is second in touchdowns with 13. Clancy has completed 30 or more passes four times this season including completing a NE-10 record 50 passes in the Warriors loss to AIC.

HILL HAULS IN A CAREER-HIGH 10 Passes

Senior running back Jimon Hill has helped the Warriors out in many ways since joining the Warriors including catching the ball out of the backfield. But on Saturday, Hill recorded his greatest receiving day of his career as he finished with a career-high 10 catches for 80 yards. The 10 catches tied Hill for the team lead with Isaiah Voegeli. Hill also finished the game with 14 rushing yards and a touchdown in the defeat.

Senior captain Joe Clancy currently ranks in the top ten in many passing categories nationally along with leading the NE-10 in most categories. Clancy ranks eighth in the country in total passing yards (2,191) and fourth in passing yards per contest (365.2). He also ranks second in completions per game with 34.3 and third in total completions with 206.

SPREADING THE WEALTH

The Merrimack offense is known to spread the ball around to all of its receivers and on Saturday this was no different as starting quarterback Joe Clancy found seven different targets during the Warriors 22-20 loss to Stonehill. Clancy completed 10 passes to two different receivers as he found Isaiah Voegeli 10 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and he found Jimon Hill 10 times for 80 yards. Tight end Steve Serwon continued his steady play as he grabbed seven balls for 65 yards and Shane Ferguson racked up five grabs for 42 yards. All seven receivers had at least two catches in the loss for Merrimack.

Junior Matt Tripicchio continued to impress on Saturday as he compiled seven tackles in the loss, including five solo tackles. Tripicchio also racked up 3.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. For the season, Tripicchio ranks fourth on the team in total tackles (32), first in tackles for a loss (11), first in sacks (2.5) and first in quarterback hurries (6).

VOEGELI CHASING MERRIMACK SCHOOL RECORDS

Senior wide receiver Isaiah Voegeli has etched his name in the Merrimack College record books and is looking to establish himself as the best wide receiver ever in school histoy. Voegeli broke the school record for receiving yards in a career against AIC and he now has 2,871 receiving yards. Voegeli also ranks first in career receptions and second in career touchdown catches with 27.

After leading the NE-10 in total offense for the past four seasons, John Perry has his offense once again at the top of the league in 2012. The Warriors rank first in total offense averaging 490.5 yards per game and first in passing averaging 365.2 yards. The 365.2 passing yards and 490.5 total yards per contest rank the Warriors in fifth place in the country. Merrimack also ranks second in the conference averaging 33.8 points per contest after tying a school record with 63 points two weeks ago at Pace. The Merrimack offense posesses the leading quarterback and wide receiver in total yards in the conference.

FIVE WARRIORS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

Entering the 2012 campaign Merrimack received five preseason All-American accolades. Offensively the Warriors had three players represented as Isaiah Voegeli, Jimon Hill and Zach Gilbert were all recognized for their play as juniors. On the defensive side of the ball the Warriors had two players including Michael Wiggins and Artis Holt. Voegeli led the Northeast-10 in receiving yards and touchdowns last season while Hill broke 1,000 total yards. Wiggins led the Warriors defense with 7.5 sacks to go along with 13.5 tackles for a loss, both team highs. Holt was dynamic as a return man along with defensively as he recorded one kickoff return for a touchdown with an average return of 29.6 yards and totaled 33 tackles and two interceptions.

MAJOR HONORS IN 2011

The Warriors received two major conference awards following the 2011 season as senior Shawn Loiseau was named the NE-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second time. Loiseau broke the 100 tackle plateau for the third straight season and led the conference in tackles. Defensive end Tony Johnson was also named Defensive Lineman of the Year for the second time for his efforts. In all the Warriors received seven All-Conference team members. The All-Conference members were Loiseau, Johnson, Isaiah Voegeli, Jimon Hill, Zach Gilbert, Artis Holt and Michael Wiggins. Voegeli, Johnson and Loiseau were all also represented on the All-Regional team last season.

WARRIORS SCORING STREAK REACHES 120 GAMES

Merrimack has scored points in 120 consecutive games heading into this weeks matchup with Saint Anselm, which ranks them in the top 20 for current point streaks. Valdosta State leads the nation by scoring in 247 consecutive games while conference foe Bentley is the only other Northeast-10 school ranked inside the top 20, scoring in 131 straight.

October 1, 2011, Merrimack 58, Saint Anselm 7

Manchester, N.H. – The Merrimack football team pushed their record to 3-1 (2-0 NE-10) with a dominating 58-7 victory on the road at Saint Anselm. The Warriors defense was a presence all afternoon as they caused four turnovers and recorded 8.5 tackles for a loss that totaled 33 yards. The Warriors compiled a total of 649 yards of offense on the afternoon, the second most prolific offensive output in school history. The lead was extended to 30-0 on a five yard scoring plunge by Suozzo after an interception by Holt. Saint Anselm responded quickly with a 64 yard touchdown reception by Eric Feehan to make the score 30-7. Hill finished the first half 135 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns. Shawn Loiseau (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded a game-high eight tackles in the first half for the Warriors. James Suozzo finished the game with 164 passing yards, 131 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Jimon Hill finished the game with 162 yards on the ground on 29 carries and three touchdowns. Isaiah Voegeli continued his hot start with seven receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown. Defensively the Warriors were given a strong performance by their Preseason All-American linebacker Shawn Loiseau who finished the game with a team-high 15 tackles. Tony Johnson finshed the contest with six tackles and two sack.

LAST GAME RECAP - Pace (Week 5 - 9/29/12)

October 13, 2012, Merrimack 20, Stonehill 22

EASTON, MA – Despite another 300 yard passing performance from senior quarterback Joe Clancy (Newburyport, Mass.), the Merrimack football team was downed on Saturday by the Stonehill Skyhawks at W.B. Mason Stadium by the score of 22-20. With the loss, Merrimack falls to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Clancy produced his fifth 300 plus passing performance of the season in the loss as he finished going 39-for-61 for 312 yards and one touchdown. Clancy also scampered for a 27 yard rushing touchdown in the second half of play. Senior All-American Isaiah Voegeli (Hyannis, Mass.) continued his impressive play as he added to his nation leading receptions total with 10 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. Jimon Hill (North Chicago, Ill.) has his best receiving day of his college career as he finished the game tied for the team lead with 10 catches for 80 yards and had a long catch of 17 yards. The Warriors had one final chance to respond but tight end Steve Serwon (Amesbury, Mass.) coughed up the ball after a nice 16 yard gain at the Stonehill 33 yard line, ending the comeback attempt for Merrimack. With the lead and the ball with just over seven minutes remaining in the game, Merrimack seemed poised to put the game away but a crucial mistake by Clancy gave the Skyhawks the ball. Stonehill defensive lineman Ray Bass sacked Clancy for a seven yard loss at the Warriors 17 yard line and caused the senior to fumble the ball, which was scooped up by Stonehill. The Skyhawks wasted two minutes of the clock and then kicked the game-winning 24 yard field goal, making the score 22-20. Merrimack was led defensively by senior linebacker Michael Jones (Chicago, Ill.) who finished the game with a team-high 10 tackles in the loss. Leading tackler, Jimmy Holland (Billerica, Mass.) continued to rack up tackles as he finished the game with eight while junior Ervin Johnson (Bradenton, FL) had a season-high seven tackles. Junior defensive end, Matt Tripicchio (Lake Zurich, Ill.), continued his solid play finishing with seven tackles and one sack.

Merrimack has teamed up with America One Networks to deliver live broadband broadcasts for the third straight season. Warrior games that will be streamed online include all home football, basketball and hockey broadcasts.