New Haven Drops Football, 42-14, Saturday
Links: Box Score
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After pulling even at 7-7 with a touchdown run late in the opening quarter, the Merrimack College football team surrendered 35 uninterrupted points, as the University of New Haven ran its way to a 42-14 victory against the Warriors on Saturday afternoon at DellaCamera Stadium.
The Basics
Score: New Haven 42, Merrimack 14
Records: Merrimack (3-5, 3-4 NE-10) | New Haven (5-3, 5-2 NE-10)
Location: DellaCamera Stadium | West Haven, Conn.
How It Happened
The theme of the afternoon was New Haven's ability to pound its way on the ground to victory, as the hosts racked up 177 yards of total rushing compared to a mere 33 for the visitors.
After New Haven took an early 7-0 lead, Merrimack used an 11-play, 87-yard drive that was capped off by first-year junior Adriell Mayes (Chesapeake, Va.) busting into the end zone from two yards out to draw even with 2:46 to play in the opening frame.
But after a big kickoff return from the Chargers, Andre Anderson broke free on the first play from scrimmage, hurdling 88 yards down the left sideline and in to quickly give the leads back to the hosts – one that they would never relinquish.
Merrimack's offense, meanwhile, was forced to punt on its next two drives, and New Haven capitalized by scoring twice more in the second quarter – once on a Lemar Thomas one-yard rush, the other a 42-yard pass-and-catch from Joey Bradley to Henry Adegunie – to make it a 28-7 advantage for the Chargers by halftime.
After the Warriors punted for the third time in four possessions early in the third quarter, New Haven answered again with a 10-play, 76-yard drive that was capped by a four-yard scoring rush from Trevor Officer, making it 35-7.
Finally, the Warriors assembled a promising drive and appeared poised to respond until hitting the red zone; New Haven's defense forced a loss of seven on a rush attempt, and back-to-back incomplete passes gave the Chargers the ball back on downs.
Again, New Haven made the most out of Merrimack's mistakes, slicing its way downfield with another 10-play drive that took 4:44 more off the clock and ended with Bradley taking it to the house from 21 yards out, running up the hosts' lead to a 42-7 margin.
Merrimack would get one last touchdown on its penultimate drive of the game, as freshman Joe Capobianco (Oceanside, N.Y.) connected with junior Jere Brown (Freeport, N.Y.) from 11 yards out to account for the final margin of defeat.
Inside The Numbers
- In addition to its 177-33 edge in rushing yards, New Haven owned a 445-303 advantage in total offense, as Merrimack held a slim lead in passing yards (270-268)
- Merrimack was held to 44% (8-18) on third down conversions, although it did succeed on 3-of-6 fourth-down tries; New Haven, meanwhile, succeeded on 10-of-14 (71%) third-down tries
- New Haven maneuvered its way toward a whopping nine sacks, while Merrimack was held without one for only the second time this season
- Neither side finished with any takeaways two Merrimack fumbles and one by New Haven
- Capobianco finished 35-of-44 for 270 yards and one touchdown
- Mayes led the Warrior rushing game with 69 yards on 17 attempts (4.1/rush) and was also the team's top receiver with 96 yards on eight receptions (12.0/catch), including a long gain of 64 yards; Brown totaled a team-best 12 receptions
Up Next
Merrimack returns home for the final two games of the regular season starting next Saturday (Nov. 1) against AIC. Kickoff from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 1 p.m.
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