Football Falls to Bentley in 2014 Finale, 30-7
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Hosting a Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend matchup for the third year in a row, the Merrimack College football team was topped by nearby rival Bentley, 30-7, to close out the 2014 season on Saturday at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: Bentley 30, Merrimack 7
Records: Merrimack (4-7) | Bentley (5-6)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
Merrimack trailed from the get-go Saturday, as Bentley's first play from scrimmage went for a 54-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to set the tone early.
The Falcons raced out to a 9-0 lead late in the first after knocking in a 30-yard field goal before Merrimack coughed it up on the ensuing kickoff return to set the Falcons up deep in Warrior territory. They would need just two plays before another 23-yard pass-and-catch made it a 16-0 lead for the visitors, one that would stand the rest of the half.
Merrimack came out of the locker room and chewed up plenty of clock and yardage thanks to an 18-play, 75-yard drive over a span of nearly 10 minutes that concluded with junior Armond McRae (Nashua, N.H.) bulldozing his way through the trenches and into the end zone from two yards out to make it a 16-7 contest.
Bentley, losers of two straight one-possession games against Merrimack dating back to last fall, answered quickly and efficiently, needing only three more plays (and 58 yards) thanks to another bomb from quarterback Dan Guadagnoli to Jeff Hill to run up the lead to 23-7.
Early in the fourth, the Falcons added one more on a 25-yard connection from Guadagnoli to Sean Myers to account for the final margin of defeat.
Inside The Numbers
- Turnovers haunted Merrimack, as the Warriors lost two fumbles and were intercepted once
- The defense did return the favor to Bentley, however, picking Guadagnoli off twice and forcing (and recovering) one fumble
- One area that Merrimack dominated was the time of possession battle, holding the rock for 34:09 compared to only 25:51 for Bentley
- Sophomore Brian Carroll (Sudbury, Mass.) led the team with nine tackles, a forced fumble and three pass break-ups, while six different Warriors got to Guadagnoli for a sack
- Senior Ervin Johnson (Bradenton, Fla.) finished his three-year career with the program with an interception and a pass break-up, as well
- Sophomore QB Nick Laspada (Billerica, Mass.) led the aerial assault with 242 yards on 29-of-43 passing
- Bentley barely outgained Merrimack, 372-367, on the day, thanks to Guadagnoli's 299 yards passing
- Merrimack held Bentley to only 2-of-11 (18%) on third-down conversions
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
