Football Greets Homecoming Weekend Crowd with Resounding 41-16 Victory vs. Saint Anselm Saturday
Links: Box Score | Highlights | Photos
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Playing in front of a crowd of over 3,000 in the marquee event of Homecoming Weekend, the Merrimack College football team gave the Warrior faithful plenty to cheer for en route to resounding 41-16 Northeast-10 Conference victory over Saint Anselm College on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 41, Saint Anselm 16
Records: Merrimack (3-4, 3-3 NE-10) | Saint Anselm (2-5, 2-4 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Record-Breakers
Senior wide receiver Jere Brown (Freeport, N.Y.) became the program's all-time leader in receptions after hauling in 10 catches in Saturday's win, upping his four-year total to 212. That mark surpasses the previous record of 208 set by former All-American Isaiah Voegeli '13.
How It Happened
Returning to the friendly confines of Martone-Mejail Field for the first time in three weeks, Merrimack took advantage of some sloppy play by the Hawks to stake itself a 21-10 lead through halftime.
After the visitors edged ahead on a field goal early in the first, Merrimack would punt back to the Hawks, who began the ensuing drive inside their own 20. But Joe Hayman fumbled the ball untouched and graduate student Thomas Bradley (Gaithersburg, Md.) pounced on the loose ball to set the Warriors up in prime field position at the Saint Anselm 2.
The hosts needed only three plays to punch in their first score of the afternoon, as senior tailback Adriell Mayes (Chesapeake, Va.) burst through the gap from a yard out to make it a 7-3 lead.
Three plays into Saint Anselm's next drive, junior Brian Carroll (Sudbury, Mass.) picked off freshman quarterback Eric Fairweather – the fourth pick in the last three games for the defensive back – to give the ball right back to the offense. Merrimack thought it found the end zone on the first play of that drive, but a 54-yard scoring rush was brought back on a penalty.
The Warriors wouldn't panic, as junior Nick Davis (Oxnard, Calif.) connected with Brown for a 31-yard completion that sent the game into the second quarter. Two plays later, Davis connected with sophomore Cody Demers (Dracut, Mass.) from 15 yards out, and just like that, it was a 14-3 Merrimack lead.
Both sides traded scores later in the second quarter, as Davis hauled in a perfect fade pass in the right corner of the end zone for his 34th career touchdown and eighth of the season; Fairweather would get Saint A's back to within 11 after going 61 yards untouched on a quarterback keeper to make it a 21-10 affair heading into the break.
The Hawks had a chance to draw closer after a Merrimack fumble on its first drive of the second half, but another unforced fumble was recovered by senior captain Ben Polci (Newton, Mass.) – his second recovery of the afternoon – and that led to another Merrimack score. The Warriors, who started at the Saint Anselm 21, needed only three plays before Mayes rushed in from five yards out for his second score of the afternoon, one that made it a 28-10 lead.
Redshirt sophomore Stephen Camarro (North Reading, Mass.) booted a pair of field goals to tack on six more points to the hosts' lead, as the kicker tied his season single-game high with 11 points on the day.
Down by three possessions, Saint Anselm would get one last touchdown early in the fourth, but the Warriors would salute their noteworthy crowd with one last scoring barrage, using a 16-play, 72-yard drive that drained 7:38 off the clock and concluded with Mayes scoring his career-high third touchdown of the afternoon from six yards out to account for the final margin of victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack totaled 381 yards of total offense while the defense limited the Hawks to only 271 and 13 first downs
- The Warriors also accounted for four takeaways – one on the interception and three via fumbles
- Junior Carey Wells-Jowers (Baltimore, Md.) and senior Brett Harrington (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished with one sack each, while the latter also accounted for three tackles for losses and forced a fumble
- Davis completed 23-of-45 (51.1%) of his passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and 156 of those yards went to Brown, who finished with 10 receptions and a touchdown
- Mayes set a new personal mark with three scores while racking up 70 yards rushing
Up Next
Merrimack concludes its regular-season home slate with a Senior Day showdown against Pace next Saturday (Oct. 24). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
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