Stonehill Edges Football, 17-14, Saturday
Links: Box Score | Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After playing even football for nearly the entirety of regulation, in the end, a field goal with less than two seconds left was the difference, as visiting and fourth-seeded Stonehill edged the third-seeded Merrimack College football team, 17-14, in both teams' Northeast-10 Championship Weekend matchup on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: Stonehill 17, Merrimack 14
Records: Merrimack (6-5) | Stonehill (7-4)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
After winning four straight games to close out the regular season en route to posting six conference wins for the first time in six years, Merrimack finished as the No. 3 seed in the league standings and earned the right to host the battle for third place for the league's championship weekend.
Appropriately enough, it was Merrimack's defense that was the star of the first half after holding Stonehill off the board for the first 30 minutes of regulation. One of the most improved units in the league from last year, the Warrior defensive corps came up with an interception on Stonehill's first drive of the game before forcing the Skyhawks into four straight punts.
Merrimack's offense looked poised to take the lead early in the second quarter after driving down inside the 10, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Skyhawks. The defense would come up with another takeaway by means of a forced fumble to give the ball back, but Merrimack missed a field goal attempt to keep the game scoreless through halftime.
The Skyhawks broke through on their first drive of the second half after Matt Foltz connected with Corey White for a 64-yard touchdown, but Merrimack would draw even later in the third. Junior Nick Davis (Oxnard, Calif.) capped off a 13-play, 84-yard drive by finding senior Jere Brown (Freeport, N.Y.) for the latter's 38th career touchdown reception, one that tied the all-time career record at Merrimack.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Brown helped set up Merrimack's next scoring drive thanks to a 28-yard punt return that took the ball all the way to the Stonehill 27. Two plays later, freshman Juwann Hall (Waterbury, Conn.) burst through from 23 yards out on a 2nd and 6 to give the Warriors a 14-7 advantage early in the fourth.
The Skyhawks would eventually get a chance to tie it after an interception set the visitors up deep in Warrior territory. Starting at the Merrimack 14, Foltz connected with Cody Page alone in the end zone on a 3rd and 9 to tie the game at 14-14.
Three straight punts ensued on the next three drives, and for a moment it appeared as if the game were headed for overtime. But in already-difficult punting conditions with heavy gusting winds all afternoon long, Merrimack's last punt at its own 20 with a minute to play was partially blocked and went out of bounds deep in Warrior territory.
That gave the Skyhawks one last chance with one timeout and a minute left; the defense thought it had forced a three-and-out, but a pass interference call extended the drive for Stonehill and put the visitors inside the 10.
The Warrior defense fought valiantly to turn the Skyhawks away on back-to-back goal-line stands, but ultimately Steve Grzywacz knocked in the game-winning field goal from 25 yards away to give the Skyhawks the victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack's defense held Stonehill to only 193 yards of total offense (2.8/play) and limited the Skyhawks' rushing attack to a meager 27 yards
- Senior Jon Hooper (Pembroke, Mass.) played inspiring football in his last game in a Warrior uniform, totaling a team-high 10 sacks (2-1/2 TFL), while junior captain Josh Hill (Glastonbury, Conn.) posted 1-1/2 sacks and forced one fumble while registering seven tackles
- Senior Brett Harrington (Chelmsford, Mass.), who led the league in sacks at the end of the regular season, added seven more tackles, while senior Kristian Jackson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) also added two sacks on defense while senior Devonte Jones (Baltimore, Md.) came up with an interception
- Brown wrapped up his record-setting Merrimack career with 103 yards on six carries (17.2/catch) while hauling in a 37-yard catch and adding a touchdown
- In 42 career games, Brown finished with a Merrimack-record 246 receptions and tied the all-time record with 38 TDs; he also went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,054) and finished with 3,369 all-time receiving yards
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