Bowie State Trips up Football, 35-32, in Season Opener
Links: Box Score | Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. The Merrimack College football team dropped a three-point decision to visiting Bowie State, 35-32, in the 2015 season opener at Martone-Mejail Field on Saturday.
The Basics
Score: Bowie State 35, Merrimack 32
Records: Merrimack (0-1) | Bowie State (1-0)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
The first-ever matchup between Merrimack and Bowie State did not disappoint, as the game remained very much up for grabs down to the final minute before the Bulldogs ultimately prevailed.
Both defenses were up to the task in the first half, as the two squads put up only 10 points combined before Bowie State carried a 7-3 lead into the locker room at the break.
Things opened up quite a bit in the third quarter, as each school traded touchdown for touchdown to make it a four-point game (21-17) heading into the final frame. Senior wide receiver Jere Brown (Freeport, N.Y.) wreaked havoc on the Bulldog secondary and was on the tail-end of two touchdown throws from sophomore quarterback Joe Capobianco (Oceanside, N.Y.) before Bowie State retook the lead on a late touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead entering the fourth.
That was when the turnovers began to mount for Merrimack, which had its opportunities to take the lead. The first errant pass set up a Bowie State scoring drive from deep in Merrimack territory, but even then, the Warriors responded with a drive that ended with Capobianco finding classmate Cody Demers (Dracut, Mass.) from six yards out, as the latter accounted for nearly 80 of the 90 yards the Warriors covered in a three-minute span to make it a one-possession contest (28-25) with 11:43 to go.
But after the defense came through and forced a Bowie State punt, the Bulldogs took a 10-point lead on a 60-yard interception return to push it to 35-25 in favor of the visitors. Again, though, Merrimack answered, as senior Adriell Mayes (Chesapeake, Va.) scampered in from 36 yards out to get the hosts to within three (35-32).
The Bowie State offense would stall once more against the Merrimack defense, but the third interception of the half staunched that momentum and gave the Bulldogs a chance to run out the clock.
Merrimack's defense again came through on a fourth-and-short deep in its own territory to give the offense one last chance with under a minute and no timeouts, but Bowie State shut the door and sealed the win after the Warriors turned it over on downs.
Inside The Numbers
- Brown and Demers combined for over 150 yards receiving between the two of them; the former hauled in 11 catches for 96 yards (8.7/catch) and two touchdowns, while the latter averaged 18.3 yards a catch after totaling 55 on 3 receptions
- Demers compiled 174 yards of total offense after adding 102 yards on four kick returns and 17 more on one kick return
- Junior Brian Carroll (Sudbury, Mass.) paced the defense with eight tackles – all solo – while junior Devonte Jones (Baltimore, Md.) and senior Jon Hooper (Pembroke, Mass.) both forced fumbles
- Capobianco finished with three touchdowns and three interceptions, completing 22-of-44 (50%) of his passes for 197 yards
- On the ground, Mayes averaged 6.6 per carry with 73 yards on 11 attempts and scored the only rushing touchdown of the afternoon for the Warriors
- As a team, Merrimack was only 6-for-20 (30%) on third downs and was outgained by a 427-331 margin, including 313-206 in the air
Up Next
Merrimack opens up the Northeast-10 Conference portion of its schedule at home this coming Friday (Sept. 11) night, as the Warriors welcome Stonehill to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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