New Haven Downs Football, 45-14

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College football team celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the 2006 squad that won the program's first league championship, but visiting New Haven scored 21 second-quarter points to power its way to a 45-14 victory over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.

The Essentials
 Score: New Haven 45, Merrimack 14
Records: Merrimack (1-5, 1-4 NE-10) | New Haven (4-2 4-1 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 500
Duration: 2:46
Weather: Partly Cloudy // 65 F // Winds S 5MPH

How It Happened

  • New Haven opened the scoring midway through the first quarter after Andre Anderson his first touchdown of the afternoon on a 12-yard rush (Drive: 7 Plays, 59 yards, 3:08)
  • The Chargers added to their lead later in the first following a 24-yard field goal by Danny Stock to make it 10-0 with 4:17 left in the opening frame. (Drive: 9 Plays, 41 yards, 2:40)
  • Merrimack got on the board after first-year sophomore and newly anointed quarterback Brenton Martin (Marietta, Ga.) scored his first collegiate touchdown with a nifty maneuver on a keeper play on third down; the Georgia native broke a tackle to get the first down but never stopped and wound up going 59 yards and into the end zone to make it a 10-7 game heading to the second quarter. (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:42)
  • New Haven totaled 21 second-quarter points to build a 31-7 lead at the half, as Ajee Patterson found Jonathan Badyna from 12 yards away to wrap up a nine-play scoring drive before Anderson punched in another touchdown. The backbreaker came with 38 seconds left in the half, when the Chargers scored on a fake field goal that saw holder CJ Fitzpatrick toss to Kellen Kroce to cap off New Haven's first-half scoring.
  • Two more Charger touchdowns in the third quarter made it a 45-7 deficit, as Lemar Thomas ran in from three yards out before Anderson notched his third score of the day later in the frame.
  • Merrimack didn't help its own cause by giving the ball away on its first two possessions of the second half, as New Haven forced a pair of fumbles, the first of which set up their opening score in the third quarter.
  • The Warriors got back on the board early in the fourth quarter after Martin dropped back and threaded a lob pass down the right sideline to freshman Sebastian Lucas (Baltimore, Md.), who made the catch in the right corner of the end zone to cut the deficit to 45-14. (10 plays, 80 yards, 4:05)

Facts and Figures

  • In his first game starting at quarterback, Martin finished with respectable numbers, going 21-of-36 with 191 total yards, a touchdown and no interceptions or fumbles lost
  • Lucas finished with a team-best 70 yards on three receptions, averaging 23.3 yards per carry to go along with the aforementioned touchdown catch
  • For the second straight week, Matt Clifford (Billerica, Mass.) led the team with eight tackles alongside redshirt junior and fellow captain Brian Carroll (Sudbury, Mass.); each of them broke up a pass, as well, while seniors Josh Hill (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Deric Wagner (Nashua, N.H.) each shared the only sack garnered by the Warriors on Saturday
  • Total Yards (MER // UNH): 334 // 490
  • Rushing Yards: 143 // 198
  • Passing Yards: 191 // 292
  • 3rd Down Efficiency: 47% (8-17) // 33% (4-12)
  • Takeaways: 0 // 2 (2 FF)

Up Next
 Merrimack will hit the road and head to Pace University a week from Saturday (Oct. 15) for a 12 p.m. kickoff.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook. 

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