Football Concludes 2016 on High Note, Triumphs over Pace, 28-18, on NE-10 Championship Weekend
Links: Box Score // Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College football team concluded the 2016 campaign in winning fashion, as the Warriors topped Pace University, 28-18, in both teams' 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend matchup at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 28, Pace 18
Records: Merrimack (3-8) | Pace (0-11)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 537
Duration: 2:45
Weather: Cloudy // Low-40s F // Winds Calm
How It Happened
- After the defense forced a punt on the first drive of the game, Merrimack needed only five plays and just over two minutes to march 79 yards, as sophomore Brenton Martin (Marietta, Ga.) connected with junior Justin Mount (Westford, Mass.) for a 49-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to give the Warriors an early 7-0 lead.
- The Setters got on the board on their next possession after Nick DiCairano booted a 36-yard field goal, but Merrimack restored its two-possession lead after redshirt sophomore Shamik Perry (Bowie, Md.) ran for his second 80-plus-yard touchdown score of the year, finding a seam from 80 yards away and taking it down the sideline and into the end zone to push the Warriors ahead by a 14-3 margin with 4:50 to go in the first quarter.
- Redshirt sophomore Oladiran Isijola (Piscataway, N.J.) came up with his third interception of the season to end Pace's next drive, but the offense wasn't able to capitalize on it.
- A tough-luck bounce on the ensuing punt put Pace at the 38, and the Setters found the end zone three players later after Marquis Pickering dodged a few would-be tacklers en route to a 36-yard touchdown rush that brought the score to 14-10 heading into the second quarter.
- After both sides combined for 24 points in the first quarter, neither side would find the end zone in the second. Pace's offense had only two drives which ended in a missed 45-yard field goal and a punt, respectively, while the Warriors' only drives ended in a punts.
- In similar fashion to their first offensive drive of the game, the Warriors made the most of their first opportunity of the second half, as Merrimack marched 72 yards in nine plays and scored off a nine-yard touchdown pass from Martin to senior Armond McRae (Nashua, N.H.), who cut across the flat for the reception before marching into the left side of the end zone untouched to push the lead to 21-10.
- Pace would drive down to the 20 on its next drive but miss another medium-length field goal, but the Warriors' next drive stalled near the Pace 30, allowing the Setters to take over on downs.
- As the game entered the fourth quarter, the visitors went 58 yards and drove as far as the Merrimack 8, but senior Nick Laspada (Billerica, Mass.) picked off Pace's backup quarterback, Mark Ball, in the end zone to give possession back to the hosts.
- That interception led directly to another Merrimack touchdown, as Martin put on the jets for a highlight-reel touchdown on a quarterback keeper, going 59 yards for the longest rushing touchdown of his career to increase the Navy and Gold's lead to 28-10.
- Pace added another late score and made a two-point conversion to get as close as nine points, but its ensuing onside kick went out of bounds to give the Warriors ideal field position.
- From there, Merrimack would use the ground game to chew up most of the remaining game time and the defense came up with one last stop, highlighted by a sack from senior Josh Hill (Glastonbury, Conn.), who concluded the year as the conference's leader in that statistic.
Facts and Figures
- Merrimack finished with 437 yards of total offense – with a season-high 316 of them coming on the ground – marking the first time Merrimack's ground assault eclipsed the 300-yard threshold since rushing for 310 yards against American International on Nov. 5, 2011; it was also the most rushing yards in a single game since going off for 404 yards against Pace on Nov. 7, 2009.
- On defense, the Warriors matched their season-high with two interceptions and forced – and recovered – a fumble, to finish with three takeaways, also marking a single-game high.
- Both Perry and junior Derrick Villard (Cromwell, Conn.) surpassed the century mark with 142 and 118 rushing yards, respectively, marking the first time this season that two different players rushed for more than 100 yards. The former mark was a career-high for Perry, while the latter figure was one yard shy of Villard's previous single-game best
- Mount finished 8-of-14 for 118 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Mount led all receivers with 49 yards on the one catch.
- Graduate student Billy Carnes (Reading, Mass.) led the defense with a career-high 12 tackles, while sophomore lineman Jesse Jones (Newark, N.J.) also was in double figures with a career-best 10 stops. Hill and redshirt sophomore Avery Taylor (Gaithersburg, Md.) each contributed a sack apiece.
- Total Yards (MER // PAC): 437 // 345
- Rushing Yards: 316 // 194
- Passing Yards: 121 // 151
- 3rd Down Efficiency: 33% (4-12) // 33% (6-18)
- Takeaways: 3 // 2
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
