Football Honors Class of 2017 on Senior Day; #10 LIU Post Triumphs, 64-7, in Regular Season Finale

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College football team honored members from the Class of 2017 on Senior Day after the team's regular season finale against 10th-ranked LIU Post, which the Pioneers won by a 64-7 margin.

The Essentials
 Score: LIU Post 64, Merrimack 7
Records: Merrimack (2-8, 2-7 NE-10) | #10 LIU Post (10-0, 9-0 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 696
Duration: 2:30
Weather: Cloudy // Low-40s F // Winds Calm

NE-10 Championship Weekend Outlook
 No. 1 hosts No. 2 for NE-10 Championship Game
Odd-numbered seeds host even-numbered seeds in other championship weekend matchups

  1. LIU Post (9-0) H2H vs. Assumption; Clinched regular season title
  2. Assumption (8-1) Clinched #2 seed and will play LIU Post next Saturday for NE-10 title
  3. New Haven (6-3) H2H vs. SCSU; Plays Bentley Saturday
  4. So. Connecticut (6-3) H2H vs. Bentley
  5. Bentley (5-4)
  6. Stonehill (4-5)
  7. American Int'l (3-6) H2H vs. Stonehill
  8. Saint Anselm (2-7) H2H vs. MC
  9. Merrimack (2-7) Hosts Pace on NE-10 Championship Weekend next Saturday
  10. Pace (0-9)

The Class of 2017
 After Saturday's game, Merrimack honored its members of the Class of 2017 on Senior Day.

How It Happened

  • After the Merrimack defense turned away the Pioneers on their first offensive drive of the game on a 4th & 1 in Warrior territory, the visitors got on the board after David White found the end zone from 15 yards out midway through the first quarter.
  • Later in the first, redshirt sophomore Iladiran Isijola (Piscataway, N.J.) picked off LIU Post quarterback Jeff Kidd in the end zone, but the Pioneers intercepted first-year sophomore quarterback Brenton Martin (Marieta, Ga.) and scored five plays later to double the lead.
  • The Pioneers added two second-quarter touchdowns and capitalized on another Martin interception to add three more points by means of a 39-yard field goal toward the end of the half to take a 31-0 lead at the midpoint.
  • Merrimack, which won the coin toss at the game's beginning and deferred, received to start the third quarter; however, another Martin interception was taken to the house from 18 yards away, and another pick helped set up a later Pioneer touchdown in midway through the third frame, which stretched the vistiors' lead to 44-0.
  • LIU got two more scores before Merrimack capitalized on a muffed punt late in the game, as redshirt freshman quarterback Brendan McInnis (Windham, N.H.) tossed the first touchdown of his career to redshirt junior Justin Mount (Westford, Mass.) from 20 yards out to account for the final margin.

Facts and Figures

  • Merrimack was held to just 167 yards of total offense in the defeat, the lowest such total in a game this season.
  • Senior captain Matt Clifford (Billerica, Mass.) averaged 16.8 yards per return and totaled 84 such yards on five returns, including a game-long 23-yarder.
  • Senior Deric Wagner (Nashua, N.H.), appropriately enough, went off for a career-high 13 tackles and recovered a fumble, highlighting a defensive unit that featured four Warriors in double-digit tackle figures.
  • Total Yards (MER // LIU): 167 // 534
  • Rushing Yards: 102 // 194
  • Passing Yards: 65 // 340
  • 3rd Down Efficiency: 17% (2-12) // 60% (9-15)
  • Takeaways: 3 // 7

Up Next
 Merrimack will host Pace University on NE-10 Championship Weekend next Saturday (Nov. 12) at Martone-Mejail Field. Kickoff is tentatively set for 1 p.m., but will be confirmed on Monday.

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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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