Football Topped by Bryant, 41-20, in Season Opener

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SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Merrimack College football team hung tough with Division I Bryant University on Saturday before ultimately dropping a 41-20 decision in its 2016 season opener at Bulldog Stadium.

The Essentials
 Score: Bryant 41, Merrimack 20
Records: Merrimack (0-1, 0-0 NE-10) | Bryant (1-0, 0-0 NEC)
Location: Bulldog Stadium | Smithfield, R.I.
Attendance: 4277
Weather: Partly Cloudy // 73 F // Winds N 5 MPH

Key Moments

  • Down by nine (15-6), Merrimack needed only three plays to score its first touchdown of the afternoon, as senior Nick Davis (Oxnard, Calif.) connected with junior Devin O'Reilly (Glastonbury, Conn.) for a 40-yard score, making it a two-point game (15-13) with three minutes left in the first half.
  • Bryant, however, answered on the next drive after going 84 yards over seven plays to score with just over 20 seconds to play in the second quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 21-13 lead at halftime.
  • The hosts added to their lead with a pair of touchdowns on their first two drives of the third quarter to widen their lead before Merrimack answered midway through the fourth quarter to get to within 15 (35-20), but that was the closest the score got the rest of the way.

How It Happened

  • After starting off the game with a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a Merrimack field goal, Bryant needed only one play to respond; Bulldog quarterback Dalton Easton connected with wide receiver Keenan Thompson from 49 yards out and got the two-point conversion to take a lead it would never relinquish.
  • Merrimack got to within two after another 10-play drive that ended in another field goal from redshirt junior Stephen Camarro (North Reading, Mass.) midway through the second quarter, but Bryant answered with another touchdown pass from Easton to Taylor Barthelette on a 4th & 9 situation to cap off a quick scoring drive.
  • The Warriors made it a two-point game with the aforementioned score from Davis to O'Reilly, but the Bulldogs answered again with big plays from Easton (20-yard QB keeper) and benefitted from two big penalties to get into Merrimack territory, where Easton eventually found Barthelette again in the right corner to make it a 21-13 Bryant lead at halftime.
  • The Bulldogs started off the second half with touchdowns on their first two drives, as Brenden Femiano rushed for a pair of scores to pump the lead up to 22 (35-13).
  • Sophomore Juwan Hall (Waterbury, Conn.) found the end zone from two yards out to wrap up an 11-play, 84-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs added one more score to account for the final margin of victory.

Facts and Figures

  • Nick Davis: 24-for-45, 317 passing yards, team-high 34 rushing hards (2.8/carry), 1 TD, 2 INT
  • Devin O'Reilly: 76 yards on four receptions (19.0/catch); team-best 40-yard reception
  • Senior Matt Clifford (Billerica, Mass.): Team-high seven tackles (6 solo)
  • Senior Carey Wells-Jowers (Baltimore, Md.): 1 sack
  • Total Yards (MER // BRY): 429 // 495
  • Rushing Yards: 112 // 272
  • Passing Yards: 317 // 223
  • 3rd Down Efficiency: 36% (5-14) // 44% (4-9)
  • Takeaways: 0 // 2 (2 INT)

Up Next
 Merrimack returns home to open its home and Northeast-10 Conference slate against American International College next Saturday (Sept. 10). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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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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