Football Opens Warrior Stadium Era with Homecoming Matchup against Pace Saturday (1 p.m.)

Date	Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 (1 p.m.)
Matchup	Merrimack (1-4, 1-3 NE10) Pace (3-2, 2-2 NE10)
Venue	Warrior Stadium // North Andover, Mass. Directions // Tickets
Multimedia	Live Stats // Watch (Free)
Social	@MerrimackFB // @MC_Athletics // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College football team will usher in a new era on campus when it hosts Pace for the first-ever game played at the brand-new Warrior Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 14) afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

PARKING AND SECURITY ADVISORY
With Homecoming Weekend festivities in full force Thursday through Saturday, fans are encouraged to arrive to campus EARLY Saturday due to extensive parking restrictions and enhanced security regulations. The Merrimack College security staff reserves the right to check ALL bags and ask guests to leave inappropriate or prohibited items in their car or outside of the gates. All guests are subject to search.
Please note the following parking restrictions:

• Lots E (Rogers), F (MAC), G (Deegan/Fenton Road), H (Sakowich) and L (Academic Innovation) are all closed to the general public, except for those who purchased reserved tailgate passes in Lots E, G, H or L.
• Please note that Cullen Avenue/Route 125 South Entrance will be closed at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will reopen following the football game.

Click here to view campus map.

Inside the Series

• Merrimack and Pace will be meeting for the 18th time on Saturday, and to say the series has been lopsided in the Warriors' favor would be an understatement.
• Merrimack has won all of the previous 17 showdowns and thus owns a 17-0 record against the Setters in a series that dates back to 2001.
• Last season, Merrimack topped Pace twice; the Warriors picked up a 35-21 road win in the regular season before rounding out the year with a 28-18 victory on NE10 Championship Weekend.
• Merrimack is 9-0 all-time in games played at Pace and 8-0 at home against the Setters.

Last Time Out:

• Merrimack compiled a season-high 193 yards rushing and found itself tied with Stonehill early in the second quarter, but the visiting Skyhawks scored the final 24 points of the game to hand the Warriors a 45-21 setback last Saturday at Martone-Mejail Field.
• After giving up the first score of the game on an interception return, Merrimack bounced right back with a 41-yard rushing touchdown by senior Derrick Villard, setting the tone for the big day that the rushing unit would enjoy to tie things up early in the first quarter.
• Merrimack answered another Stonehill touchdown with a seven-yard receiving touchdown by redshirt junior Cody Demers, and then rookie Rodney Samson broke the threshold from eight yards out early in the second quarter for his first career touchdown to even the game at 21-all.
• Stonehill would hit a 43-yard field goal to retake the lead for good, benefitted from a miscue on a punt to score from short field position and then added one last touchdown late in the half to take a 17-point lead.

'Mack Facts:

• Merrimack has a number of players that rank among the top-five in the NE10's statistical categories.
• Quarterback CJ Scarpa is the conference's leader in passing yards per game (339.2) and ranks fifth in passing touchdowns (10).
• Sophomore Sebastian Lucas is tied for first in the conference in receiving yards per game (109.8).
• Running back Derrick Villard ranks third in the league averaging 90.4 rushing yards per game.
• Redshirt junior Avery Taylor ranks tied for third in the league with three sacks.
• The Warriors also rank second in the NE10 in total offense (438.2) and rank sixth in scoring average (21.4). Merrimack owns the league's top passing offense (339.2), as well.
• Defensively, Merrimack yields 409.6 yards per game (9^th/NE10) and 37.6 points per game (10^th) while its 11 sacks as a team are second-most in the conference.
• Dan Curran is in his fifth season as head coach of the Warriors in 2017; he has led the program to several marquee victories over the last four seasons and has helped produce several All-Americans, all-region and all-conference performers in that span.

Scouting Report: Pace

• Pace is in the midst of one of its best seasons ever and enters the halfway point with a 3-2 record (2-2 NE10).
• The Setters have posted victories against Millersville (28-20), AIC (24-23) and Bentley (20-17) and were a last-second field goal away beating New Haven on the road.
• Pace employs the best running back in the conference in Jhalen Bien-Aime, who leads the league with 142.6 rushing yards per game and four touchdowns. The Setters, as a team, own the third-best rush attack in the conference (171.0) but just the eighth-best overall offense (288.4).
• The Setters' defense has been a strong point, limiting opponents to 379.8 yards per game and 27.4 points per game, both of which rank sixth and fifth in the league, respectively.
• Andrew Rondeau is in his fourth season at Pace and has helped the team steadily improve over the years.

Merrimack (1-4, 1-3 NE10)	Category	Pace (3-2, 2-2 NE10)
L, 45-21 vs. Stonehill (9/30)	Last Time Out	W, 20-17 vs. Pace (9/30)
98.0	Rushing Offense	171.0
339.2	Passing Offense	117.4
437.2	Total Offense	288.4
409.6	Opp. Total Offense	379.8
4	Interceptions	4
9/5	Fumbles/Lost	4/3
30:02	Time of Possession	33:33
37%	3rd-Down Conversions	35.2%
38%	Opp. 3rd-Down Conversions	40.7%
12/79	Sacks/Yards	7-56
12-19 (63%)	Red-Zone Scores	11-15 (73.3%)

 
Up Next
Merrimack's continues its NE10 with a trip to Southern Connecticut State next Saturday (Oct. 21). Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.