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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After a wire-to-wire victory over Saint Anselm in its final home game of the season, the Merrimack College football team opens a stretch of two straight road trips to close out the 2017 campaign starting with a bout against the reigning league champions, LIU Post, on Saturday (Nov. 4) in Northeast-10 Conference action. Kickoff from Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium is 12 p.m.
Inside the Series
- Merrimack and New Haven are meeting for the eighth time after the Chargers joined the league in 2009.
- Merrimack won the first meeting that fall (48-20) at home, but lost five straight before posting an upset win on the road two Octobers ago for the program's first-ever win at DellaCamera Stadium, which marks the last time the Warriors and Chargers squared off in West Haven.
- Last year, Merrimack fell to New Haven, 45-14, at home. The Warriors were within three in the second quarter before the Chargers pulled away with 21 straight points.
- Overall, the Warriors own a 2-6 all-time mark the Chargers, with a 1-2 record on the road and a 1-4 ledger at home.Â
Last Time Out
- Merrimack fell to defending Northeast-10 Conference champion LIU Post last Saturday, 49-7, at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.
- LIU Post used a few big plays to take a 39-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, as quarterback Yianni Gavalas completed three different touchdown passes of 25 or more yards, added a fourth touchdown pass and ran for another while the Pioneers also used a field goal to add to their lead.
- Gavalas found another receiver for a 30-yard score late in the third quarter to bolster their lead before Merrimack got on the board early in the fourth, but that was the closest the visitors would get before time expired.
'Mack Report
- After averaging only 317 yards per game last season – the seventh-highest figure in the NE10 – Merrimack is averaging nearly 100 yards per game more this fall at 412.2, representing for the third-best offense in terms of yardage per game in the league.
- Defensively, the Warriors are no slacks either, yielding just 351.3 yards per game, third-lowest in the conference; compare that to a year ago, when Merrimack finished with the eighth-worst defense in the league that allowed 383.3 yards per game.
- Quarterback CJ Scarpa ranks second in the NE10 in passing yards per game (267.6) and ranks third in passing touchdowns (17).
- Running back Derrick Villard ranks second in the league averaging 100.0 rushing yards per game and third in touchdowns (8).
- Sophomore Sebastian Lucas ranks fifth in the league in receiving yards per game (83.6).
- Redshirt freshman Jake Ragusa and junior Enrique McFarlane are both tied for fourth in the conference with 4-1/2 sacks.
- The Warriors rank seventh in scoring average (23.1). Merrimack owns the league's second-best passing offense (273.8), as well.
- Defensively, Merrimack yields the sixth-most points per game (30.9), while its 20 sacks as a team are third-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 New Haven
- Three-time NE10 champion New Haven enters the weekend with a 6-3 overall record but saw its NCAA Championship hopes dashed after falling at Bentley in overtime, 27-24, last time out.
- New Haven's only other losses are to the past two league champions, including nationally ranked Assumption (41-6) and LIU Post (35-34).
- New Haven is equipped with the league's sixth-best offense in terms of yardage (381.1/game) and scoring average (23.7). It converts just 32 percent of its third-down attempts, the third-worst success rate in the league.
- Defensively, the Chargers allow have 24 sacks as a team, second most in the league, while allowing only 335.2 yards per game and 23.1 points per game, both figures being the second-fewest in the league. (2nd/NE10)
- Ajee Patterson has averaged 259.1 passing yards per game, third-most in the conference, while adding 15 touchdown passes (4th/NE10).
- Justin White has been his favorite target, ranking third in the league in receptions (52) and receiving yards per game (88.7) while hauling in five scores.
- Defensive back Jordan Francklin is one of the league's top tacklers, averaging 8.2 stops per game (2nd/NE10); he has also added a pair of sacks.
- Chris Pincince begins his fourth year at the helm of the New Haven Chargers football team in 2017 and had 20 wins coming into the season.
Inside the Matchup:
| Merrimack (3-6, 3-5 NE10) |
Category |
New Haven (6-3, 5-3 NE10) |
| L, 49-7 at LIU Post (11/4) |
Last Time Out |
L, 27-24 at Bentley (OT) (11/4) |
| 137.9 |
Rushing Offense |
122.0 |
| 273.8 |
Passing Offense |
259.1 |
| 411.7 |
Total Offense |
381.1 |
| 351.3 |
Opp. Total Offense |
335.2 |
| 7 |
Interceptions |
9 |
| 15/8 |
Fumbles/Lost |
12/8 |
| 30:21 |
Time of Possession |
28:53 |
| 40% |
3rd-Down Conversions |
32% |
| 36% |
Opp. 3rd-Down Conversions |
34% |
| 21/153 |
Sacks/Yards |
24/64 |
| 22-32 (69%) |
Red-Zone Scores |
24-32 (75%) |
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Up Next
Merrimack concludes the 2017 season at perennial power New Haven next Saturday (Nov. 11) to close out the year. Kickoff against the Chargers from DellaCamera Stadium is set for 12 p.m.
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