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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After host New Haven grabbed a four-point lead late in the third quarter, the Merrimack College football team scored the final 14 points of the game, rallying for a 31-21 road victory in the final game of 2017 at DellaCamera Stadium.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 31, New Haven 21
Records: Merrimack (4-6, 4-5 NE10) | New Haven (6-4, 5-4 NE10)
Location: DellaCamera Stadium | West Haven, Conn.
Attendance: 2464
Duration: 2:55

Coach Curran's Comments
"This win today was right up there with some of the bigger ones we've have had here over the past few seasons. To go into New Haven with as many young guys playing as we had and to beat a top-level program like that is a big deal. It's the signature win this group was looking for and a lot of the credit goes to that senior class. They're as good of a group of young men that I have ever been around and I'm extremely proud of them for their efforts today."

Rapid Recap

• After missing a field goal late in the first quarter, Merrimack had a second opportunity to take the lead minutes later after a New Haven fumble gave the Warriors the ball with a short field in front of them. Three plays later, the visitors found the end zone for the first time to grab a 7-0 lead. New Haven would get on the board early in the second, however, capitalizing on an interception to eventually tie the game with 10 minutes left in the half. The Warriors would head into the locker room with the lead after CJ Scarpa (Andover, Mass.) found senior Dillon Salva (North Brunswick, N.J.) to complete a long scoring drive that gave Merrimack a 14-7 edge at the break.
• New Haven drew even once again on its first drive of the third quarter before Merrimack countered with a Stephen Camarro (North Reading, Mass.) field goal to retake the lead, but three drives later, the Chargers used back-to-back big passing plays to eventually set up their next score, one that put them ahead by four (21-17) with under three minutes left in the frame.
• The Warriors would answer on their very next drive, marching 73 yards over 12 plays before senior Derrick Villard (Cromwell, Conn.) scored for the second time on the afternoon. Two drives later, junior Jesse Jones (Newark, N.J.) forced and recovered a fumble to get the ball back into the hands of the offense, and six plays was all it took to add a key insurance touchdown by first-year sophomore Cam Hayes (Uniondale, N.Y.). The defense would take over from there, turning away the Chargers on downs on their next drive before and then only allowing them to get just over midfield before time ran out to give the Warriors their second straight victory at DellaCamera Stadium.

How It Happened

• Quarter 1 – After each defense went three and out, Merrimack got inside the New Haven 10 on its second drive of the game but could not convert a short field goal. The Chargers, however, lost the ball on a fumble two plays later, giving the Warriors a second chance deep in UNH territory. True freshman Rodney Samson (Peekskill, N.Y.) went 18 yards on back-to-back carries before Villard found the end zone from three yards away to give the Warriors their first lead of the afternoon. New Haven got into the red zone on its next drive but missed a 32-yard field goal, keeping the Warriors in front by seven after one.
• Quarter 2 – Merrimack had a chance to add to its lead but was intercepted on its next drive in UNH territory. The Chargers took advantage of that, and also benefited from a pair of costly penalties – including a roughing into the kicker infraction that kept the drive going – to set up their first score of the afternoon, an Ajee Patterson rush, to draw even. The Warriors, however, would take the lead into the locker room after a 12-play, 70-yard drive late in the half ended with Scarpa connecting with Salva from eight yards out to give the visitors a 14-7 edge. Merrimack moved the chains four times during that sequence, including a direct snap to redshirt sophomore Marquis Spence (Englewood, N.J.), before the Scarpa-to-Salva score on a 3^rd and goal from the UNH 8.
• Quarter 3 – New Haven came out of the locker room and needed just five plays and 1:47 of play time to tie the game at 14-14. The Warriors got it to the New Haven 10 on their next drive but settled for a 28-yard field goal from Camarro, who booted it through cleanly to restore the lead (17-14). Following back-to-back three-and-outs from both sides, New Haven took the lead for the first time after another Patterson rush, as his 33-yard pass to Devin Martin got the Chargers inside the 10 to set up the go-ahead score.
• Quarter 4 – The Warriors countered with one of their best drives of the season, using a methodical 12-play sequence that bridged the end of the third into the start of the fourth. Big plays from Villard, Samson and Hayes chewed up over 40 yards on the ground alone, bringing Merrimack into New Haven territory, and the Warriors continued to rely on the rush to keep the chains moving before Hayes found senior captain Devin O'Reilly (Glastonbury, Conn.) for an 11-yard gain to set up first and goal. Villard then punched through the line from a yard out to give the Warriors the lead for good. Two more three-and-outs followed, but then Jones forced and recovered a fumble that set up a huge insurance score for the Warriors, who got the ball back at the New Haven 18. A Scarpa-to-Lucas completion proved to be pivotal, as four plays later Hayes would take it in himself from five yards out to push the lead to 10 (31-21). The Chargers would go three and out on their next drive, with redshirt junior Avery Taylor (Gaithersburg, Md.) picking up a sack on third down, while the offense chewed up most of the remaining clock on their next drive to seal the victory.

Notes and Notables

• Merrimack has now won back-to-back games at DellaCamera Stadium after losing its first three games played there. The Warriors also improved to 3-6 all-time against the Chargers.
• In his final game in a Merrimack uniform, Villard surpassed the century mark for the fourth time this season and, more importantly, finished with over 1,000 yards rushing on the year (1,001), becoming only the third player in program history to finish with over 1,000 yards. His 1,001 yards on the year were the third-most by any player in single-season program history. His 2,050 career yards also rank fourth all-time in school history. He also finished with 10 touchdowns on the year, becoming just the fourth Warrior to post 10 rushing scores in a single season.
• Samson had his second-best rushing total this season with 72 on 12 carries, while Hayes added 25 more to help the team finish with 205 yards on the ground, their third-highest total on the year.
• As a team, Merrimack outgained New Haven in total offense, 424-327, with its dominance in the ground game (205-48) paving the way for that success. The Warriors also had the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer and were 7-of-15 on third downs compared to New Haven's 5-of-14 clip.
• Scarpa finished 20-of-30 for 180 yards and a touchdown to highlight the passing game in the graduate student's final game, as he found redshirt junior Cody Demers (Dracut, Mass.) a team-high five times for 51 yards. Lucas led the team with 69 receiving yards, while Salva had the only receiving score.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Ragusa (Canton, Mass.) led the team with nine tackles – eight of which were solo stops – while Merrimack had four sacks as a team overall.