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Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Behind an attack that generated nearly 500 yards of total offense, the visiting University of New Haven Chargers proved too much to handle for the Merrimack College football program on Saturday evening. The Warriors fell by a 44-18 margin, despite a rushing attack that delivered 215 yards of offense on an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
The Essentials
Score: New Haven 44,
Merrimack 18
Records: Merrimack (1-3, 1-2 NE10) | New Haven (3-1, 3-0 NE10)
Location: Merrimack Stadium | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 1,546
Duration: 2:36
How It Happened
- Merrimack immediately brought the ball into New Haven territory on the night's first drive, aided by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The drive stalled, however, at the Chargers' 44 yard-line and ended on a punt
- New Haven opened the scoring on its first drive. After moving onto the Warriors' side of the field, the Chargers' quarterback Ajee Patterson fired a 35-yard strike for the first touchdown of the evening
- The Chargers held the ball late in the first quarter, and faced a first-and-goal situation when time expired in the opening frame. The Warriors defense held to start the second, limiting New Haven to a 20-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead
- Five minutes later, New Haven got the ball back and Paterson found wide receiver Ju'An Williams again for a 36-yard strike to make it a 17-0 game
- The Warriors' offense found their legs late in the half. Down 24 points, freshman Christian Carter led a scoring drive that started with just 32 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. With the clock ticking under 10 seconds left, Carter threw a seed up the far sideline that landed in the hands of classmate Johnny Rosario for six points. The programs entered halftime with the score at 24-7
- New Haven took the ball to start the third quarter, and went 67 yards over 3:34 of action to complete its fourth scoring drive of the half
- Down 31-10 late in the third, the Warriors reached into their bag of tricks. Standing at the 13-yard-line with 1:03 remaining, redshirt senior Cody Demers took a handoff and rushed right. While still behind the line of scrimmage, Demers tossed a strike to freshman Anthony Norcia for a touchdown. Sophomore Cam Hayes rushed in the two-point conversion to make it a 37-18 game
- With momentum on Merrimack's side, the Charger proceeded to go on a drive that lasted 11:19, spanned both the third and fourth quarters, and ended with less than five minutes remaining. The drive concluded with a touchdown, and effectively iced the game
Notes and Notables
- For the second consecutive game, the Warriors rushed for over 200 yards. Merrimack finished the night with 215 on the ground, its second highest total of the season
- Rosario put forth his best effort of his young career, totaling a season-best 61 yards and collecting his first-ever receiving touchdown. Redshirt freshman Jamari Venter gained a team-high 68 yards on the ground, equaling his season high with 16 carries
- Carter finished with 71 yards through the air and one passing touchdown. He added 66 rushing yards on just eight carries, for an average of 8.1 per rush. Hayes came off the bench and finished the night 5-of-9 passing for 52 yards
- Redshirt freshman PJ Iannuzzi enjoyed a career game defensively, tying the game high with a career-best 11 total tackles. His six solo tackles led the way, as well. He entered the day with 10 tackles on the season, and more than doubled that total on Saturday
- New Haven outgained Merrimack overall, 477-351, and 316 of those yards came in the passing game. The Chargers converted 7-of-12 third-down chances, compared to Merrimack's four conversions on 13 opportunities Â
Up Next
Merrimack will stay at home for a second straight week next Saturday (Sept. 29) when it rounds out its busy month of September against another one of the league's top teams, as the LIU Post Pioneers head to town for another NE10 showdown at Merrimack Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
