Sep 26, 2008

Football Hosts Southern Connecticut Saturday for Homecoming Weekend

MERRIMACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
September 27, 2008

WARRIORS HOST SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT FOR HOMECOMING

Live Webcast / Game Notes (.pdf)

Game 4 - Merrimack College Warriors (2-1) vs. Southern Connecticut St. Univ Owls (2-2)
Saturday, September 27, 2008, Warrior Field

UPDATE
Merrimack wraps up its two-game homestand against Southern Connecticut Saturday as part of Homecoming Weekend. Last Year, the Warriors defeated the Owls, who advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, 34-20 in New Haven CT. Merrimack will look to go 2-0 in the conference to start the season for the first time since 2004, when they finished 8-2.

SERIES
The Warriors are 4-6 lifetime against the Owls but have won the last three meetings between the teams, including a 28-26 victory in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Playoffs.

SMALLS IS BIG
Freshman tailback Anthony Smalls rushed for a career high 135 yards on 25 carries in the 30-28 win over Assumption on Friday night. Smalls scampered to the end zone from 32 yards out for his first collegiate touchdown. The Natick native, who was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week for his efforts, leads Merrimack with 235 rushing yards.

WATTS GETS IT DONE
Junior wideout Jeremiah Watts stepped up against the Greyhounds, bringing in a career-best 12 catches for 184 yards and a 37-yard touchdown pass. He leads the Warriors with 19 catches on the season for 314 yards and two scores, averaging 105 yards per game.

HOW TO REPLACE LAHAM
The Warriors’ uptempo offense will have to find a way without injured senior captain WR Chris Laham. Laham, who is tied for the school record for career TD receptions, will be replaced by Ryan DiGregorio. DiGregorio will join Watts and Jawara Loftis in the starting lineup, with Jake Manning, Patrick Easley and Chris McNeill also seeing time.

LEONE ATTACKS THE RECORD BOOKS
Taking advantage of the no-huddle, shotgun offense, sophomore QB Kurt Leone has thrown for over 300 yards twice in three games, moving into fourth and fifth place in Merrimack history for passing yards in a game. Leone, who has 868 passing yards on the season, will make a run at Colin Temple’s school record of 2,473 yards in a season, which he set in 2007.

DEFENSE IN THE RED ZONE
Facing a Division I Bryant offense that racked up 35 and 39 points in its first two games of the season, Merrimack limited the Bulldogs to just 20 points. Bryant was just 4-for-7 in red-zone opportunities, scoring a touchdown twice. Andrew Jackson had two interceptions in the end zone. Merrimack is tied for third in the conference with 63.6% red zone defense.

CAUSING TURNOVERS
The Warriors forced four turnovers at Bryant on September 13. In addition to Jackson’s two interceptions, captain J.D. Wild forced two fumbles, which were recovered by Anthony Taylor and Jordan Rankine.

RANKINE RACKS UP THE TACKLES
Senior defensive back Jordan Rankine posted 12 tackles at Bryant and recovered a fumble. The senior is second in the conference (and the team) with 30 tackles (17 solo) on the season. Right behind him is Shane Brown, who has 24 total tackles, seventh highest in the conference with 8.0 per game.

LAHAM MAKES HISTORY
With his 69-yard TD reception on the first play of the game against Assumption, senior captain Chris Laham tied Elfren Quiles for the school record for career TD receptions with 23. Laham is second all-time for most career TDs at Merrimack with 25. He posted 13 scores in 2007, one short of Quiles’ record for a single season. More record information is available below.

RECORDS WATCH:
Laham tied Elfren Quiles for the school record of 23 career TD receptions. Right behind Laham and Quiles is Chris McNeill who has 16 career TD catches. Laham also needs 24 more points, which equals four touchdowns, to tie Calvin Bryant’s record of 168 career points. He needs three touchdowns to tie for the most total scores in school history.

LEONE DEBUTS IN STYLE
Making his first collegiate start, sophomore quarterback Kurt Leone debuted in style, as he was 25 for 34 with 362 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Husson. For his efforts, Leone was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week. Running the no-huddle offense, Leone threw for 334 yards in the first half. Leone’s 362 passing yards rank fifth all-time in Merrimack history for yards in a game. Leone replaced Colin Temple, who was the first quarterback in school history to appear in every game in each of his four seasons.

STRONG RUNNING GAME
While the passing game got most of the credit, the rushing game also excelled against Husson. Merrimack rushed for 193 yards as a team, including 99 from Richard Johnson, who rushed 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Freshman Anthony Smalls debuted in the second half and racked up 78 yards on the ground on 12 carries.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Merrimack sacked Husson quarterback James McCandless six times, led by three from freshman linebacker Tony Johnson. Johnson, who was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week, was one short of the school record of four in a game set by Matt Mikaitis in 2003. Merrimack limited the Eagles to just 50 total yards in the first half and 174 in the game.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN:
Defensive back/kick returner Andrew Jackson was named to the Consensus Draft Services Preseason Division II All-American first team as a kick returner. Jackson, who has two INTs and an 81-yard kick return for a touchdown already this season, was a Northeast-10 Conference first team selection, an All-Region second team honoree, a New England Football Writers selection, and an ECAC all-star in 2007. Jackson is one of only five Northeast-10 Conference players to be named to the CDS squads and is the lone first team selection. Southern Connecticut State had three players named to the team, led by second team selection Jermon Freeman, while Assumption’s Dustin Zitzmann was an honorable mention.

NEW FACES:
This is the first season for head coach John Perry. Hired in late December, Perry has recruited 36 newcomers, 34 of which are freshmen, to join a Warrior team just two years removed from a co-conference championship and the first playoff victory in school history in the NCAA Tournament.

TRI-CAPTAINS:
Seniors J.D. Wild, Jackson and Laham will serve as the captains for the 2008 season. Jackson was also a captain last season as a junior.

VETERANS ON D:
Eight starters from last season’s defense, as well as other key reserves, return to headline this year’s defense. Merrimack teams have historically been offensively based, but this year’s squad will have to limit the opponent’s offense to be successful. Besides Jackson, last year’s secondary of Mike O’Brien, Sam Blevines, Jordan Rankine and Anthony Taylor all return. Wild headlines the linebacker core, but Shane O’Connor, Rhandy Audate and Shane Brown join him. Up front, seniors Joe Jolicoeur, Daniel Sherr and Chuck Manthei lead the way and are joined by Wilson Perjuste and Bernard Cooper.

THE DEPARTED:
Joining Temple on the 2007 graduate list are last season’s starting WR D.J. Dolan, TE Ryan Salter, C Brian Frazier, LG Chris Troisi, DT Chris Cotter, DE Jon Herook, and S Randy Hurley. Last year’s starting RB Mike Young is no longer attending Merrimack.

ABOUT SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT:
Senior quarterback Chris Roberts finished 14-of-22 for 230 yards and tossed three touchdowns, while tailback John Wiechman rushed for 180 yards to lead the SCSU to a 28-14 victory over Stonehill College on Friday night. The Owls move to 2-2, 1-1 in Northeast-10 Conference action with the win. Wiechman enjoyed his second career 100-yard rushing performance. Coincidentally, the other occurrence also came against Stonehill, that coming in last year’s meeting. Lee led the Owls with five catches for 86 yards. Jerome Pinckney paced the defense with 12 tackles. As a unit, the SCSU defense held Stonehill to just 212 yards on the evening. The Owls are without the services of All-Americans QB Steve Armstrong and RB Jarom Freeman.

LAST MEETING:
Andrew Jackson returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and intercepted two passes, including one at the goal line to lead the Warriors to their first victory of the season, 34-20 over SCSU. Jackson, a Connecticut native, prevented the Owls from tying the game at 10 in the second quarter when he intercepted a pass at the 12-yard line. He then put his team up 27-6 midway through the third when he returned a blocked kick 92-yards for the touchdown. He picked off his second pass of the game with :26 to play in the end zone to preserve the victory. The Warriors led by as much as 27-6, saw the lead shrink to 27-20, before seeing an onside kick go out-of-bounds, and then scoring on a 3rd-and-long to put the game away with :58 to play. Right out of the gate in the third quarter, Colin Temple and Jeremiah Watts put their team ahead 20-6 when they connected on 3rd-and-10 for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The Owls then marched down the field, but in similar fashion to Jackson’s interception, Rich O’Donnell picked Armstrong off at the 6-yard line, erasing another probable Owl scoring drive and returning it 32-yards to the 38-yard line. After the Owls got the ball back and looked poised to score yet again, Jackson erased another scoring opportunity, as he returned a blocked field goal 92-yards for the touchdown. Watts finished with two touchdowns on five receptions for 121 yards. Temple had a strong performance, completing 19 of 32 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The Warriors forced five turnovers, three by the defense and two by the special teams.

COMING UP:
Merrimack will head to Pace University to take on the upstart Setters who are 3-0 to start the season, highlighted by an upset victory over Stonehill College.

WARRIORS ON THE AIR:
The Merrimack Athletics Department has teamed up with B2 Networks to deliver live broadband broadcasts. Warrior games that will be streamed online include all home football, basketball and hockey broadcasts. Games can be purchased on a season or single game basis.

WEEK 1 RECAP - MERRIMACK 42, HUSSON 7
Making his first career start, Kurt Leone threw for 334 yards in the first half as Merrimack routed Husson College 42-7 Saturday afternoon at a humid Warrior Field. The win is head coach John Perry’s first as Merrimack’s head coach. Using a no-huddle attack, Leone connected with six different receivers in the first half, including four for passing touchdowns, two of them to Chris Laham. The Warriors took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field as Leone connected with Jawara Loftis on a 24-yard pass to cap off an eight play, 63-yard drive. Moments later, Leone found Jeremiah Watts in the end zone from 25 yards out, and it was quickly 14-0 Merrimack just 5:54 into the first quarter. Leone then found Laham for two scores, one for 22 yards and the other for 29 yards, before Richard Johnson raced 79 yards down the right sideline to give the Warriors a 35-0 lead heading into halftime. After Justin Lindle got Husson on the board with a one-yard rush, preseason All-American Andrew Jackson answered right back returning the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for the touchdown. Laham finished with 153 yards receiving on 11 catches. He tied Elfren Quiles on the Merrimack all-time scoring list with 23 career touchdowns. Johnson rushed for 99 yards on 11 carries, while freshman Anthony Smalls debuted with 78 rushing yards. Loftis finished with five catches for 85 yards.

WEEK 2 RECAP - BRYANT 20, MERRIMACK 7
Seven turnovers doomed the Merrimack football team as Division I Bryant handed the Warriors their first loss 20-7 Saturday afternoon in front of 5,530 fans at Bulldog Stadium. Down 20-0 in the fourth quarter, J.D. Wild forced his first of two fumbles off a Jerrell Smith carry, which was recovered by Jordan Rankine. On the ensuing play, backup quarterback Mike Sarnese connected with Chris Laham in the end zone from 31 yards out to get Merrimack on the board. On Bryant's next drive, Wild forced a fumble off a Lindsey Gamble carry and Anthony Taylor returned it all the way to Bryant's 11-yard line. But Sarnese was picked off in the end zone by Andre Whyte, ending Merrimack's hopes of a comeback.
Merrimack's defense was excellent all day, limiting Bryant to just four scores (two touchdowns) in seven red-zone opportunities while forcing four turnovers. Preseason All-American Andrew Jackson had two interceptions and nine tackles, while Shane Brown tallied 13 tackles. Rankine (12 tackles) and Mike O'Brien (11 tackles) also were in double figures. Merrimack's downfall was on offense, as Kurt Leone and Sarnese were a combined 17-for-50 for 227 yards and four interceptions. Against a Bryant defense that has forced 14 turnovers in its last two games, the running game managed just 51 yards on 21 attempts. With today's touchdown, Laham is one receiving score shy of tying the all-time school record of 23 touchdown receptions.

WEEK 3 RECAP - MERRIMACK 30, ASSUMPTION 28
Jeremiah Watts caught a career-high 12 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown leading Merrimack to a 30-28 win over Assumption College. Merrimack led 30-14 midway through the third quarter, but Assumption stormed back to get within two with under a minute left after Joey Fabiano sprawled out in the end zone for a 19-yard diving touchdown catch. Trailing 30-28, the Greyhounds went for two to tie it, but the Warriors prevented a possible game-tying two point conversion as Shane Brown and Tony Johnson took advantage of the defensive blitz and hurried quarterback Josh Ratacik forcing his throw to be wide of the intended receiver. The Warriors started the game with a bang as the offense ran a double reverse, pitched it back to Leone, and the quarterback found Chris Laham downfield for a 69-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the game. Following a 40-yard field goal from Sean Garvey, freshman tailback Anthony Smalls scampered 32 yards to the end zone as he reversed fields at the 20 extending the Warriors’ lead to 16-7. Woodard continued his excellent day returning a punt 85 yards for the score, setting the Greyhound record for the longest punt return in school history. The Warriors began the second half with an eight-play, 88-yard drive capped off with an eight yard touchdown rush from Richard Johnson. Assumption (0-3, 0-1 NE-10) did not quit as Woodard added his third score of the game, rushing in from three yards out to cap off a 14-play drive and cutting the lead to 30-22 after a two-point conversion. That set the stage for Assumption’s final drive as they had the ball at their own 30 with 2:54 remaining. On third and 11 at their own 29, Batacik found Gately, who broke numerous tackles and eventually was forced out of bounds after a 48-yard gain. Batacik executed another third down as he found Fabiano in the end zone bringing Assumption within two of the tie and overtime. But the Warriors’ defensive blitz eliminated any chance of an extra period. Leone finished 21-for-35 for 364 passing yards and two touchdowns. Smalls rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 25 carries.


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Last Year, the Warriors defeated the Owls, who advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, 34-20 in New Haven CT. Merrimack will look to go 2-0 in the conference to start the season for the first time since 2004, when they finished 8-2. SERIES The Warriors are 4-6 lifetime against the Owls but have won the last three meetings between the teams, including a 28-26 victory in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Playoffs. SMALLS IS BIG Freshman tailback Anthony Smalls rushed for a career high 135 yards on 25 carries in the 30-28 win over Assumption on Friday night. Smalls scampered to the end zone from 32 yards out for his first collegiate touchdown. The Natick native, who was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week for his efforts, leads Merrimack with 235 rushing yards. WATTS GETS IT DONE Junior wideout Jeremiah Watts stepped up against the Greyhounds, bringing in a career-best 12 catches for 184 yards and a 37-yard touchdown pass. He leads the Warriors with 19 catches on the season for 314 yards and two scores, averaging 105 yards per game. HOW TO REPLACE LAHAM The Warriors’ uptempo offense will have to find a way without injured senior captain WR Chris Laham. Laham, who is tied for the school record for career TD receptions, will be replaced by Ryan DiGregorio. DiGregorio will join Watts and Jawara Loftis in the starting lineup, with Jake Manning, Patrick Easley and Chris McNeill also seeing time. LEONE ATTACKS THE RECORD BOOKS Taking advantage of the no-huddle, shotgun offense, sophomore QB Kurt Leone has thrown for over 300 yards twice in three games, moving into fourth and fifth place in Merrimack history for passing yards in a game. Leone, who has 868 passing yards on the season, will make a run at Colin Temple’s school record of 2,473 yards in a season, which he set in 2007. DEFENSE IN THE RED ZONE Facing a Division I Bryant offense that racked up 35 and 39 points in its first two games of the season, Merrimack limited the Bulldogs to just 20 points. Bryant was just 4-for-7 in red-zone opportunities, scoring a touchdown twice. Andrew Jackson had two interceptions in the end zone. Merrimack is tied for third in the conference with 63.6% red zone defense. CAUSING TURNOVERS The Warriors forced four turnovers at Bryant on September 13. In addition to Jackson’s two interceptions, captain J.D. Wild forced two fumbles, which were recovered by Anthony Taylor and Jordan Rankine. RANKINE RACKS UP THE TACKLES Senior defensive back Jordan Rankine posted 12 tackles at Bryant and recovered a fumble. The senior is second in the conference (and the team) with 30 tackles (17 solo) on the season. Right behind him is Shane Brown, who has 24 total tackles, seventh highest in the conference with 8.0 per game. LAHAM MAKES HISTORY With his 69-yard TD reception on the first play of the game against Assumption, senior captain Chris Laham tied Elfren Quiles for the school record for career TD receptions with 23. Laham is second all-time for most career TDs at Merrimack with 25. He posted 13 scores in 2007, one short of Quiles’ record for a single season. More record information is available below. RECORDS WATCH: Laham tied Elfren Quiles for the school record of 23 career TD receptions. Right behind Laham and Quiles is Chris McNeill who has 16 career TD catches. Laham also needs 24 more points, which equals four touchdowns, to tie Calvin Bryant’s record of 168 career points. He needs three touchdowns to tie for the most total scores in school history. LEONE DEBUTS IN STYLE Making his first collegiate start, sophomore quarterback Kurt Leone debuted in style, as he was 25 for 34 with 362 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Husson. For his efforts, Leone was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week. Running the no-huddle offense, Leone threw for 334 yards in the first half. Leone’s 362 passing yards rank fifth all-time in Merrimack history for yards in a game. Leone replaced Colin Temple, who was the first quarterback in school history to appear in every game in each of his four seasons. STRONG RUNNING GAME While the passing game got most of the credit, the rushing game also excelled against Husson. Merrimack rushed for 193 yards as a team, including 99 from Richard Johnson, who rushed 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Freshman Anthony Smalls debuted in the second half and racked up 78 yards on the ground on 12 carries. DEFENSE, DEFENSE Merrimack sacked Husson quarterback James McCandless six times, led by three from freshman linebacker Tony Johnson. Johnson, who was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week, was one short of the school record of four in a game set by Matt Mikaitis in 2003. Merrimack limited the Eagles to just 50 total yards in the first half and 174 in the game. PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Defensive back/kick returner Andrew Jackson was named to the Consensus Draft Services Preseason Division II All-American first team as a kick returner. Jackson, who has two INTs and an 81-yard kick return for a touchdown already this season, was a Northeast-10 Conference first team selection, an All-Region second team honoree, a New England Football Writers selection, and an ECAC all-star in 2007. Jackson is one of only five Northeast-10 Conference players to be named to the CDS squads and is the lone first team selection. Southern Connecticut State had three players named to the team, led by second team selection Jermon Freeman, while Assumption’s Dustin Zitzmann was an honorable mention. NEW FACES: This is the first season for head coach John Perry. Hired in late December, Perry has recruited 36 newcomers, 34 of which are freshmen, to join a Warrior team just two years removed from a co-conference championship and the first playoff victory in school history in the NCAA Tournament. TRI-CAPTAINS: Seniors J.D. Wild, Jackson and Laham will serve as the captains for the 2008 season. Jackson was also a captain last season as a junior. VETERANS ON D: Eight starters from last season’s defense, as well as other key reserves, return to headline this year’s defense. Merrimack teams have historically been offensively based, but this year’s squad will have to limit the opponent’s offense to be successful. Besides Jackson, last year’s secondary of Mike O’Brien, Sam Blevines, Jordan Rankine and Anthony Taylor all return. Wild headlines the linebacker core, but Shane O’Connor, Rhandy Audate and Shane Brown join him. Up front, seniors Joe Jolicoeur, Daniel Sherr and Chuck Manthei lead the way and are joined by Wilson Perjuste and Bernard Cooper. THE DEPARTED: Joining Temple on the 2007 graduate list are last season’s starting WR D.J. Dolan, TE Ryan Salter, C Brian Frazier, LG Chris Troisi, DT Chris Cotter, DE Jon Herook, and S Randy Hurley. Last year’s starting RB Mike Young is no longer attending Merrimack. ABOUT SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT: Senior quarterback Chris Roberts finished 14-of-22 for 230 yards and tossed three touchdowns, while tailback John Wiechman rushed for 180 yards to lead the SCSU to a 28-14 victory over Stonehill College on Friday night. The Owls move to 2-2, 1-1 in Northeast-10 Conference action with the win. Wiechman enjoyed his second career 100-yard rushing performance. Coincidentally, the other occurrence also came against Stonehill, that coming in last year’s meeting. Lee led the Owls with five catches for 86 yards. Jerome Pinckney paced the defense with 12 tackles. As a unit, the SCSU defense held Stonehill to just 212 yards on the evening. The Owls are without the services of All-Americans QB Steve Armstrong and RB Jarom Freeman. LAST MEETING: Andrew Jackson returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and intercepted two passes, including one at the goal line to lead the Warriors to their first victory of the season, 34-20 over SCSU. Jackson, a Connecticut native, prevented the Owls from tying the game at 10 in the second quarter when he intercepted a pass at the 12-yard line. He then put his team up 27-6 midway through the third when he returned a blocked kick 92-yards for the touchdown. He picked off his second pass of the game with :26 to play in the end zone to preserve the victory. The Warriors led by as much as 27-6, saw the lead shrink to 27-20, before seeing an onside kick go out-of-bounds, and then scoring on a 3rd-and-long to put the game away with :58 to play. Right out of the gate in the third quarter, Colin Temple and Jeremiah Watts put their team ahead 20-6 when they connected on 3rd-and-10 for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The Owls then marched down the field, but in similar fashion to Jackson’s interception, Rich O’Donnell picked Armstrong off at the 6-yard line, erasing another probable Owl scoring drive and returning it 32-yards to the 38-yard line. After the Owls got the ball back and looked poised to score yet again, Jackson erased another scoring opportunity, as he returned a blocked field goal 92-yards for the touchdown. Watts finished with two touchdowns on five receptions for 121 yards. Temple had a strong performance, completing 19 of 32 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The Warriors forced five turnovers, three by the defense and two by the special teams. COMING UP: Merrimack will head to Pace University to take on the upstart Setters who are 3-0 to start the season, highlighted by an upset victory over Stonehill College. WARRIORS ON THE AIR: The Merrimack Athletics Department has teamed up with B2 Networks to deliver live broadband broadcasts. Warrior games that will be streamed online include all home football, basketball and hockey broadcasts. Games can be purchased on a season or single game basis. WEEK 1 RECAP - MERRIMACK 42, HUSSON 7 Making his first career start, Kurt Leone threw for 334 yards in the first half as Merrimack routed Husson College 42-7 Saturday afternoon at a humid Warrior Field. The win is head coach John Perry’s first as Merrimack’s head coach. Using a no-huddle attack, Leone connected with six different receivers in the first half, including four for passing touchdowns, two of them to Chris Laham. The Warriors took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field as Leone connected with Jawara Loftis on a 24-yard pass to cap off an eight play, 63-yard drive. Moments later, Leone found Jeremiah Watts in the end zone from 25 yards out, and it was quickly 14-0 Merrimack just 5:54 into the first quarter. Leone then found Laham for two scores, one for 22 yards and the other for 29 yards, before Richard Johnson raced 79 yards down the right sideline to give the Warriors a 35-0 lead heading into halftime. After Justin Lindle got Husson on the board with a one-yard rush, preseason All-American Andrew Jackson answered right back returning the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for the touchdown. Laham finished with 153 yards receiving on 11 catches. He tied Elfren Quiles on the Merrimack all-time scoring list with 23 career touchdowns. Johnson rushed for 99 yards on 11 carries, while freshman Anthony Smalls debuted with 78 rushing yards. Loftis finished with five catches for 85 yards. WEEK 2 RECAP - BRYANT 20, MERRIMACK 7 Seven turnovers doomed the Merrimack football team as Division I Bryant handed the Warriors their first loss 20-7 Saturday afternoon in front of 5,530 fans at Bulldog Stadium. Down 20-0 in the fourth quarter, J.D. Wild forced his first of two fumbles off a Jerrell Smith carry, which was recovered by Jordan Rankine. On the ensuing play, backup quarterback Mike Sarnese connected with Chris Laham in the end zone from 31 yards out to get Merrimack on the board. On Bryant's next drive, Wild forced a fumble off a Lindsey Gamble carry and Anthony Taylor returned it all the way to Bryant's 11-yard line. But Sarnese was picked off in the end zone by Andre Whyte, ending Merrimack's hopes of a comeback. Merrimack's defense was excellent all day, limiting Bryant to just four scores (two touchdowns) in seven red-zone opportunities while forcing four turnovers. Preseason All-American Andrew Jackson had two interceptions and nine tackles, while Shane Brown tallied 13 tackles. Rankine (12 tackles) and Mike O'Brien (11 tackles) also were in double figures. Merrimack's downfall was on offense, as Kurt Leone and Sarnese were a combined 17-for-50 for 227 yards and four interceptions. Against a Bryant defense that has forced 14 turnovers in its last two games, the running game managed just 51 yards on 21 attempts. With today's touchdown, Laham is one receiving score shy of tying the all-time school record of 23 touchdown receptions. WEEK 3 RECAP - MERRIMACK 30, ASSUMPTION 28 Jeremiah Watts caught a career-high 12 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown leading Merrimack to a 30-28 win over Assumption College. Merrimack led 30-14 midway through the third quarter, but Assumption stormed back to get within two with under a minute left after Joey Fabiano sprawled out in the end zone for a 19-yard diving touchdown catch. Trailing 30-28, the Greyhounds went for two to tie it, but the Warriors prevented a possible game-tying two point conversion as Shane Brown and Tony Johnson took advantage of the defensive blitz and hurried quarterback Josh Ratacik forcing his throw to be wide of the intended receiver. The Warriors started the game with a bang as the offense ran a double reverse, pitched it back to Leone, and the quarterback found Chris Laham downfield for a 69-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the game. Following a 40-yard field goal from Sean Garvey, freshman tailback Anthony Smalls scampered 32 yards to the end zone as he reversed fields at the 20 extending the Warriors’ lead to 16-7. Woodard continued his excellent day returning a punt 85 yards for the score, setting the Greyhound record for the longest punt return in school history. The Warriors began the second half with an eight-play, 88-yard drive capped off with an eight yard touchdown rush from Richard Johnson. Assumption (0-3, 0-1 NE-10) did not quit as Woodard added his third score of the game, rushing in from three yards out to cap off a 14-play drive and cutting the lead to 30-22 after a two-point conversion. That set the stage for Assumption’s final drive as they had the ball at their own 30 with 2:54 remaining. On third and 11 at their own 29, Batacik found Gately, who broke numerous tackles and eventually was forced out of bounds after a 48-yard gain. Batacik executed another third down as he found Fabiano in the end zone bringing Assumption within two of the tie and overtime. But the Warriors’ defensive blitz eliminated any chance of an extra period. Leone finished 21-for-35 for 364 passing yards and two touchdowns. Smalls rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 25 carries.