Football Hosts Saint Anselm Friday at 7 p.m.; Watch Live Online

MERRIMACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
October 10, 2008

Game #6 vs. Saint Anselm, 7 p.m., Warrior Field

Watch Live / Live Stats / Game Notes (.pdf)

WARRIORS HOST SAINT ANSELM FRIDAY NIGHT

Game 6 - Merrimack College Warriors (3-2) vs. Saint Anselm College Hawks (0-5)
Friday, October 10, 2008, Warrior Field

UPDATE
Merrimack will be looking to make it two straight wins this Friday when it hosts Saint Anselm at 7 p.m. at Warrior Field. The Warriors are coming off a big 31-28 road win at Pace University on Saturday. Following this game, Merrimack will play just one of its final four games at home.

SERIES
The Warriors are 6-3 lifetime against the Hawks, including a 55-14 win at Warrior Field last season. They are unbeaten in their last five meetings and have not lost to the Hawks since the 2002 season.

SUOZZO STARS IN DEBUT
Freshman J.D. Suozzo made his collegiate debut on Saturday and impressed, throwing for 246 yards on 21-of-42 passing to go with three passing touchdowns. He also rushed for another and totaled 59 rushing yards on 11 carries. For his efforts, he was named the Northeast-10 Freshman and Player of the Week.

O’BRIEN NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mike O’Brien became the second Warrior to be named the D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Week this season, joining J.D. Wild. O'Brien posted two interceptions in the fourth quarter win over Pace. His second interception came on Pace's final drive and halted their progress with 28 seconds left. O'Brien has posted five tackles with four of them being solo.

WATTS LIGHTS IT UP
With Chris Laham out for the remainder of the season, junior wideout Jeremiah Watts has stepped in and stepped up.Watts leads the Warriors with 33 catches for 454 yards and five touchowns. He totaled two scores at Pace and 60 receiving yards. Against Assumption, he brought in a career-best 12 catches for 184 yards and a 37-yard touchdown pass. Watts is second in the conference in total receptions and first in average receptions per game.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Merrimack’s defense was very instrumental in the win over Pace on Saturday. The Warriors notched eight sacks, led by 2.5 from Daniel Sherr and two from Chuck Manthei. They also forced two interceptions, both by Mike O’Brien. O’Brien’s second pick came in the game’s final minute with Pace driving on a possible game-winning drive. The Warriors lead the conference with 23 total sacks.

OFFENSIVE LINE GETS ITS DUE
Merrimack’s offensive line did not allow a sack in the win at Pace. They have allowed just eight sacks this season, third fewest in the conference.

RANKINE AND BROWN RACK UP THE TACKLES
Senior defensive back Jordan Rankine is tied for the team lead with 46 tackles. He posted 12 tackles at Bryant and recovered a fumble. Right with him is Shane Brown, who also has 46 tackles, after getting a team-high nine at Pace. Brown also has 1.5 sacks.

SHERR AND JOHNSON AFTER THE QUARTERBACK
Daniel Sherr leads the Warriors with 4.5 sacks this season, after getting two at Pace. Right behind him is freshman Tony Johnson, who has four sacks. Johnson was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week after getting three sacks against Husson.

JACKSON A TRIPLE THREAT
Preseason All-American Andrew Jackson has emerged as a triple threat. He has excelled on defense, tallying 28 tackles, two interceptions and one sack and was named the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week after getting two INTs at Bryant. On special teams, Jackson has returned one punt and one kick off for a touchdown this season. Against Southern Connecticut, he made his 2008 debut on offense, catching five passes for 31 yards.

INTO THE NIGHT
The Warriors are 1-0 this season on Friday nights, after defeating Assumption at home on September 19. Merrimack was 1-2 on Friday nights in 2007, including a win over Southern Connecticut State University, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, in New Haven. They were 0-2 at home, including a 37-34 OT loss to Bryant.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

COMING UP:
Merrimack hits the tough part of the schedule with two straight road games looming against Bentley and Stonehill. Both games are very critical in the Northeast-10 race.

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 SAINT ANSELM:
Saint Anselm fell to 0-5 on the season with a 37-6 loss to American International last Saturday. The Hawks average only 70 passing yards per game, last in the conference. Quarterback Marc Wilson is the team’s leading rusher with 496 yards in five games. Dan Bohenek leads the defense with 45 tackles, one sack, and two forced fumbles. The Hawks nearly beat Pace three weeks ago, but the Setters scored in the final minutes to come from behind for the 15-14 win.

LAST MEETING:
The Merrimack football team rallied from a 14-14 halftime tie to score 34 third-quarter points in a 55-14 victory over Saint Anselm on October 13, 2007 at Warrior Field. Chris Laham continued his excellent season, catching four passes, three for touchdowns, for 132 yards in the victory. In less than three quarters of play, Colin Temple passed for 326 yards and four touchdowns, while completing 15 of 25 passes. Freshman Mike Croce got some time at QB, throwing for 87 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-11 passsing. Replacing the injured running back Mike Young, Richard Johnson rushed 23 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Andrew Jackson, JD Wild, and Rich O’Donnell had one interception each, as the Warriors caused four turnovers, including a fumble, that O’Donnell recovered off the second-half kickoff which ultimately turned the game around.

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.

WEEK 4 RECAP - SO. CONNECTICUT 40, MERRIMACK 26
Merrimack saw its two-game home winning streak snapped by Southern Connecticut State 40-26 Saturday afternoon at a rainy homecoming Saturday at Warrior Field. Southern Connecticut built a 20-0 lead in the first 11:38, as John Wiechman picked up two one-yard touchdown runs for the 14-0 lead. After a Richard Johnson fumble which was recovered by Jerome Pinckney, Chris Roberts found Chris Bergeski from 18-yards out giving the Owls the quick 20-0 lead after the extra-point failed. After Merrimack’s next drive was stalled, the Warriors forced the Owls to punt for the first time and preseason All-American Andrew Jackson went untouched, returning the punt 75-yards for Merrimack’s lone score of the first half. It was Jackson’s second punt return for a score this season. Following a field goal from Chris Hazelton and another Johnson fumble, the Warriors went into the locker room at halftime trailing 23-7, as Southern Connecticut racked up 271 yards to just 105 for the Warriors. Following a 58-yard kickoff return from Johnson to start the second half, Kurt Leone connected with Jawara Loftis for an 18-yard touchdown pass, cutting the score to 23-14. After Roberts found Bergeski again in the end zone, this time from 41-yards out, the Warriors responded once again, as Leone and Jeremiah Watts hooked up for a one-yard TD score. Trailing 33-20 in the fourth, Johnson rushed in the end zone from one-yard out, after Leone hit Chris McNeil for a 63-yard pass that got the offense down to the one. The Warriors had one last chance, trailing 33-26 at their own 25, but Leone fumbled on the first play of the drive, ending any possibility of a homecoming victory. Merrimack’s defense had no answer for Wiechman who rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries. Roberts was 20-for-34 for 262 yards, while Bergeski pulled in seven catches for 125 yards and two scores. Leone was 27-for-63 for 284 yards and was sacked four times. The Warriors gained just 56 net yards rushing. Watts continued his excellent season, catching 10 balls for 80 yards. Making his first appearance on offense this season, Jackson totaled five catches for 31 yards.

WEEK 5 RECAP - MERRIMACK 31, PACE 28
Making his first collegiate appearance, freshman quarterback J.D. Suozzo threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 59 yards and a score, as Merrimack defeated Pace 31-28 Saturday afternoon. The Warriors jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the game’s first 20 minutes, behind a 32-yard field goal from Sean Garvey, a 21-yard TD run from Suozzo, and a four-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Watts. Pace wideout Eric Ortega cut the lead to 17-14 as he tallied two receiving touchdowns in the second quarter, the second with 1:25 remaining to halftime. But Suozzo engineered a six-play, 56-yard drive, capped off with a 19-yard touchdown to Quavari Jackson, his first collegiate score, which sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 24-14 advantage. The Setters scored first in the third as Andrew Kulak hauled in a 14-yard TD pass just :54 seconds into the second half, but the Warriors again responded as Suozzo and Watts connected on a 33-yard score with time winding down in the third quarter. Pace cut the lead to 31-28 as Nathaniel Ford rushed in for six from two yards out with 4:40 remaining, but Merrimack iced most of the clock away, giving the ball back to the Setters on their own one-yard line after a excellent 36-yard punt from Pedrom Tand. Pace moved the ball to its own 35-yard line, but Ray Gregg was intercepted by Mike O’Brien for the second time to seal the win for the Warriors. Suozzo was 21-of-42 for 246 yards and three passing touchdowns to go with 59 rushing yards and one score. Watts caught four passes for 60 yards, while Jawara Loftis added a team-best six catches for 63 yards. Merrimack rushed for 119 yards on the ground, led by 61 from Richard Johnson, while the Setters managed just 14 rushing yards. O’Brien had two interceptions while the Merrimack defense tallied eight sacks, led by 2.5 from Daniel Sherr and two from Chuck Manthei. The Merrimack offensive line was outstanding, meanwhile, allowing zero sacks on the day.