N. Andover, Mass. (October 11, 2003)- The Merrimack defense scored three touchdowns to lead the Warriors (3-2, 3-2 NE-10) to a 38-17 win over Saint Anselm (0-6, 0-6 NE-10) in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Warrior Field Saturday on Homecoming Weekend. Junior Stephen Mitchell (Worcester, Mass.) recovered a block punt, senior B.J. Birtz (Lincoln, Maine) recovered a fumble and sophomore Matt Gannon (Orland Park, Ill.) intercepted a pass for the three scores the defense accounted for this afternoon.

Saint Anselm has now allowed nine touchdowns to opposing team defenses this season, and the three most recent played a big role as the Hawks continue their worst start in modern history. The Warriors blitzed the Hawks early and jumped out to a 31-0 first half lead while holding the Hawks to just seven yards of total offense in the first quarter. Junior Baron Albury (Cortland Manor, N.Y.) opened the scoring for Merrimack as he rambled for 25 yards just five minutes into the game. Senior Jon Reid (Bronx, N.Y.) pushed the lead to 13-0 a he bulled his way in from two-yards out.

Birtz then blocked a punt and Mitchell recovered on the two-yard line and scampered in to make the score 21-0 after the first 15 minutes of play. Senior Jon Ramsey (Holden, Mass.) then converted a 44-yard field attempted and Birtz added an eight yard fumble recovery to push the lead to 31-0 with over five left in the first half.The Hawks got on the board as junior Derek DiMartino (Amherst, N.H./ UMass Amherst) caught a swing pass from sophomore Shane Dinagen (Harrisville, R.I./ Burrillville) and DiMartino went 29-yards for Saint Anselm�s first score on the afternoon.

The Hawks controlled much of the second half and started to make a move as the defense created three turnovers on fumbles and held the Warriors to just 84 yards of offense. A fumble early in the third quarter led to a Michael Garcarz (New Britain, Conn./ New Britain) 40-yard field goal just two-and-a half minutes into the third quarter to cut the Merrimack lead to 31-10.

Dinagen then found freshman Pat Turner (N. Andover, Mass./ N. Andover) with a56-yard pass and Turner scored to make the score 31-17 with 11:37 left in the fourth quarter. Things then fell apart for the Hawks on their next drive. Gannon took a deflected pass off the hands of Kevin Ridgley (Amesbury, Mass./ Amesbury), and ran 58-yards for the Warriors final score on the afternoon.

Gannon came up big again with the Hawks driving late in the game, as he picked off Dinagen in the corner of the end zone to end another Saint Anselm threat and effectively close out the game.

Dinagen was 18-for-41 for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns but had four passes intercepted. DiMartino rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries. Ridgley caught four passes for 28 yards and Turner added three catches for 73 yards and his score.

Sophomore Mike Bombardier (Kingston, Mass./ Kingston) made 12 stops (seven solo) for the Hawks, while junior Aaron Jeanson (Acton, Mass./ Univ. Rhode Island) added 11 tackles (10 assisted) and five tackles for loss, while adding 121 total yards on two punt and four kickoff returns. Thomas Kelleher (Wakefield, Mass./ Wakefield) led a disruptive front line for the Hawks, and was credited with a career-high four QB hurries with the Hawks recorded 12 as a team. David Heiner (Farmington, Conn./ Farmington) also had a big days with six tackles, 2.5 sacks, two QB hurries and two forced fumbles.

Tom Ruswick (Tinley Park, Ill.) finished the game 9-for-27 passing for 150 yards, while junior Frank Novogratz (Allentown, Pa.) went 2-for-3 for 26 yards for Merrimack. Reid rushed for 52 yards on 17 carries, while senior Tom Principe (Warren, R.I.) and junior Aaron Clark (Greenfield, Mass.) each caught three passes for the Warriors. Senior Eric Banda (Wilmington, MA) made 12 stops (nine solo) and force a fumble, while junior Todd Lowe (New Britain, CT) also had 12 tackles (five solo) for Merrimack.

The 21 points Merrimack scored in the first quarter was a school record, breaking the previous mark of 20 in the fourth quarter against UMass Lowell on November 2, 1996.

Saint Anselm has a bye week next week before returning to action on October 25 at LIU-C.W. Post in the Northeast-10 Game of the Week.