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16
Saint Anselm STA 2-5 , 2-4
41
Winner Merrimack MER 3-4 , 3-3
Saint Anselm STA
2-5 , 2-4
16
Final
41
Merrimack MER
3-4 , 3-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
STA Saint Anselm 3 7 0 6 16
MER Merrimack 7 14 10 10 41

Game Recap: Football |

Merrimack Capitalizes on Multiple Short Fields in 41-16 Win Over Football

NO. ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior RB Elad Covaliu (Rockville, Md.) ran for 146 yards on 21 carries, but the Saint Anselm College football team dropped a 41-16 decision to Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

  • Covaliu hit the century mark for the third time this season, including the second straight game.
  • Freshman QB Eric Fairweather (Londonderry, N.H.) carried 14 times for 81 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Fairweather was also 8-for-15 for 42 yards as he threw his first career passing score.
  • Junior LB Jeremy Betts (Cape Coral, Fla.) amassed a game-high 10 tackles, including one for a loss of 16 yards on which he forced a fumble, and broke up a pair of passes. Senior DB Carroll Bailey (Clinton, Mass.) also recorded 10 tackles.

For the foes…

  • QB Nick Davis completed 23 of 45 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
  • WR Jere Brown reeled in 10 of those passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.
  • RB Adriell Mayes rushed for 70 yards and three scores on 16 carries.
  • LB Carey Wells-Jowers totaled 10 tackles, including a sack.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Following a fourth-and-four stop for the Saint Anselm defense at its own 27-yard line, the offense took over and put senior K/P Shane Grayson (Ormond Beach, Fla.) in position to drill a 37-yard field goal that gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter.
  • The Hawks' defense forced a punt on the ensuing drive to get the offense the ball back, but on the first play of the series, Merrimack recovered the fumbled option pitch at the Saint Anselm 2-yard line. Mayes ran in for the touchdown from one yard out three plays later and the Warriors grabbed a 7-3 lead with 2:22 to go in the opening stanza.
  • Merrimack took advantage of another Saint Anselm turnover as Brian Carroll intercepted Fairweather at the Warriors' 46-yard line and then drove the 54 yards in four plays with Davis finding Cody Demers from 12 yards out to make it 14-3 with 14:16 on the clock on the second quarter.
  • The Warriors opened the lead to 21-3 with 4:36 left before halftime as Merrimack capitalized on another short field following a high, but short punt and went 31 yards in five plays before Davis hit Brown for a five-yard touchdown in the back right corner of the end zone.
  • Saint Anselm responded with a six-play, 83-yard drive that was capped by Fairweather's 61-yard draw straight up the gut and pulled the Hawks within 21-10 with 2:32 to play in the half.
  • After the Hawks thwarted Merrimack's drive to open the second half following a forced fumble by Betts that was recovered by senior DB Elijah Thomas (Gaithersburg, Md.), the Warriors took the ball right back on Fairweather's second fumble of the afternoon at the Merrimack 21-yard line. Mayes ran it in from five yards out four plays later and the Warriors led 28-10 with 10:43 left in the third.
  • Merrimack used another short field to add to its lead as a botched snap on a Saint Anselm punt try gave the Warriors the ball at the Hawks' 17-yard line. The Saint Anselm defense held Merrimack to a 22-yard field goal by Stephen Camarro that made it 31-10 with 3:16 to play in the third.
  • Camarro added a 21-yard field goal with 12:19 to go in the fourth quarter that pushed the lead to 34-10.
  • Fairweather threw his first career touchdown pass to polish off a four-play, 58-yard drive with 9:03 left in the contest when he found junior WR Zach Bartak (Greenfield, Mass.) in the back of the end zone. The two-point conversion try was no good.
  • Mayes tacked on his third rushing score of the afternoon on a six-yard run that made it 41-16 with 1:16 to go.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Merrimack outgained Saint Anselm, 381-271, in total offense, including 253-42 through the air. The Hawks returned the favor on the ground, collecting 229 yards to the Warriors' 128.
  • Merrimack scored on three of the four Hawks' turnovers, while Saint Anselm did not capitalize on its one takeaway.
  • Saint Anselm continued its solid play on third down as it converted 7 of 14 opportunities. Merrimack was 7-for-17 in the same situations.

NOTES

  • With his fifth career 100-yard rushing performance, Covaliu moved into a fourth-place tie with Keith Charles (2010-13) on the all-time list. He also tied Derek DiMartino (2002, 2004) for fourth place on the single-season 100-yard rushing games list.
  • Covaliu, who has averaged 134.8 rushing yards per game in the six contests since the season opener, has chewed up 846 yards on the ground this year, which places him fourth all-time on the single-season rushing list.
  • On its seven scoring drives, Merrimack had an average starting position of the Saint Anselm 33 ½ yard line. Only one scoring series was started further away from the end zone than the Merrimack 55-yard line and that was the Warriors' final drive that went for 72 yards.

UP NEXT

  • The Hawks return to action Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University on Family Weekend at Grappone Stadium.

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