Donahue Kicks 26 Yard Field Goal, Parsons Throws For 51 Yards As Football Drops 16-3 Season Opening Northeast-10 Decision To Merrimack Before Sellout Crowd
September 1, 2006
STONEHILL FOOTBALL
Friday, September 1, 2006
W.B. Mason Stadium, Easton, Mass.
FINAL: MERRIMACK 16, STONEHILL 3
1 2 3 4 Total
Merrimack (1-0, 1-0 Northeast-10) 10 0 0 6 - 16
Stonehill (0-1, 0-1 Northeast-10) 0 0 0 3 - 3
SCORING SUMMARY
MER: Andrew Jackson 95 yd kickoff return (Nick Cappellucci kick) 14:42 1st
MER: Cappellucci 36 yd FG 5:14 1st
STO: Sean Donahue 26 yd FG 14:48 4th
MER: Richard Johnson 1 yd run (kick failed) 6:43 4th
Attendance: 2,400 (Sellout)
TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS TO FOLLOW
EASTON, Mass.-- Sophomore Andrew Jackson (New Britain, Conn.) returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown that sparked Merrimack to a 16-3 Northeast-10 Conference football victory over Stonehill in the season opener for both squads Friday evening at W.B. Mason Stadium.
Jackson's burst up the middle on the game's very first play staked the visiting Warriors (1-0, 1-0 Northeast-10) to a quick 7-0 edge, and Merrimack extended its advantage to 10-0 with 5:14 remaining in the opening stanza on a 36-yard field goal by freshman Nick Cappellucci (Melrose, Mass.). The host Skyhawks (0-1, 0-1 Northeast-10) were unable to capitalize on a pair of Warrior turnovers in the second and third quarters and trailed by that 10-0 margin heading into the final stanza before closing the gap to 10-3 on a 26-yard field goal by junior Sean Donahue (Plymouth, N.H.) 12 seconds into the fourth frame, but Merrimack iced matters with 6:43 to play when freshman Richard Johnson (Brockton, Mass.) capped a six-play, 71-yard drive with a one yard plunge to close out the scoring.
After combining for 76 points and over 500 yards of total offense in their 2005 encounter (a 48-28 Stonehill victory in North Andover), the two teams combined for just 19 points and 258 yards of total offense between them in the first-ever night game played on the Stonehill campus before a sellout crowd of 2,400. Johnson and freshman Mike Young (Norwood, Mass.) combined for 79 rushing yards (63 by Young), while junior quarterback Colin Temple (Rutland, Vt.) threw for 121 yards on the evening. The Merrimack defense was the story of the contest, as the Warriors registered nine sacks, including 3 ½ by freshman Victor Adesanya (Staten Island, N.Y.) and two more by freshman Sam Blevines (Brockton, Mass.). Senior Matt Mikaitis (Chicago, Ill.) paced the hosts with 10 tackles.
Sophomore quarterback Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) threw for 51 yards, including four passes to senior Paul Stone (Somerville, Mass.) for 29 yards, in the setback for Stonehill, which amassed only 12 rushing yards on 32 carries. Junior Tony Camarota (Hudson, Mass.) recorded a career-high eight tackles on the night for the Skyhawks.
The Warrior win extended an odd statistic in the series between the two schools, as the home team has won just once in the 11 meetings between Stonehill and Merrimack dating back to 1996. The Warriors are now 6-0 in Easton all-time.
Stonehill hosts Assumption in a Northeast-10 outing next Friday evening at W.B. Mason Stadium beginning at 7:00 p.m., while Merrimack heads to Kingston, R.I. to take on Division I-AA foe Rhode Island in a non-league match-up that kicks-off at Noon.