Leone and Watts Lead Football to 30-28 Win over Assumption

Boxscore

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Jeremiah Watts (Clovis, CA) caught a career-high 12 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown leading Merrimack to a 30-28 win over Assumption College Friday night.

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 (Wakefield, MA) and Tony Johnson (Lynn, MA) 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 Kurt Leone (Marshfield, MA), and the quarterback found Chris Laham (Westwood, MA) downfield for a 69-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the game. With that score, Laham tied the school record with 23 career touchdown receptions, tying Elfren Quiles with that mark. The senior captain has five touchdowns on the season in three games. The senior left the game midway through the first quarter, after catching two balls for 99 yards.

The Greyhounds responded immediately as Herbert Woodard rushed 53 yards on their third play of the ensuing drive evening the score at seven.

Following a 40-yard field goal from Sean Garvey (Farmington, CT), freshman tailback Anthony Smalls (Natick, MA) 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.

With the second quarter winding down and the Warriors leading 16-14, Leone executed a third and long pass to Ryan DiGregorio (Fiskdale, MA) for a gain of 26 and a first down inside the Assumption 15. Two plays later, the sophomore connected with Watts for a 14-yard touchdown pass, sending Merrimack to the locker room up 23-14 at the half.

The Warriors began the second half with an eight-play, 88-yard drive capped off with an eight yard touchdown rush from Richard Johnson (Brockton, MA). 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. The Greyhounds went for the onside kick but Merrimack’s Jawara Loftis (Dorchester, MA) recovered it, securing their first conference victory of the season.

Leone finished 21-for-35 for 364 passing yards and two touchdowns. Smalls rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 25 carries.

Merrimack (2-1, 1-0 NE-10) will host the preseason conference favorite Southern Connecticut State University next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Warrior Field as part of Homecoming Weekend.


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