Recapping the 2009 Championship Football Season

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NORTH ANDOVER, MA - For the Co-Conference Champions, the 2009 season gave plenty for fans and alumni of the Merrimack football program to celebrate and look back on.

With wins over Southern Connecticut and Pace to end the season, Merrimack tied Bentley and SCSU for first-place in the conference, securing the second-career Northeast-10 title on Senior Day in front of the home fans. The Warriors were 5-1 at home this season and 4-0 at home in the conference, highlighted by a thrilling 14-12 victory over Bentley University on October 3.

"This season was an exciting season full of many team, offensive as well as individual accomplishments," said head coach John Perry. "Although we lose a great senior class, we are confident that our current players will carry on the tradition that the seniors have established."

Postseason Honors

Merrimack had 11 student-athletes named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference team, headlined by QB James Suozzo, who became the first Northeast-10 MVP in school history. Suozzo, a sophomore, anchored the nation's sixth-best offense, averaging 325.1 total yards per game while throwing for 23 touchdowns and rushing for another fifteen.

"James had an exceptional season but like most individual awards, there are many things that contributed to his success, including a great team effort and camaraderie," said Perry.

Other first-team selections included RB Anthony Smalls, WR Chris Laham, WR Jeremiah Watts, T David Bellmont, LB Shawn Loiseau, and LB Tony Johnson. Three players, T Jacob Bradley, C Dylan Register and DE Nick Desjardins were named to the second-team, while CB Jesse Fowler was an all-rookie team honoree.

"To receive five offensive first-team awards is a great accomplishment," said Perry. "But then when you look at our offensive numbers this year, these five individuals certainly deserved it. The offensive production is obviously a makeup of all 11 individual efforts. These five distinguished themselves even above the rest."

Perry was just as thrilled with the defensive all-stars in 2009.

"Shawn's and Tony's selections to the all-conference team were fitting in that the improvement of the defense throughout the course of the season was evident, culminating in a terrific performance against Pace. These two have played at a high level the entire season, and the rest of the defense molded itself to their level by the end of the season."

Laham and Bellmont were recently named to the Daktronics All-Region Second Team, while Suozzo, Laham and Bellmont were All-New England selections.

Record Book Updates

As a program, Merrimack led the Northeast-10 in scoring, rushing, total yards, first downs, and fewest sacks allowed. Suozzo led the conference in passing touchdowns, total offense, while Laham led the league in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. Johnson, who led the conference and set the school record in sacks as a freshman, was second in the conference in sacks this year, but led the league in tackles for a loss, fumbles forced and fumbles recovered. Loiseau led the conference with 123 tackles and the nation with 12.3 tackles per game. Smalls became the second running back in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season, while Watts' 19 receptions in the 52-42 win over Southern Connecticut set a school mark.

The Warriors also set numerous team school records this year, including the scoring record (349 points), total rushing yards (2,516), total yards (4,826) and first downs (226). There were many individual school marks set as well, four by Laham, who graduates as the program's all-time leader in touchdowns (38), receiving touchdowns (36), points (228) and receiving yards (2,411). Watts departs as the all-time leader with 141 receptions, eight more than Laham, while Johnson, just a sophomore, already owns the all-time sack mark with 20.5 and the fumbles forced record with seven. For the second straight year, the offensive line, led by Bellmont, Register and Bradley, set the school record for fewest sacks in a season with 11, four fewer than in 2008. The offensive line anchored the way for Smalls (1,161 yards) and Suozzo (954 yards), leading the nation's sixth-best rushing offense.

Recognizing the Class of 2009

The Class of 2009 departs as two-time Northeast-10 Champions. Led by captains, Bernard Cooper, Shane Brown, Laham and Watts, the class of 2009 finished with a 25-17 career record and in at least third place in three of their four seasons. Laham and Watts' contributions are etched in their record books, but there are many others to recognize, including Brown, who finishes eighth in school-history in career tackles and fifth in the conference this season. Other key contributors include Richard Johnson, who moved to defense this season from running back to strengthen our team, Jake Manning, the third wide receiver who is outstanding in the classroom, and Andrew Rebello, who became a starter at safety this season and anchored a young secondary. These seniors along with Marc Benjamin, Mike Sarnese, Greg Basmajian, Ryan DiGregorio, Patrick Easley, and Pedrom Tand, will graduate knowing the program is in good hands.


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With wins over Southern Connecticut and Pace to end the season, Merrimack tied Bentley and SCSU for first-place in the conference, securing the second-career Northeast-10 title on Senior Day in front of the home fans. The Warriors were 5-1 at home this season and 4-0 at home in the conference, highlighted by a thrilling 14-12 victory over Bentley University on October 3. "This season was an exciting season full of many team, offensive as well as individual accomplishments," said head coach John Perry. "Although we lose a great senior class, we are confident that our current players will carry on the tradition that the seniors have established." Postseason Honors Merrimack had 11 student-athletes named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference team, headlined by QB James Suozzo, who became the first Northeast-10 MVP in school history. Suozzo, a sophomore, anchored the nation's sixth-best offense, averaging 325.1 total yards per game while throwing for 23 touchdowns and rushing for another fifteen. "James had an exceptional season but like most individual awards, there are many things that contributed to his success, including a great team effort and camaraderie," said Perry. Other first-team selections included RB Anthony Smalls, WR Chris Laham, WR Jeremiah Watts, T David Bellmont, LB Shawn Loiseau, and LB Tony Johnson. Three players, T Jacob Bradley, C Dylan Register and DE Nick Desjardins were named to the second-team, while CB Jesse Fowler was an all-rookie team honoree. "To receive five offensive first-team awards is a great accomplishment," said Perry. "But then when you look at our offensive numbers this year, these five individuals certainly deserved it. The offensive production is obviously a makeup of all 11 individual efforts. These five distinguished themselves even above the rest." Perry was just as thrilled with the defensive all-stars in 2009. "Shawn's and Tony's selections to the all-conference team were fitting in that the improvement of the defense throughout the course of the season was evident, culminating in a terrific performance against Pace. These two have played at a high level the entire season, and the rest of the defense molded itself to their level by the end of the season." Laham and Bellmont were recently named to the Daktronics All-Region Second Team, while Suozzo, Laham and Bellmont were All-New England selections. Record Book Updates As a program, Merrimack led the Northeast-10 in scoring, rushing, total yards, first downs, and fewest sacks allowed. Suozzo led the conference in passing touchdowns, total offense, while Laham led the league in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. Johnson, who led the conference and set the school record in sacks as a freshman, was second in the conference in sacks this year, but led the league in tackles for a loss, fumbles forced and fumbles recovered. Loiseau led the conference with 123 tackles and the nation with 12.3 tackles per game. Smalls became the second running back in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season, while Watts' 19 receptions in the 52-42 win over Southern Connecticut set a school mark. The Warriors also set numerous team school records this year, including the scoring record (349 points), total rushing yards (2,516), total yards (4,826) and first downs (226). There were many individual school marks set as well, four by Laham, who graduates as the program's all-time leader in touchdowns (38), receiving touchdowns (36), points (228) and receiving yards (2,411). Watts departs as the all-time leader with 141 receptions, eight more than Laham, while Johnson, just a sophomore, already owns the all-time sack mark with 20.5 and the fumbles forced record with seven. For the second straight year, the offensive line, led by Bellmont, Register and Bradley, set the school record for fewest sacks in a season with 11, four fewer than in 2008. The offensive line anchored the way for Smalls (1,161 yards) and Suozzo (954 yards), leading the nation's sixth-best rushing offense. Recognizing the Class of 2009 The Class of 2009 departs as two-time Northeast-10 Champions. Led by captains, Bernard Cooper, Shane Brown, Laham and Watts, the class of 2009 finished with a 25-17 career record and in at least third place in three of their four seasons. Laham and Watts' contributions are etched in their record books, but there are many others to recognize, including Brown, who finishes eighth in school-history in career tackles and fifth in the conference this season. Other key contributors include Richard Johnson, who moved to defense this season from running back to strengthen our team, Jake Manning, the third wide receiver who is outstanding in the classroom, and Andrew Rebello, who became a starter at safety this season and anchored a young secondary. These seniors along with Marc Benjamin, Mike Sarnese, Greg Basmajian, Ryan DiGregorio, Patrick Easley, and Pedrom Tand, will graduate knowing the program is in good hands.