PACE BLANKED BY MERRIMACK, 31-0

NORTH ANDOVER, MA - The Warriors of Merrimack defeated the Setters of Pace in Northeast-10 Conference football action this afternoon at Warrior Field in North Andover, MA. The Setters drop to 1-8 overall and 1-7 in the NE-10, while Merrimack improves to 4-4 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Merrimack got on the board early as Sean Garvey connected on a 43-yard field goal with 12:17 left in the opening quarter. The Warriors added to their lead later in the quarter as Colin Temple connected with Chris Lahan on a 38-yard touchdown reception to give Merrimack a 10-0 lead.

The Setters had a pair of second quarter interceptions as Max Katzner (Bogota, NJ/Bogota) (Bogota, NJ/Bogota) returned the first one 51-yards before fumbling back to Merrimack. The second one came later in the quarter as Jonathan Jones (Dover, NH/Bridgton Academy) (Dover, NH/Bridgton Academy) ended another Warrior drive deep in Setter territory with his fifth interception of the season.

Merrimack struck again on their first possession of the third quarter as Temple tossed a shovel pass to Mike Young, who took in 67 yards for the touchdown and a 17-0 Merrimack lead with 10:12 left in the third quarter.

The Warriors tacked on another score late in third and the final one in the fourth quarter as Merrimack took home the victory, 31-0.

For the game, Pace totaled 129 yards of total offense on 49 plays, while Merrimack posted 468 yards of offense on 76 plays.

For Pace, quarterback Ray Gregg (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) started, completing 4-of-6 passes for 21 yards in the first half. Adam Headley (Shelton, CT/Shelton) came on in relief and passed for 130 yards on 12-for-20 passing. Eric Ortega (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) led the Setters in receiving, hauling in six passes 50 yards, while Matt Cooney (East Rockaway, NY/East Rockaway) (East Rockaway, NY/East Rockaway) recorded five receptions for 45 yards.

Defensively, the Setters were led by Greg Brain (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) who tallied 14 tackles, while  Joe Streany (Croton, NY/Croton) totaled 12 tackles, including two for losses. In addition to his second quarter interception, Jones was the third leading tackler, totaling 10.

Pace return to action next Saturday, November 3 for the Setters second non-conference game of the season when the Gaels of Iona College will come to Pleasantville for a 12 pm start at Pace Field.