NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Pace football team dropped their Northeast-10 Conference opener 63-7 to the Warriors of Merrimack College. The Setters fall to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NE-10, while the Warriors improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Merrimack's James Suozzo led the Warriors in the first quarter as he tossed two touchdowns and ran for two more on the ground as the Warriors built a 42-0 after one quarter of play. The Warriors also had a fumble return for a touchdown and a punt return for a score.
The Setters got on the board in the second quarter as they used a little trickery as Brian Beeker (Spring Hill, FL/Springstead) (Spring Hill, FL/F.W. Springfield) was on the option pass and tossed a 54-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Lotwich (Dumont, NJ/Dumont) (Dumont, NJ/Dumont). Merrimack would lead 56-7 at the break.
The second half saw both offenses move the ball as Merrimack would get the lone score of the half late in the fourth quarter.
For Pace, Patrick Lupfer (Mineola, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) (Mineola, NY/Kellenberg) led the Setters receivers with six receptions for 103 yards, while Lotwich finished with 61 yards receiving and one touchdown. David Lopez (Ozone Park, NY/Christ the King) posted nine tackles along with a forced fumble.
The Setters return to action on Friday, September 23 when Pace will travel to New Haven, CT where they will face Southern Connecticut State University under the lights at 7 pm.
