NORTH ANDOVER – Year two of the Mike Gennetti Era for Merrimack is underway.
The Warriors were ramping up for a full-pad Saturday scrimmage when we stopped by practice on Friday to check out training camp. While it was a light day for the Warriors, Merrimack still got some good work in for about two hours.
Here’s what stood out:
QB competition – Former Central Catholic star Ayden Pereira is now a savy veteran after joining the Warriors in 2024 following an initial stop at Maine. Gennetti and his staff also brought in transfer Aveon Smith, who is a dynamic athlete and helps provide an interesting 1-2 punch with Periera, regardless of who starts. While it’s most likely Pereira’s team, opponents will absolutely need to prepare for both guys on any given Saturday.
Compete, compete, compete – Right from the jump and even without pads on, competition was the theme of the day. Junior offensive lineman Anthony Aviles woke his teammates up early, catching a punt to end some conditioning, drawing a big celebration. There was constant chatter between wide receivers and DBs or linebackers and running backs during various team periods and a light skelly (7-on-7) period. Even without the contact, it was nothing but flying around for the two hours Merrimack was out on the field inside Duane Stadium.
Speed and athleticism on both sides – Hard to ignore the running backs (particularly St. Francis transfer junior DeMarcus McElroy, former CCHS standout Matthias Latham and junior Brendon Wyatt) as well as receivers Austin Palmer (RS Soph.), Hayden Fisher (Gr.) and Tyngsborough’s Bryce Goulet (sophomore). Sophomore Dennis Morgan is also a really big target. Defensively, it was the linebackers standing out, particularly Kendal Sims (senior) and RJ Chapman (junior), while classmate DB Garry Rosemond Jr. will lead the secondary.
Size up front on O-line (as usual) – As is usually the case with Merrimack, there’s some big boys up front on both sides. While there’s a lot of youth and the potential for many bodies to rotate through, other teams will absolutely feel it post game after battling with the Warriors in the trenches this season. The running game will be Merrimack’s bread and butter.
More tight end production coming – If you’ve followed Merrimack over the last decade or so under Dan Curran and now Gennetti, you know the tight end position has been a go-to offensive staple. With guys like sophomore Cade Callahan (North Middlesex) and junior Stephen Patrick (St. John’s Prep) among others in the mix, the position will be a key piece to the puzzle once again.
Final thoughts – Living the life of an independent school isn’t easy, but Merrimack has assembled a roster of tough, hard-nosed kids that don’t care about anything other than lining up, beating the guy across from them and maintaining a standard that’s been set for the program. Whether it was the portal or graduation, this version of the Warriors did lose a lot and there’s going to be some guys that see real action for the first time, but there’s also a solid core of veterans – led by Pereira – that know what it takes to win games. This is going to be a fun team to watch if you want to go spend a Saturday afternoon out in North Andover.
Make sure you also check out our interviews with Pereira and Gennetti.
