Image courtesy of @Merrimack_FB
Given the circumstances, this wasn’t a bad debut for the new look Warriors under first year head coach Mike Gennetti.
After quarterback Gavin McCusker was injured during the first series of the game, Malakai Anthony did his best to shoulder more of the load and the defense did its best to hold down one of the more potent rushing attacks in the country, but in the end, Air Force was able to grind out a 21-6 win.
McCusker was injured during a 10 yard run where he ended up fumbling and the Falcons recovered at the Merrimack 38. It took 13 plays and almost seven minutes until a Cade Harris two yard TD run put Air Force up.
Things got ugly and sluggish for the next several possessions, with fans being treated to the following sequence: punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, punt, punt, punt. The Falcons and Warriors then traded missed field goals before an impressive 11 play, 80 yard drive for Air Force that took just 1:32 and ended with another Harris run, this time from four yards out.
Five drives ended in punts in the third quarter and a fumble by Jermaine Corbett on a four yard pass from Anthony with 11:43 left in the game set the Falcons up at the Warriors’ 14. Six plays later, Aiden Calvert scored from a yard out to make it 21-0. Ayden Pereira was put in for one final Merrimack drive and made the most of it, marching 50 yards in 15 plays and capping it with an 11 yard TD pass to Jalen McDonald.
Anthony finished with 74 yards (14-21) passing and 19 yards rushing on 10 attempts. Pereira was 3-9 on his drive for 29 yards. Corbett had 59 yards rushing on eight carries and McDonald had five catches for 39 yards and the score. Donovan Wadley was held to just three grabs and 17 yards.
The Merrimack defense gave up just 237 yards of offense (the Warriors had 217) and held the Falcons to 7-17 on third down. Unfortunately, the offense was 3-15, although it did go 3-4 on 4th down conversions. Unquestionably, the biggest issues that will need to get cleaned up are penalties and turnovers. Merrimack had 11 of them for 88 yards and many of the flags allowed Air Force to extend drives. The Falcons also forced four fumbles, recovering three.
The Warriors are back on the road against another FBS opponent next weekend, traveling to UConn for a noon kick off on Saturday.