By Mukala Kabongo
NEFJ Staff
NORTH ANDOVER — Sacred Heart used a strong second half to outlast Merrimack, 31-20 in the inaugural Yankee Conference Championship on Saturday.
It was senior day at Duane Stadium for the host Warriors (4-6) and a day where Merrimack had the opportunity to close out its home schedule with a win and a ‘conference’ crown paying homage to the old days.
However, Sacred Heart (5-6) had other plans in what was the Pio’s season finale.
The game began when Jermaine Corbett took the opening kickoff 99 -yards to the house to give Merrimack the early 7-0 lead. The Pioneers quickly responded on the ensuing possession as running back Jalen Madison – who rushed for a game high 170 yards on the day – broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the day.
The Warriors defense intercepted Pioneers quarterback John Michalski twice and also forced a fumble. Those turnovers only resulted in a grand total of three points.
“The first half we struggled a little bit,” said Pioneers head coach Mark Nofri.
Merrimack led 17-7 after Jermaine Corbett found the end zone for a second time when he scampered for an 18-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. As they did earlier in the game, the Pioneers responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive resulting in a Michalski 37-yard touchdown run.
“We made some adjustments at halftime ,” said Nofri. “In the second half they came out and just played great.”
Michalski gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game when he ran it in from three yards out with 5:19 remaining in the third. Sacred Heart’s defense then stepped up two possessions in a row
With Merrimack facing a 4th-&-7 at the Pioneer’s 29, instead of trotting out Lliam Davis who was 2-2 on field goals to try to give the Warriors back the lead, Merrimack elected to go for it and quarterback Ayden Pereira was stopped at the line of scrimmage.
After a Pioneers punt, the Warriors were marching into Sacred Heart territory, but on 3rd-&-9 from the Pioneer 48, defensive back Quinn Hart picked off Pereira and there was no one in sight as Hart raced 52-yards for the touchdown that gave the Pioneers some breathing room.
“Defense stepped up, offense we got a couple of scores,” said Nofri. “Overall it was a great team effort and complimentary football on both sides of the ball for us.”
The defense sealed the game for the Pioneers, defensive back Ryan Palmieri picked off Pereira after the pass was tipped.
For Sacred Heart – who came into this game losing three out of the last four including a 28-7 loss to Long Island University last week – it was a great feeling to end the season with a win and a trophy.
“Last week we didn’t play well,” said Nofri. “The kids did a great job putting that behind them and coming out here and focusing on Merrimack and ending the season with a win and a chance to win the Yankee cup which they did.
“I give all the credit to the kids”
