Read the Warriors side (the whole game, score included)
Intro
This is Missed It. Merrimack at Delaware, Thursday, September 3, 82 and clear at Delaware Stadium, with the Warriors. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
First Quarter: A Slow Bleed
We open at Delaware Stadium, 82 degrees and clear. We're feeling good. We're feeling ready. Our first drive stalls. Eight plays, and we're punting. Ryan's boot goes 43 yards, Graves brings it back 27 to midfield. That field position hurts. Delaware takes over. They grind. Ellison Jr. rips off 6 yards to the 11. Then he comes back left, 11 yards, and he's in. Touchdown. 7 to 0, Blue Hens. We answer with our best drive of the day. Fourteen plays. McElroy rushes right for 3. Hairston finds Latham for 6, a first down. We're moving. We're inside their territory. This is our chance. Bartolomeo lines up for a 45-yard field goal. The snap is clean. The hold is clean. And it's... no good. Wide. We come away with nothing. Still 7 to 0.
Second Quarter: The Turnovers
Delaware tries a 47-yarder of their own. No good. We dodge one. We punt. They punt. We're stuck in the mud. Then it happens. Hairston drops back, looks for a receiver, and Mullins steps in front. Intercepted at the goal line. Touchback. All that work, gone. Delaware doesn't waste it. Minicucci rushes middle for 12 yards. Touchdown. 14 to 0. We try to answer. We go for it on fourth down. Ryan punts, but Graves returns it 44 yards. A penalty brings it back, but the damage is done. We're pinned. Delaware lines up for a 26-yard field goal. Simms blocks it. We're alive. Then the dagger. McElroy rushes right, gets stripped. Moore forces it. Matthews recovers at our 12. One play later, Minicucci finds Wilson for 12 yards. Touchdown. 21 to 0 at the half.
Third Quarter: The Roof Caves In
Whatever we said at halftime, it didn't hold. Roberts rushes middle for 1 yard. Touchdown. 28 to 0. We punt. Then Ellison Jr. throws deep to Roberts. Caught at 45. Seventy-five yards. Touchdown. 35 to 0. We can't get anything going. We punt again. They punt. We go for it on fourth down and come up empty. Finally, a spark. Placide intercepts Minicucci. We take over. Mulbah rushes right for 7 yards. Touchdown. We're on the board. 35 to 7. But Delaware answers immediately. Minicucci to Tyree, 8 yards. Touchdown. 42 to 7.
Fourth Quarter: Playing It Out
We fight. Meehan throws deep to Palmer, but Jefferson breaks it up. Turnover on downs. They punt. We punt. They punt. We get one more chance. Thirteen plays. We drive all the way down. Meehan drops back, throws short middle to Massey, thrown to the 3. Moore breaks it up. Turnover on downs. Delaware kneels it out. Final: 42 to 7. Tough one, Warriors. We'll get them next time.
By the Numbers
The Warriors by the numbers. Final score, Merrimack 7, Delaware 42. 244 yards of offense to their 547, 196 through the air and 48 on the ground. 13 first downs. 4 of 16 on third down. 2 turnovers for us, 1 for them. We held the ball for just under 32 minutes.
Outro
That was Merrimack at Delaware, from the Warriors side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.
Read the Blue Hens side (the whole game, score included)
Intro
This is Missed It. Merrimack at Delaware, Thursday, September 3, 82 and clear at Delaware Stadium, with the Blue Hens. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
First Blood in the Heat
82 and clear at Delaware Stadium, and we are rolling. Merrimack gets the ball first and moves it, eight plays, but our defense holds and forces a punt. Graves takes it 27 yards to the 50. We take over. Nine plays later, we're knocking on the door. Ellison Jr. grinds six yards to the 11, then takes it left, 11 yards, and he's in. Touchdown, Delaware. Smack's kick is good. 7 to 0, Hens. Merrimack answers with a long drive, 14 plays, chewing up the rest of the quarter. They get all the way to our 37, but the field goal attempt from 45 yards sails wide. No good. We escape, still up 7 to 0.
Missed Chances and a Late Strike
We push right back, nine plays, but Smack's 47-yard try is no good. We trade punts. Then Merrimack's Hairston drops back, and Mullins steps in front of it at the goal line. Touchback. Our ball. Six plays later, Minicucci keeps it himself, 12 yards up the middle, and he's in. 14 to 0, Hens. Merrimack's next drive stalls, and Graves returns the punt 44 yards, but a flag brings it back. We still get a shot, but Smack's 26-yard attempt is blocked. Heartbreak. Then, with 23 seconds left, chaos. McElroy fumbles, Matthews recovers at the 12. One play. Minicucci finds Wilson in the corner, 12 yards, touchdown. 21 to 0 at the half. That's how you close a half.
The Floodgates Open
We get the ball to start the third, and Roberts punches it in from a yard out. 28 to 0. Merrimack punts, and then Ellison Jr. uncorks one. Deep right to Roberts, 75 yards, touchdown. 35 to 0. The game is over. Merrimack gets a little something back, Mulbah rushes right for 7 yards and a score. 35 to 7. But we answer immediately. Minicucci to Tyree, 8 yards, touchdown. 42 to 7. That's the ballgame.
Running Out the Clock
The fourth quarter is all about the backups and the clock. Merrimack tries to move it, but Jefferson breaks up a pass on fourth down. We punt, they punt, we punt. They get one last chance, 13 plays, but Moore breaks up the final pass on fourth down. We take over, kneel it out. Final score: Delaware 42, Merrimack 7. A dominant win, and we're rolling.
By the Numbers
The Blue Hens by the numbers. Final score, Delaware 42, Merrimack 7. 547 yards of offense to their 244, 435 through the air and 112 on the ground. 27 first downs. 6 of 13 on third down. 1 turnover for us, 2 for them. We held the ball for just over 27 minutes.
Outro
That was Merrimack at Delaware, from the Blue Hens side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.