Massachusetts Bests Merrimack On Homecoming Weekend, 31-21

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts football team defeated Merrimack, 31-21, in its Homecoming Weekend game on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (14,672). The win in the first ever meeting between the two teams also marked a second consecutive victory for the Minutemen.

Greg Desrosiers Jr. and Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams led the way on offense as the duo combined to rush for 250 yards. Desrosiers Jr. scored on touchdown runs of eight yards, 46 yards and 57 yards en route to a career-high 162 yards and career-high three touchdowns. Lynch-Adams had 88 yards on the ground to surpass 1,000 on the season, (1,014), becoming the second UMass player in the FBS-era to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season (Ellis Merriweather, 2021).

Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh threw for 104 yards on 9-for-20 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions, while George Johnson III notched a touchdown of his own off of two receptions and 36 yards.

For the Minutemen defense which only allowed 226 yards on the day, Gerrell Johnson led the way with a team-high seven tackles, including four solo. Zukudo Igwenagu, Nahji Logan and Billy Wooden claimed six, five, and four tackles, respectively. Derrieon Craig and Uchenna Ezewike each posted one sack apiece.

How It Happened
Merrimack received the opening kickoff to commence the first ever matchup between the two teams. The Warriors opening drive proved unsuccessful, the Minutemen allowing just five plays and 27 yards across the 3:49.

The visiting team eventually capitalized on an ensuing scoring drive, in large part due to a 32-yard catch by Jalen McDonald at the UMass five-yard line. Merrimack's quarterback, Anthony Malakai, rushed it in to put the visitors up 7-0 with 7:35 remaining in the first quarter.

Phommachanh found Johnson for a 25-yard catch and first down, advancing to the Merrimack 25-yard line on the game's drive. The duo of Phommachanh and Johnson capped the efficient 10-play, 2:04 scoring drive by way of a 11-yard touchdown pass with 2:04 left in the first quarter.

The Minutemen took the lead in the waning minutes of the first half. The scoring drive was kept alive by an important Shawn Harris Jr. first down catch. Desrosiers Jr. rounded off the nine-play, five minute drive with an eight-yard dash into the endzone, making the score 14-7 with the clock reading 3:02 left in the half.

After two unsuccessful drives by both teams to start the second half, the Minutemen mounted a six-play, 31-yard drive to setup Cameron Carson for a 39-yard field goal to put UMass up 17-7 with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Desrosiers Jr. kept the momentum going with his second touchdown of the game in the opening seconds of the final frame. The running back completed a 57-yard dash up the left side into the endzone in the first play of the fourth quarter, lending the Minutemen a 17-point advantage.

The redshirt sophomore continued his career day with a third touchdown seven minutes later. Desrosiers Jr. completed a 46-yard sprint, moving the score 31-7 with 8:10 left in the game.

The Warriors then assembled a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown that moved it to a 31-14 game.

Merrimack completed the final scoring drive of the game with 2:43 remaining when quarterback, Jelani Mason fired a touchdown pass to LJ Robinson, making the final score 31-21.

Notes

Billy Wooden and Josh Atwood served as the Massachusetts captains for the tenth consecutive game, while quarterback Taisun Phommachanh was a captain for the fourth game in a row.
Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams became the second 1,000-yard season rusher in the FBS era, mounting 88 yards on the day and 1,014 yards thus far on the season.
Lynch-Adams joins Ellis Merriweather in the 1,000 season rushing yards club. Merriweather earned 1,138 yards in 2021.
George Johnson caught his third touchdown of the season and the fourth of his career.
Isaac Ross returned a punt 31 yards midway through the second quarter for a career-long mark.
Greg Desrosiers Jr. rushed for his second, third and fourth touchdowns of the season and the fifth and sixth touchdowns of his career to set a single-game career high for touchdowns (previous high was two versus Liberty on Oct. 8, 2022).
Early in the third quarter, Derrieon Craig posted his first career solo sack (now has 1.5 on the season).
Late in the third quarter, Uchenna Ezewike posted his first sack (solo) of the season (now has 5.5 for his career).
Zukudo Igwenagu posted a career-high six tackles across the afternoon.

Next Up
Massachusetts has an open week before heading to Lynchburg, Virginia for a 1 p.m. game at Liberty on Saturday, November 18.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Taisun Phommachanh

Players Mentioned

Josh Atwood

Cameron Carson

Derrieon Craig

Greg Desrosiers Jr.

Uchenna Ezewike

Shawn Harris Jr.

Zukudo Igwenagu

Gerrell Johnson

George Johnson III

Nahji Logan

Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams

Ellis Merriweather

Taisun Phommachanh

Isaac Ross

Billy Wooden

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics