Merrimack Edges Winless Wagner After Late Lead Change
Wagner led 14-13 in the fourth quarter and is still 0-6. Merrimack took the lead back for good on a 4-yard AJ Hairston Jr run with 3:26 left, missed the two-point try, and held on for a 19-14 win that moved it to 4-4. A five-point margin, the kind that makes a winless team stare at the ceiling.
It took a while to start. Nothing hit the board until Mike Ryan's 25-yard field goal with 11:56 left in the second quarter. Matt Morad then ran in from three yards to put Wagner up 7-3, Hairston answered with a 2-yard run for a 10-7 Merrimack lead before the half, and Ryan added a 29-yard kick in the third to make it 13-7. Johans Bars caught a 19-yard touchdown from Jason Wiley with 10:50 to go, and Wagner was back in front 14-13. Four lead changes in all, and the last one belonged to the home team.
Here is the part that hurts if you are a Wagner fan. The visitors ran 42 times for 154 yards, more than Merrimack's 131 on 33 carries. They lost anyway, because they gave it away three times (two lost fumbles and an interception) and Merrimack gave it away zero. Merrimack also finished with four sacks to Wagner's one and out-gained them 330 yards to 282, with 199 of those through the air against Wagner's 128.
The fantasy angle is a quiet one. Not a single Merrimack touchdown came through the air. Hairston, a quarterback, scored both of his on the ground, and the rest of the points were Ryan's two field goals and one extra point. Merrimack's offense did just enough, and for a 4-4 team that counts as a good Saturday.