# Merrimack Warriors football

The Merrimack Warriors football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Merrimack College located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and plays as an FCS Independent. Merrimack's first football team was fielded in 1996. The team plays its home games at the 4,000 seat Duane Stadium in North Andover, Massachusetts. The Warriors are led by Mike Gennetti.

## History

The Merrimack football program had its first official season in 1996. During this time the warriors would play their home games at Martone-Mejail Field. Which also served as the schools soccer and softball field. Led by head coach Ted Caito the warriors played a 9 game schedule. That consisted of both Division III and Division II opponents. They ended up going 5-4 in their inaugural season.
Before the 1997 season the warriors joined the Eastern Football Conference. Their time here would be very short. As the conference would shut down after only 3 seasons only lasting from 1997-2000.
In 2001 the warriors and all the other schools from the Eastern Football Conference would join the Northeast 10 conference. Coach Caito would leave after the 2002 season and be replaced by Jim Murphy. In 2004 the warriors would set a program record by having a 8-2 season but did not qualify for the NCAA tournament. 2006 would end up being a historic season for the warriors. Coach Murphy led the warriors to another 8 win season going 8-4 overall and 7-2 in conference. Merrimack would also claim a share of the NE10 championship this season which was the first championship in program history. The warriors season did not stop here though. As they would qualify for their first and only appearance to the NCAA division II playoffs. The warriors would host Southern Connecticut state in the first round and would win 28-26. They would then go on the road to face Shepherd in the second round where their historic season would come to an end falling 31-7 to the rams. Coach Murphy would leave after the 2007 season. The warriors would then hire John Perry as their new head coach. In 2009 Perry would lead the warriors to their second NE10 title going 6-2 in conference play and 7-3 overall. Despite this the warriors would not qualify for the national tournament. They would go 6-4 in 2011 and 2012 which would be Coach Perry’s final to years as he would leave to be the quarterbacks backs coach for Delaware in 2013. The warriors would hire assistant coach Dan Curran to become new head coach. The warriors would kick off the 2013 season on the road against Division I Wagner university. The warriors would not just kneel down to the higher level team though. They would end up beating the Skyhawks in a shootout 42-41. This would be their first ever win over a Division I opponent in program history. The warriors would finish the season 7-4 and would end the year with a 35-24 win over #8 Southern Connecticut state. warriors QB Joe Clancy would also become the first ever NE10 Qb to throw for 4000 yards in a season. This would end up being the last successful year at the D2 level for the warriors. In 2017 the warriors would build a new football stadium called Duane Stadium which would be opened in 2017. They would then leave the NE10 in 2018.
In 2019 the warriors would move to the Division I FCS level and would join the Northeast conference. Still led by Dan Curran the warriors would play a mix of D1 and D2 schools in their first D1 season. They would finish the year 6-5 overall with 3 of those wins coming against D1 schools Delaware state, Presbyterian, LIU. This showed that the warriors could compete at the D1 level. During the 2021 the 2021 season the warriors would have their first game vs a ranked FCS opponent. That being #24 Holy cross. The warriors where heavy underdogs going into this game but led by 5th year quarterback Westin Elliot the warriors pulled of one of the biggest wins in program history beating the crusaders 35-21. They would finish that year 5-6. In the 2022 season just the warriors 4th year at the Division level they made a giant step up tying a program record with a 8-2 overall record as well as a 6-0 conference record. This all led to the final game of the season against the saints Francis red flash who were also 6-0 record in conference. This led to a defacto NEC championship game. The warriors ended up getting completely outplayed losing 23-52. Even though they lost this was still a huge step forward for the program. In 2023 the warriors would find themselves in the same exact situation as last year they were 5-5 overall and 4-2 in conference going into the final game of the season. The Duquesne Dukes were also 4-2 in conference and the 2 teams would meet in the final game of the regular season. Setting up another defacto NEC championship game. But once again the warriors would meet the same fate losing 26-14. This would end up being the warriors last year in the NEC.
In 2023 it was announced Merrimack college would leave the NEC to join the Metro athletic conference. This led the football program in a bit of a pickle because the MAAC did not sponsor football. So they had no choice but to become a FCS independent. During this time it was also announced that coach Curran would unexpectedly leave the program to take the Holy cross job. Thinking quick the warriors would hire long time assistant Mike Gennetti to become the 5th coach in program history. He would lead the warriors to a 5-6 record in the 2024 season.
Wins vs Ranked FCS Opponents
* September 11, 2021 Vs #24 Holy Cross (the Warriors won 35-21)

### Classifications

* 1996: NCAA Division III
* 1997–2018: NCAA Division II
* 2019–present: NCAA Division I FCS

## Conference memberships

* 1985–1995: Independent
* 1996: Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
* 1997–2000: Eastern Football Conference
* 2001–2018: Northeast-10 Conference
* 2019–2023: Northeast Conference
* 2024-present FCS independent

## Head Coaches

| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record |
| 1996-2002 | Tom Caito | 7 | 34-33 |
| 2003-2007 | Jim Murphy | 5 | 30-21 |
| 2008-2012 | John Perry | 5 | 29-21 |
| 2013-2023 | Dan Curran | 11 | 53-58 |
| 2024–present | Mike Gennetti | 1 | 5-6 |
Source

## Championships
### Northeast 10

| Year | Coach | Conference record | Overall record | Note |
| 2006 | Jim Murphy | 7-2 | 8-4 | Co champions with Post and Southern Connecticut |
| 2009 | John Perry | 6-2 | 7-3 | Co champions with Bentley and Southern Connecticut |

## Player & Coaches Awards
### Player Awards

George H. “Bulger” Lowe Award
* Jermaine Corbett (2024)
NEC offensive player of the year
* Donovan Wadley (2023)
FCS All-Americans
* Jacari Carter (2021)
* Victor Dawson (2022)
* Brandon Robert’s (2022)
* Donovan Wadley (first team 2023)
* Jermaine Corbett (second team 2024)
D2 All Americans
* Elfren Quiles (2004)
* Andrew Jackson (2006, 2008)
* Anthony Smalls (2009)
* Tony Johnson (2010)
* Shawn Loiseau (2010, 2011)
* Isaiah Voegeli (2011, 2012)
* Jere Brown (2013)
* Joe Clancy (2013)
* Quinn McDonough (2013)
* Ben Polci (2015)
NE10 Most Valuable player
* James Suozzo (2009)
* Isaiah Voegeli (2012)
NE10 Offensive player of the year
* Joe Clancy (2012, 2013)
* Jere Brown (2015)
NE10 Defensive player of the year
* Jimmy Festa (1999)
* Shawn Loiseau (2010, 2011)
NE10 Freshman/Rookie of the year
* Elfren Quiles (2004)
* Chris Carter (2018)
NE10 Defsinve Lineman of the year
* Robert Slattery (1998, 1999)
* Tony Johnson (2010, 2011)

### Coach Awards

NE10 Coach of the year
* Jim Murphy (2006)
Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Assistant Coach of the Year
* Mike Gennetti (2022)

### Merrimack athletics Hall of fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Merrimack football program who were elected into the Merrimack college Athletic Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses)
* Andrew Jackson (2017)
* Tony Johnson (2019)
* Isaiah Voegeli (2023)

## Duane Stadium

The warriors play their home games at Duane Stadium located in North Andover Massachusetts (capacity of 4,000). The stadium is named after Ken and Jincie Duane. Ken was a member of Merrimacks class of 1980 and was on the schools hockey and lacrosse programs. His wife served as a member of board of trustees. The stadium was opened in 2017 for bigger attendance figures as Merrimack’s enrollment began to grow.

## Notable Players

| Name | Position | Years | Teams |
| Shawn Loiseau | LB | 2012-present | Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Massachusetts Pirates |
| Jay Nyamwaya | DL | 2023-present | Pittsburgh Steelers Massachusetts Pirates |
| Darion McKenzie | DB | 2024-present | Pittsburgh Steelers Alouettes de Montréal |
| Anthony Witherstone | DB | 2023-present | Kansas City Chiefs Winnipeg Blue Bombers |

## Division II Playoffs results

Merrimack has made one appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs; their record is 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2006 | First Round Second Round | Southern Connecticut Shepherd | W, 28–26 L, 7–31 |
| Playoff Record | Playoff Record | Playoff Record | 1–1 | 1–1 |

## Future opponents

Announced schedules as of March 11, 2025
| 2025 | 2026 |
| @ Kent State (8/30) | @ Maine |
| @ Kennesaw State (9/13) | @ Delaware |
| Central Connecticut (9/20) | |
| @ Stony Brook (9/27) | |
| Robert Morris (10/4) | |
| Maine (10/11) | |
| @ Colgate (11/1) | |
| @ Sacred Heart (11/15) | |
| Fordham (11/22) | |