North Andover, Mass. (October 18) -- On Saturday afternoon, the Assumption College football team ran its winning streak to three straight with a dominant 41-13 road win at Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference play. In two years under head coach Bob Chesney, the Hounds are now a perfect 8-0 on the road in Northeast-10 Conference regular-season play.

In a game that featured big plays on offense, defense and special teams, it was special teams that got things started with an early 35-yard field goal from senior Tad Beuchert (Danvers, Mass./St. John's Prep). Assumption added to that lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter as senior De'Ontray Johnson (San Diego, Calif./Hoover) scored on a run from 12-yards out for the 10-0 edge. That play was set up by a fumble recovery from Erik Abramson (Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) on a Merrimack backwards pass that was mishandled, giving the Hounds possession at the Warrior 30-yard line.

The second quarter was one that was dominated on the scoreboard by Merrimack as the Warriors tallied 13 unanswered points to take the 13-10 edge into the break. The first Warrior touchdown came on the ground as Adriell Mayes scored from 23 yards out to cap a nine-play, 86-yard drive. The hosts went ahead for their only lead of the game on another big play as Justin Mount pulled down a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Capobianco for the 13-10 edge. After the PAT by Nick Zwaan failed, the Warriors took the 13-10 edge into the half.

The second half was all Assumption from the outset as Johnson returned the kickoff 95 yards to put the Hounds back in front for good. Johnson pulled the ball in at the five, broke up the middle and up the Assumption sideline for his first career kick return for a touchdown and the 17-13 lead. The kick return for a touchdown was just the 11th all-time in Assumption history, tying the longest in the school history at 95 yards, which previously came in 1993 by Fran DeFalco.

The defense stepped up at the midway point of the third quarter as junior Bakari Blunt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Burke) intercepted the Warriors and returned the pick 52 yards for his first career interception return for a touchdown. Assumption added 10 more points in the third on a 29-yard field goal by Beuchert, along with a 15-yard touchdown run by Johnson for his third touchdown of the day.

The game was quiet for nearly the entire fourth quarter before the Hounds scored a late touchdown to account for the 41-13 final. After a pair of late timeouts by Merrimack, junior quarterback Trevor Vasey (Cumberland, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) found senior Eddy Frazier (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) on third-and-14 in the left side of the end zone for a 41-yard strike and the 28-point victory.

Vasey led the Hounds with 48 yards on the ground, while Johnson posted 40 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson also piled up 150 all-purpose yards in the game, including 110 kick return yards. Vasey completed 12 passes in an up-and-down weather afternoon, throwing for 153 yards and one touchdown. Frazier was the team's leading receiver with five catches for 82 yards and one touchdown, giving him three career touchdowns in games played at Merrimack.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Nick Valenti (Troy, N.Y./Troy) was the team leader in tackles with 13 total stops to go along with one quarterback hurry. Blunt was one of three Hounds with nine tackles while he also contributed one interception for TD and three pass breakups. As a team, the Hounds posted four sacks and 10 tackles for loss, including a four-sack outing by senior NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week Derrick Mann (Sharon, Mass./Sharon). Mann's four-sack performance ties the second-best showing in Assumption history and is the most in a single game in 14 years. Mann also added one forced fumble and two quarterback hurries in a dominant effort.

Mayes rushed for a game-high 170 yards on 25 rushes to lead the Warriors, while Capobianco threw for 202 yards and a touchdown on 22 completions. Defensively, Justin Hood led the hosts with an eight-tackle effort, including six solo stops.

Merrimack held a 378-279 yard edge in total offense, along with a 141-126 advantage in rushing and 237-153 in passing.

With the win, Assumption improves to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in Northeast-10 play, while Merrimack drops to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the league. The Hounds now sit in a three-way tie for third place in the league's standings, tied with Saint Anselm and New Haven.

Assumption is back in action at home on Friday, October 24th as the Hounds host Saint Anselm for a 7 p.m. start at the Multi-Sport Stadium.

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