This past Saturday, the Minutemen picked up a massive victory over Army in a scrappy 21-14 contest. The player of the game for UMass was Kay’ron Lynch-Adams who totaled 234 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns.
After recording 4.5 sacks through the first five games of the season, defensive tackle Billy Wooden had been held without a sack for three games. That changed last weekend, as Wooden was able to get his first sack since the New Mexico Game.
Another noteworthy defensive performance was from safety Jeremiah McGill who recorded two tackles on the day as well as his first collegiate interception.
Mighty Minutemen
Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh only threw for 121 yards last weekend, and still has not added his running game back to the offensive arsenal due to injury. However, with the performance of Lynch-Adams, it may not be necessary for the UMass offense to use Phommachanh in that manner.
On the season, Phommachanh has completed 64.75% of his passes for 934 yards. But, through six games has only thrown three touchdowns. This lack of passing TDs is a growing concern for the UMass offense.
Wide receiver Anthony Simpson was fairly quiet last weekend but still totaled seven catches for only 36 yards. Fellow receiver George Johnson III was the only other receiver to add multiple catches. He totaled 33 yards. With that performance, he now has 319 yards on the season, which is second on the team.
Safety Te’Rai Powell has been an unsung force on the UMass defense this season. The junior leads the team this season with 43 tackles and has added three pass breakups. Powell has appeared in every game this season, but recorded his second-highest tackle total of the season last weekend with five solo tackles and three assisted tackles.
Linebacker Nahji Logan has also had a strong defensive presence for the Minutemen this season. He has recorded 39 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss.
Along with Logan, linebacker Gerrell Johnson has also been an impact player for the Minutemen recording 36 tackles on the year so far.
Cornerback Juan Lua has also made his impact on the field known especially in the absence of starting corner Jordan Mahoney. Lua recorded his second interception of the season last weekend and will look to pick up his third this weekend.
Merrimack Preview
The Merrimack Warriors have a 4-4 record to start the season, and have won three of their last four. They did lose last weekend against St. Francis (PA) 28-21 but will look to get back above .500 this weekend.
The Warriors have held their opponents to an average of 19.38 points per game, while scoring 28.13 points per game themselves.
Merrimack has dominated on the ground this season both on offense and defense. They are averaging 4.4 yards per carry while holding their opponents to only 3.6.
That powerful rushing attack has been led by running back Tyvon Edmonds Jr. This season he has carried the ball 216 times and accumulated 1,071 yards and seven touchdowns.
The leader of the offense has bounced between quarterbacks Gavin McCusker and Malakai Anthony. However, Anthony has started the last three games and that trend is expected to hold true on Saturday. Across his three starts, Anthony has thrown for 437 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception.
Since Anthony took over the offense he has forged a connection with sophomore receiver Donovan Wadley, who has totaled eight catches for 242 yards across that three game stretch.
On the defensive side of the ball, Merrimack has had a wide array of talent step on the field and make an impact. Their leading tackler is linebacker DJ Frazier. On the season so far Frazier has recorded 40 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and two quarterback hits.
Their defense lives in the backfield of opposing teams and has nine players with more than three tackles for a loss. Leading this group is defensive tackle Tyler Leavy who despite being less than six feet tall, has racked up five tackles for a loss. However, his limited size in the interior could create a matchup that UMass could take advantage of.
The secondary is headlined by graduate cornerback Darion McKenzie who has elite size standing at 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has received NFL attention including being added to the 2022 Senior Bowl watchlist, however an ACL injury suffered early in the 2022 season set him back, but he has recorded two pass breakups this season.
Keys to the Game
🔑 Clean up the penalties. UMass has struggled immensely with playing clean football this season. They are averaging 74.8 yards lost to penalties every game. However, over the last three games that number has dropped to 55.3 yards. Merrimack is averaging 59.25 penalty yards per game so winning the penalty battle will be key.
🔑 Reinvigorate the passing offense. As previously mentioned the UMass passing attack has now gone three straight games without a touchdown. Simpson has only had 38 receiving yards over that stretch. UMass’ receiving core of Simpson, Johnson III and Mark Pope have proven to be a dynamic trio, but Phommachanh must start connecting with them again.
🔑 Get the crowd involved. UMass has lost all four home games this season. Apart from a late burst against New Mexico, they have not been in games late. However, against a weaker Merrimack team the Minutemen have a chance to take an early lead and build up spirit for the team.
Overall, this is a game that many UMass fans had circled on their calendar as a lone win of the season, however UMass has a chance to make it three. Whether or not the Minutemen’s energy from last Saturday’s victory will persist remains to be seen. If it is still there, UMass can pick up the victory.
