UConn Football: Huskies beat up on FCS’ Merrimack, 63-17

By / Devy & College Football / Leave a Comment
UConn Football, UConn Huskies, The League Winners

STORRS, Ct. – After falling to the Maryland Terrapins in Week 1, the UConn Huskies were poised to bounce-back in their college football home opener against FCS’ Merrimack Warriors – and they did. The Huskies scored on each of their first eight drives, as quarterback Joe Fagnano led the Huskies to a dominant win in his first start of the season. 

A Historic First Quarter

Unlike how UConn started in College Park the week prior, the Huskies got off to a fantastic start in Week 2.

On the very first play of the game, Fagnano, starting in replace of an injured Nick Evers, found Wisconsin-transfer Skyler Bell for a 45-yard catch, bringing the Huskies way into Warrior territory.

Fagnano capped it off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. The former University of Maine product finished his day with 38 yards on the ground, something many fans didn’t expect from Fagnano. He’s always thrived in the pocket, but to see his mobility was huge.

While the Huskies leading rusher wasn’t Camryn Edwards, he did score UConn’s second touchdown of the game with a 50-yard run. The Huskies first rushing touchdown, though, came from Durell Robinson, who finished his day with a team-leading 94 rushing yards on only 10 carries.

The Huskies just kept on rolling throughout the game. Their defense continued to stay consistent, until Merrimack running back Jermaine Corbett ran for a 46-yard TD. However, touchdowns from Bell (caught two passes for 105 yards) and Victor Rosa gave the Huskies a 35-7 lead after one quarter. In fact, their five touchdowns and 35 points set a program-record for most in a quarter.

Continued Dominance in the Second Quarter

One of the things that stood out from UConn was not only their offensive production, but how they were successful.

UConn was scoring quickly with plays of 45, 48, 50 and even 60 yards. Quick offensive dominance continued into the second quarter, with scoring drives of two and three plays, respectively. That included a 39-yard touchdown from Fagnano to Shamar Potter, a 44-yard touchdown from Fagnano to Ezeriah Anderson, and a methodical 10-play, 78-yard drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run for Edwards.

Something else that stood out from this matchup was the amount of weapons the Huskies utilized.

Eight different players either caught or ran for a touchdown during the Huskies demolition of the Warriors. After throwing to the same group of targets in Week 1, this was promising.

Breaking another program record, the Huskies finished the first half with eight touchdowns and 56 points. This put the Huskies on pace to be the fourth team since 1970 to score 100 points in a game, and break the record for the largest point differential in a single game in history.

A Slower Third Quarter to Cap off a Great Day from Fagnano

However, the Huskies did not finish with either of those thresholds due to a slower second half. Not including the Huskies three-play, final drive of the first half, Connecticut’s first drive of the third quarter was the first time in which they did not score a TD.

UConn did end up scoring one in the third, however. Fagnano found Alexander Honig for his fifth passing touchdown of the game, tied for the most by a UConn QB in the school’s football history .

Besides that, it was a pretty quiet and boring quarter. Especially once Jim Mora decided to sub-out Fagnano for Tucker McDonald and four-star freshman Cole Welliver. Welliver finished 2-4 for 10 yards, while McDonald finished 2-3 for eight yards.

An All-Merrimack Fourth Quarter

That last touchdown from Fagnano was the last time the Huskies scored all game. Instead, it was Merrimack who outscored the Huskies by two possessions in the quarter.

That run began once the Warriors turned away from quarterbacks Malakai Anthony and Ayden Pereira, and put Justin Lewis into the game. On his first play from scrimmage, Lewis threw a 71 yard touchdown to Seth Sweitzer.

One more field goal, and Merrimack ended up scoring 17 points despite how poorly they played.

Lewis finished 6-6 for 103 yards and one touchdown, proving he can be a starting caliber quarterback. Outside of that, it was a pretty slow fourth quarter of football, where UConn didn’t even get deep into Merrimack territory. However, it’s safe to say they didn’t need to. After all, UConn finished with a dominant 63-17 win.

UConn once again heads on the road in Week 3 to play against Duke.

Chase Coburn is an aspiring sports reporter and journalist who's already achieved some great things in the industry. At just 13 years old, Chase has already started his own podcast, interviewing celebrities such as ESPN's Adam Schefter, Baltimore Ravens' Justin Madubuike, ESPN's Dan Graziano, and many others. Chase is even experienced in writing for his websites, chasessportsnews.com & chasecoburn.substack.com. He runs his schools broadcast department, and is also a freelance writer for The League Winners, covering Ravens football and UConn football.Chase, who resides in Fairfield, CT, hopes to continue his dream as a broadcaster, and inspire others to CHASE their dreams like he has.

Leave a Reply

Discover more from The League Winners

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading