Following their first win of the season to Pace University, the football team battled the Merrimack College Warriors on Oct. 29 in wet and rainy conditions. The Hawks earned their second win of the season and celebrated the 18 seniors who will be graduating this coming spring.

The senior class made impactful plays throughout the game. Quarterback Yianni Gavalas completed 26 of 45 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target of the day was sophomore Kyle Hill who reeled in 8 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Zack Bartak also had a great day of receiving grabbing nine catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. On the ground Senior Joe Hayman tore through the Warriors defense, earning 102 yards and two touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, the Hawks defense stood strong against the Warriors. Senior Eric Wilson recorded eight tackles on the day, including the only sack of the day for the Hawks, and Junior Eric Mercer contributed seven tackles. Junior Eddie Matovu added four tackles and a key interception that killed the Warriors momentum in the fourth quarter

The Game started with the Hawks receiving the ball and using a mixed attack of running and passing to drive 83 yards down the field. The drive ended with a 6 yard rush by Joe Hayman who took the ball into the end zone to put the Hawks up 7-0.

The game was quiet until the end of the first quarter, with both teams trading possessions back and forth. This ended when the Hawks drove to the Warriors’ one yard line and Gavalas tossed an interception in the back of end zone, leaving the score 7-0 to end the first quarter.

After forcing a Warrior punt, Gavalas completed two passes and set up the Hawks at the Warrior 8 yard line. After back to back rushes, Hayman was able to punch through the Warrior defense and give himself another touchdown, this time from five yards out. From there the Hawks defense held the Warriors without a score in the remaining minutes of the half and were able to start the third quarter with a comfortable 14-0 lead.

The third quarter was relatively quiet for both teams with the exception being a touchdown pass to Kyle Hill from Galavas to make the score 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

Starting the fourth quarter strong, The Hawks capped off a four minute drive that ended with a 5 yard touchdown reception by Zack Bartak to put the score at 28-0 in favor of Saint A’s.

From there the game turned completely towards Merrimack. After an 85 yard touchdown run from Warrior Shamiik Perry, the Hawks lost a snap in the back of their end zone, giving the Warriors a safety. The score now stood at 28-9. The Hawks would allow one more touchdown on a 51 yard reception by Warrior Justin Mount and a two point conversion to make the final score of the game 28-17.

The teams plays Southern Connecticut State on the road Nov. 5, but the results were not available at the time of print.