I will be previewing all of the NE-10 football teams over the next 10 days. I will roll out each team in my preseason poll from # 10 to # 1. The NE-10 will release the coaches preseason poll towards the end of August.

The season starts on September 5th when American International travels to face PSAC opponent East Stroudsburg.

Here is the my pick for # 5 in the league in 2013:

Merrimack College Warriors (6-4, 4-4 NE-10)

Coach: Dan Curran, 1st season (0-0)

Opening Game: September 6th @ Wagner

2013 Schedule

2012 Stats

Merrimack has a new head coach with a quarterback that he is very familiar with. Dan Curran takes the reign of the Warriors after running the offense the past couple of years. He was a big part of the high powered Merrimack offense and will now get a different view of it.

The good news for the Warriors is that Joe Clancy returns for his fifth year of eligibility. He will continue to re-write the NE-10 record book after a monstrous 2012. Clancy threw for nearly 4,000 yards to go along with 31 touchdown passes. He lost his two top receivers from a year ago but returns junior Zach Ingalls and senior Shane Ferguson as two dangerous down field threats. Senior Quinn McDonough will see a number of carries out of the backfield when Clancy needs to rest his arm.

The Merrimack defense will need to improve upon their 31.1 points per game allowed. Senior linebackers Matt Trippicchio and Jimmy Holland will anchor the middle of the field. Junior Ben Polci will help to anchor the defensive line for the Warriors. The secondary was hit hard by graduation and will have a lot of new faces competing for playing time this season.

Head coach Dan Curran is no stranger to the NE-10 and should be able to continue the tradition for the Warriors. He has a lot of weapons on offense so that should be able to continue their torrid offensive pace. The key for Merrimack is their defense. If the defense is able to slow down the top teams in the league, the Warriors will be in the mix for the league title. If not, they will be right in the middle of the league again.