NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) Westin Elliott threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns, and Merrimack opened its season by beating Division-II member St. Anselm 55-23 on Saturday.

Merrimack trailed 9-0 before leading by just five points at the break. Merrimack had scoring runs of 21, spanning halftime, and 27 points to take control in the second half.

Matt Brehon rushed for 57 yards, including a 26-yard run on fourth down to put Merrimack ahead 21-9. Kenneth Cooper scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 46-yard pick-six to make it 41-16 early in the fourth.

Johnny Rosario caught five passes for 104 yards, and Anthony Norcia added 87 yards receiving and two scores for Merrimack. Pat Conroy, Tyler Roberts and Cam Tillman each had a receiving touchdown. Elliott, a transfer graduate student from Louisiana Tech, was 29-of-35 passing.

Drew Willoughby was intercepted three times, going 22 of 51 for 172 yards.

Merrimack won't return to Duane Stadium until Oct. 2 as the rest of its non-conference schedule is on the road.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.