Peevy's 2 TD passes combined with strong defensive effort power Maine past Merrimack 26-15

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) Carter Peevy threw two touchdown passes, the Maine defense allowed just 195 yards, and the Black Bears rallied in the second half to defeat Merrimack 26-15 on Saturday.

Maine took its first lead 16-15 on the first play of the fourth when Joey Bryson hit a 28-yard field goal. Tavion Banks added a 5-yard touchdown run and Bryson added his third field goal of the day for the final margin.

Despite being shut down by the Maine defense, the Warriors used some strong defensive play of their own to build a 15-6 halftime lead. Grant Jackson returned a fumble 52 yards for a 7-0 Merrimack lead and the Warriors also picked up a safety when Jay Thompson sacked Peevy in the second quarter.

Peevy rallied Maine in the second half when he directed four scoring drives. His 12-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Heisey got the Black Bears within 15-13 in the third quarter, then they closed out the game in the fourth.

Peevy finished 18-of-27 passing for 210 yards and Banks had 62 yards rushing for the Black Bears (2-2).

Jermaine Corbett had 80 yards rushing for Merrimack (1-3). Two quarterbacks combined on 13-of-25 passing for 92 yards with two interceptions.

Maine is 2-0 all-time against Merrimack and improved to 15-2 against current/former members of the Northeast Conference, Merrimack’s conference before becoming independent.

--- Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football