Eichman's punt return was finishing touch for Merrimack football

Kip Jackson believed there were a number of little things that swung momentum back and forth during Friday's game between the Merrimack and Bishop Guertin high school football teams.

But the biggest one came late in the third quarter and proved to be the decisive blow in the Tomahawks' 42-19 win over the Cardinals.

Merrimack started the second half with a three-touchdown lead, but was forced to punt on its first possession of the third quarter. The defense did its job, though, forcing Bishop Guertin to punt the ball back to the Tomahawks, but a penalty for roughing the kicker gave the Cardinals the ball back.

Three plays later, Bishop Guertin quarterback Sam Raitt raced up the middle for a 56-yard touchdown to make it a two-score game with 8:26 left in the third.

Merrimack answered that with a 13-play drive, but the Cardinals' defense stepped up and held the Tomahawks out of the end zone. Bishop Guertin got the ball back at its own 2-yard line, and on third down, Ben Plumley burst through for a 49-yard run, with CJ Grace making a touchdown-saving tackle near midfield.

The Cardinals sideline was buzzing, but they only picked up five yards on first and second down, and Merrimack's Thomas Hayes sacked Raitt for a 9-yard loss on third down, forcing a punt.

And that's when the door swung shut on Bishop Guertin.

Joe Eichman was able to field the punt cleanly at his own 25, and after making a few Cardinals miss, the Merrmack senior cut back through the middle of the field on his way to a 75-yard return for a touchdown.

"I looked up and I saw my guys set up, so I came outside," Eichman said. "I saw Sam Raitt because he punted it, and I cut back the other way. Jared Dyer and Dom Damata laid two nice blocks that let me cut back and that was it. I felt pressure behind me."

The extra point made it 34-13 with 1:47 left in the third quarter and Bishop Guertin couldn't get anything going offensively until the second units went in at the end.

"There were several swings of momentum," Jackson said. "There are all these little swings in the game and you just hope they swing in your favor.

"(Raitt) has the ball in his hands on every single play. They made a good play, we had a breakdown and he took it to the house. We’re fortunate to have a couple of kids who can make people miss and take it to the house."

Of Merrimack's six touchdowns, three came on plays of 40 yards or more, and another was over 20 yards. But while the big-play capability still exists for the Tomahawks, they struggled at times in the red zone.

Merrimack got inside Bishop Guertin's 20-yard line six times, but scored on just two of those possessions, one of which came after most of the starters had been pulled. The Tomahawks lost a fumble on another and turned the ball over on downs three times.

"I’m glad we got a win," Jackson said. "We didn’t play a sharp game. There was just no rhythm to it on offense, defense and specials. We just have a lot of stuff we have to clean up."

The Tomahawks have a chance to improve to 3-0 on Friday, when they host Nashua South (0-2).