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Sibanda runs wild, leads Salem past Merrimack

Friday, October, 16 By By Mac Cerullo

SALEM — Between the backbreaking penalties early and the big touchdown run that was called back for an inadvertent whistle, it looked for a while like it wouldn't be Salem's day, but the Blue Devils fought back and came away with the 37-26 win over Merrimack on Friday night.
The difference for Salem was Charles Sibanda, who exploded for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries after being held to just 26 yards rushing in the first half.
Sibanda's second half performance was critical for a team that just couldn't seem to catch a break. Down by one early in the second half, Salem saw a great scoring chance undone by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which sent the Devils all the way back into their own red zone. Within three plays, Merrimack forced a turnover on downs and then scored on its very first play to make it 13-6.
Salem was able to recover going into halftime, with Nick Shumski tying the game on a 15-yard touchdown and Matt Ayotte preserving the 13-13 tie at halftime with an interception with 3.2 left in the half, and early in the third quarter, Sibanda broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run that came on a play fake so good that it even fooled the referee.
Unfortunately, the ref blew the play dead when the player he thought had the ball was tackled, costing Salem the score.
"It was an inadvertent whistle, so by rule the ball has to come back," said Salem coach Rob Pike. "It's an unfortunate thing to happen on a misdirection play."
Salem wound up throwing an interception two plays later, and just like before, Merrimack only needed one play to capitalize, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Justin Grassini to Tyler DeNeill to make it 20-13.
The game could have gone either way from that point, but from that point on, it was all Salem.
The Devils marched down the field on their next drive, chipping away at the lead thanks to a 21-yard field goal by Jacob Bosworth, and after forcing a three-and-out, they ran the ball right down right down Merrimack's throat, taking the lead on a 3-yard run by senior captain Sean Nartiff.
Sibanda carried the Devils down the field on the team's next drive, breaking loose for a 62-yard gain to set up a 3-yard score midway through the fourth. Merrimack scored once more with 3:24 to play, but Salem picked up the first downs it needed to run out the clock, and then scored one more time anyway on a 31-yard Nick Shumski run, his second of the day.
Salem improves to 5-2 with the win and is at Portsmouth next Friday at 7 p.m.