The long flight back from Colorado Saturday night zipped by for Ayden Pereira.
And it wasn’t because of any tail-wind or jet stream.
The former two-time Eagle-Tribune football Player of the Year made his surprising Merrimack College debut on Saturday at Air Force Academy, tossing the Warriors’ lone TD in the gritty 21-6 loss.
The playing time wasn’t expected coming into the game for Pereira, who transferred in the offseason from UMaine and was listed as the No. 3 guy on coach Mike Gennetti’s depth chart.
Pereira’s family didn’t even make the trip.
“They told me they wanted to save the money, and I agreed,” said Pereira with a laugh. “They’ll, of course, be there, this week, though (Saturday, noon).”
If you were looking for news, or some sort of QB shakeup, word on the Merrimack campus certainly doesn’t lend that any credence.
“Nothing has really been said. We’ll see how the game goes,” said Pereira, the 2021 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year. “I’m just going to be ready regardless, preparing like a starter like I always do and being ready at any notice.
“At the end of the day, it’s about winning, whether I’m starting or not getting a snap. We’ll see how this week plays out.”
Pereira admits, seeing his first real collegiate action at Air Force put a smile on his face, despite the fact that he absorbed a couple serious, bigtime shots.
“I said it to my parents, it was nice to get hit again,” Pereira said. “Scoring the TD was a good thing for us, but there were some mixed emotions because we didn’t win the game.”
Fighting for playing time on the Merrimack campus, about a half hour from his Auburn, N.H., home as opposed to the multiple-hour ride to Orono, has been a welcomed transition, despite being swamped by jarring news, as head coach Dan Curran moved on to Holy Cross literally 36 hours after he committed.
“It definitely threw me for a loop. I was expecting to be done with all that, and it threw a wrench in the plans,” said Pereira. “The same kind of thing happened at Maine with coach (Nick) Charlton. The fact that Coach G got the job here made things a lot easier.”
For now, it remains a three quarterback mix.
“I feel like we have a very talented room. I think all of us will do great things at some point,” said Pereira. “You just have to be ready at all times.”