NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale football team opened its home schedule Saturday with a 41-24 victory over the Merrimack Warriors. The game was the first following the passing of former Yale head coach, Tony Reno, and the team honored him by overcoming a 21-7 second quarter deficit, outscoring Merrimack 34-3 over the remainder of the contest.
Tony's eldest son, quarterback Dante Reno emphatically returned to the field after missing Yale's contest against Cornell, throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Reno also ran for a career-high 39 yards, which eclipsed his season total of 28 in 2025.
Key Performers
- Yale's dynamic receiving duo of Lucius Anderson and Jaxton Santiago fueled Reno's performance. Anderson caught seven passes for 116 yards and Santiago made five catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
- Phoenix Grant led the team in tackles on the day, bringing down 10 Warriors and recovering the game-sealing fumble late in the fourth quarter.
- Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni secured his breakout game on the ground, running for 132 yards and his second touchdown of the season.
Turning Point
Down 21-10 in the second quarter, Reno let loose through the air. On 3rd and 8 from the 50-yard line, he found Santiago down the sideline for a 25-yard gain before getting him the ball again in the end zone to make the score 21-17 Merrimack going into halftime. From that point on, the Bulldogs outscored the Warriors 24-3 en route to the 41-24 win.
Game Notes
- The win was Yale's 10th-straight at the Yale Bowl going back to the 2024 season.
- Graham Smith has scored a touchdown in four of his last five appearances going back to the end of the 2025 season, including three-straight to start the 2026 season.
- Yale has now won eight-straight games when playing an opponent for the first time.
- The Bulldogs have averaged 31:58 of possession per game to start the season.
- Reno now has nine touchdown passes through two games this season, and no other Ivy quarterback has more than five through three games.
- Santiago leads the Ivy League in touchdown catches with five.
- Yale has now won eight-straight games against teams from Massachusetts going back to 2023.
Hear From The Bulldogs
"It was a battle all the way through," Yale head coach Kevin Cahill said. "We knew it. Merrimack was a really good football team. They played a really challenging schedule, so my hats off to them. They were prepared to come in and play."
"I know [Tony], and I know my dad," Dante Reno said. "He would want nothing [more] than for me to go out there and play, not miss practice. Go out there, go to school, be around the guys. We have a culture here that not everybody has in the country."
"Today was a day where we had to get it done," Djeumeni Kemeni said. "I think that really brought us closer. Give that extra 5%, go the extra mile, push for the extra yard. It all mattered today."
"I feel like this team, this program is in good hands," Cahill said. "I know what it took to build this up. I was behind the scenes with Tony to build this up to what it could be and what it has been, and that is a tremendous program. And now it's time for me to take the reins and go with it."
Around the Ivy League
- Rhode Island 13, Brown 10
- Princeton 35, Columbia 7
- Cornell 35, Georgetown 14
- Dartmouth 14, Penn 10
- Harvard 20, Colgate 17
Up Next
Team 153 will continue its three-game home stand on Saturday, Oct. 10 against the Dartmouth Big Green at noon. The game will be one of three Yale contests broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
