By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Friday night the Merrill football team kicked off their season with a home opener against Amherst. Merrill had a tough time scoring, as they would fall to Amherst by a final score of 34-3.
In the first quarter Amherst got the lead early, scoring a touchdown on a 62-yard pass and catch, Amherst would then miss the extra point to go up only 6-0. Five minutes later Amherst would strike again, a big pass play got them in the red zone, where they would eventually punch themselves in for a seven-yard touchdown run. Another Amherst touchdown in the first quarter on a 74-yard reception gave them a 20-0 lead going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter Merrill would get themselves on the scoreboard, with Hunter Wallace hitting a 30-yard field goal with four minutes left in the first half. One more touchdown before halftime gave Amherst a commanding 27-3 lead.
In the third quarter Amherst would strike yet again, scoring a touchdown on a seven-yard run to give them the 34-3 lead and win.
Merrill’s offense struggled to move the ball, rushing the ball a total of 49 times, with only 122 yard to show for it. Quinn Steckbauer wold connect on two of his passing attempts, once with Caleb Timm for 30 yards and the other with Holden Smith for 24 yards. Steckbauer threw one interception in the game.
The leading tacklers for the game include Eddie Collinsworth with five, Piersen Pyan with four, Holden Smith with four and Zach Iribarren with four.
Merrill will look to redeem themselves this Friday as they play host to Kewaskum at 7 p.m.