Tired of hitting the familiar bodies of teammates, the Bluejay football team welcomed the chance to participate in Friday’s Wausau West scrimmage with West, East and Antigo.
“We held our own,” new MHS head coach Nick Sturm said. “Two things we always focus on are effort and attitude and I thought both of those were very good. I was impressed with the kids’ attitude. They all worked hard. They competed and battled.
“We made a few mistakes, but you’ve got to understand that’s going to happen when you change to a new system. When I went back and looked at the film, we did a lot of good things.
“We made a few big plays. Clean up a few mistakes here or there and we look pretty good.”
This was the first chance for the Bluejays to run Sturm’s hybrid wing-T offensive system that meshes the option and wing-t principles against outside competition, a switch from the multiple set I formation offense run under the direction of former coach Tom Tourtillott.
“The kind of kids we have here will fit it very well,” Sturm said. “We’re not as big as Merrill usually is across the line. As we get more and more used to it, we’ll become more efficient. Give it a little time and I think it’s really going to take off for the kids.
“The good thing about scrimmages is you get an idea of where you’re at and what you need to work on.”
Sturm enjoyed the caliber of play in this event.
“East, West and Antigo are all solid programs,” he said. “It was good competition. There were some good individual standout kids on each squad. It will be interesting when the games start.”
Merrill won’t face East or West in the regular season this year as a member of the GNC football conference. Both teams will have morphed through considerable transformation by the time the Bluejays host Antigo in the final regular season game on Oct. 12.
Now the Jays must shift gears for a considerable challenge in Friday’s 7:00 p.m. home game with the state’s fifth-ranked Menomonie.
“That will be a great test for us right off the bat,” Sturm said. “Coach (Joe) LaBuda has built a great program over 20 years. They are a perennial powerhouse.
“I look at it as a good opportunity. Either way it’s a win,win situation.
“We’re extremely young. We’re a junior-, sophomore-dominated team, but we have some talented kids. We’ll figure it out.”