TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Oct. 14, 2022, the Merrill Bluejay Varsity Football Team played host to Mosinee and the Bluejays wore pink jerseys for Breast Cancer Awareness.
The Bluejays were off to a great start, scoring the first and lone touchdown of the first quarter in Friday night’s game with a two-yard run, though they failed to make the two-point conversion.
But in the second quarter, Mosinee kicked it into high gear, literally, with three touchdowns, three kicks, and racking up 21 points. At halftime, the score was Merrill 6-Mosinee 21.
Despite attempts to get the ball back into play for Merrill, the Bluejays remained scoreless in the third quarter, and Mosinee made another touchdown and a good kick, upping their score to 28. Mosinee piled on another touchdown (kick no good) in the fourth quarter, bringing their score to a daunting 34. In the fourth guarter, the Bluejays rallied to make a touchdown on a 17-yard pass (failed two-point conversion), bringing Merrill’s score to 12, but it wasn’t enough. Mosinee took control of the ball again after that to land a touchdown on a six-yard pass (kick no good), putting them up to 40.
10 Brian Ball (1 TD) racked up 66 passing yards, #25 Nate Brzoznowski (1 TD) had 118 rushing yards, and #3 Brayden Pieper totaled 67 receiving yards in the game.
“Following a terrific first quarter, the Merrill Bluejays sputtered on Friday night in the end, falling to Mosinee 40-12,” said Merrill High School Varsity Head Coach Jason Wadzinski. “We had too many miscues against a good team.”
“Mosinee won the conference outright with their win at Merrill,” he said. “Merrill is looking to rebound this Friday, Oct. 21, as the 6 seeded Bluejays head up to the #3 seed Rice Lake for Round 1 of the WIAA playoffs.
Box Score
Mosinee 40 @ Merrill 12
On Friday, Oct. 7, the Bluejays headed up to Rhinelander to tackle the Hodags. And that they did and did well.
Merrill scored two points on a safety right out of the gate in the first quarter and then scored a touchdown on a 42-yard run and made the two-point conversion. In the second quarter, Merrill made a 33-yard pass to score another touchdown and made the two-point conversion again. At halftime, Merrill was at 18 and Rhinelander had yet to score.
In the second half, the Bluejays got out ahead of things again and scored another touchdown on a 12-yard run, with a two-point conversion. In the fourth quarter, the Hodags finally got on the board with an 82-yard run that resulted in a touchdown and a two point conversion, scoring 8 for Rhinelander. It was an impressive play, but not enough to make much of a difference.
The Bluejays wrapped things up with another touchdown on a four-yard run (failed two-point conversion) to win the game.
“It feels great to punch our ticket to the postseason with a win Friday night in Rhinelander,” Coach Wadzinski said. “The last time the Bluejays qualified for playoffs was 2017.”
“Nate Brzoznowski had a monster night on the ground rushing for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns. This ground attack helped control the game and put up points,” he said.
“Ryder Depies had a sack in the endzone resulting in a safety to kickstart our night on Friday. A big play by the defense always helps get the ball rolling,” Wadzinski added. “I’m incredibly proud of how this team has responded with three wins in a row following the disappointing loss to Lakeland. We have one more game in the regular season against Mosinee. Following that the fates will decide where we’re heading during Round 1.”
Box Score
Merrill 32 @ Merrill 8