TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
“The Bluejays pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind victory Thursday night against the Crandon Cardinals,” said Jason Wadzinski, Head Coach of the Merrill Varsity Football Team. The home team took the win 22-18 in the final minutes of the non-Conference game.
The Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, home game added another exciting win to the Bluejays’ pre-Conference score sheet, and has the Bluejays poised to begin their Conference season with high confidence. This was the Bluejays’ second consecutive win, having won their first [also non-Conference] away game against Osceola the previous Friday night 34-14.
In the first quarter of Thursday night’s game, the Merrill Bluejays were off to a fast start when they scored the first touchdown of the game, but the Crandon Cardinals were right behind them and scored a touchdown of their own. Crandon failed at the two-point conversion and the score was Merrill 7-Crandon 6.
Crandon followed up with another touchdown on a 52-yard run (failed two-point conversion), and pulled into the lead: Crandon 12-Merrill 7. And despite all attempts to move the ball into the endzone, there the score remained for the next two quarters.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals jumped in to land another touchdown on a 4-yard run and ratcheted the score up to 18-7, and the pressure was on.
“Trailing 7-18 with 5:00 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Merrill rallied back to cut it within a score,” Wadzinski said. The Bluejays landed a touchdown on a 6-yard pass and made their 2-point conversion, bringing the score up to Crandon 18-Merrill 15.
“After recovering the onside kick, the Bluejays had an untimely turnover,” Wadzinski said. As fans held their breath, “The Merrill defense held and gave the ball back to the offense for one more shot. With under a minute to play, Aiden Lonsdorf hit EJ Weix in the back of the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown.”
“The victory was sealed with a Keylin Allen interception the following drive,” he said.
“I’m incredibly proud of the grit our boys showed Thursday night,” Wadzinski said. “The ability to overcome that adversity and never give up is a testament to the team we have this year.”
“It may not have been pretty, but we’re 2-0 heading into Conference play,” he said.
The Bluejays welcome Mosinee to Jay Stadium Friday night, Sept. 6, in their Conference opener.
Box score
Crandon 18 @ Merrill 22
