By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Friday night the Merrill football team began their conference play with an away game at Mosinee. Both defenses played well as Mosinee would top the Jays by a score of 20-7.
In the first quarter Mosinee would get the jump on Merrill, scoring a touchdown on a 21 yard pass with six minutes left in the quarter. Merrill was able to respond with a touchdown of their own only five minutes later. After driving the ball down field, quarterback Quinn Steckbauer would will himself into the endzone on a one yard run to tie the game at 7-7. The second quarter saw Mosinee regain the lead on a two yard touchdown run, giving them a 14-7 advantage going into halftime.
In the second half of the game it was a defensive battle with both teams struggling to get points. Mosinee would eventually break through and score another touchdown with four minutes left in the game, giving them a 20-7 lead following the missed point after touchdown.
Merrill’s offense was able to run the ball well, racking up 234 rushing yards for the game. Quinn Steckbauer led the Jays in yards, going for 111 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Dominic Leistikow would go for 66 yards in 14 touches, with Holden Smith gaining 36 yards on six carries.
The Merrill defense did a great job, holding Mosinee 87 rushing yards and just over 100 passing yards. The Jays’ defense was led by sophomore linebacker Eddie Collinsworth who tallied five tackles, including one sack. Piersen Pyan would total four tackles in the game, as would Holden Smith who would also recover a fumble, caused by Kole Meyer.
Merrill will head to Thom Field on Friday to match up against the Wausau East Lumberjacks, where Merrill will try to get their first win of the season.