By Michael Wojtychiw
The start of a new season brings hope to every football squad in the state. Being able to walk onto the field again to play against people who aren’t your teammates is something that all athletes look forward to.
When Lane and Amundsen met in the second game of a boys-girls doubleheader in the co-sponsored Chicago Public League and Chicago Bears the Nike Kickoff Classic, the programs looked to be going in different directions. Lane Tech was coming off of a 4-5 season and hadn’t qualified for the state playoffs since the 2013 season. Amundsen, on the other hand, is coming off of three consecutive playoff appearances and went 8-2 last year under seventh-year head coach Nick Olson.
It was Lane Tech, however, who pulled out a 35-26 in front of a jam-packed Winnemac Stadium crowd Friday afternoon.
And they did it the old-fashioned way: pounding the rock four yards at a time.
“The passing plays were there, we just missed them,” Lane coach DedrickDeWalt said. “The strength of our team is our big dogs, our, the offensive line up front, so that’s gonna be who we are. That’s our identity.
“We’re gonna run that football. We’re gonna run it. We’re gonna run it. We’re gonna run that football. We’re gonna continue to run it until a team can stop it. That’s what we’re gonna do. That’s who we are as Lane Tech football this year.”
If you’re a fan of high-scoring games, then the first half was for you.
Both teams scored on their first three possessions. Well sort of. Amundsen fumbled the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Lane, which then went ahead just over three minutes into the game when Finn Merrill punched in his first touchdown of the game from the 3-yard line.
A kickoff return to the 4-yard line by Amundsen was capped off by a touchdown run one play later and still under three-and-a-half minutes into the game, the crowd had itself a barnburner.
A nearly six-minute drive highlighted by 19- and 26-yard runs by Merrill was capped by a one-yard plunge from Spiro Memmos to give the Champions the 14-7 lead.
Amundsen countered on the first of three receiving touchdowns by Adam Muench, who returns from his senior season after finishing in the top 10 in the state last season in touchdowns scored.
The 6-foot-2 wide receiver/safety finished with 173 yards receiving and three scores of 25, 35 and 41 yards and also had an interception.
Lane would go on what would end up being the game-winning drive on the next possession as Merrill, Memmos and Casey Joyce would combine for 11 rushes and 70 yards en route to Merrill’s 14-yard score.
Merrill took over as the starting running back halfway through last season and hasn’t let go of it since.
“Getting that playing time at this level helped a lot last year,” Merrill said. “It gave me confidence knowing that I could play out here, but it was definitely an eye opener at first.”
“Finn is a special kid,” DeWalt said. “Finn gets the job done. He’s a senior, he’s a guy that we’re going to be leaning on a lot this year.”
Vikings quarterback Chris Clark (203 yards passing, 3 TDs) connected with Muench for their second touchdown combination but the Champions blocked the extra point, giving the team a 21-20 lead going into the half.
“It’s very important to get off to a great start,” DeWalt said. “The schedule that we play, every win we count, and it just builds these guys confidence.
“We lost a lot of seniors. We are primarily a young team, but this team came out and they persevered today. They showed a lot of grit, showed a lot of guts, and showed a lot of character. That’s something that we can definitely build on going into next week
Lane’s Joyce scored on a 22-yard run to start the second half before Muench and Clark connected again on a score, but the two-point try was no good, leaving the score 28-26.
The Vikings looked to have a couple good chances in the fourth quarter, one after Muench’s interception with just under 11 minutes remaining. But a Vikings fumble inside Lane Tech’s red zone squashed that opportunity.
A fourth down, two-yard run by Yiannis Katsogridakis sealed the deal with 22 seconds left.
Merrill finished the game with 174 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. The Champions rushed for a total of 279 yards, while only attempting four passes, three of which were incomplete and the fourth a Muench interception.
Lane Tech now gets ready to host T.F. South in their first home game of the year on Friday evening, while the Vikings host DePaul Prep at Winnemac Stadium on Friday afternoon.
