By BUTCH HARMON
Although the Merrill football team has just five seniors on the roster this season, one of those five happens to be quarterback Kyle Tack, and with Tack running the show on offense, the Vandals are capable of putting big numbers on the scoreboard.
Tack and the Merrill offense was at its best in the opening two weeks of the season when the Vandals scored 70 points in both the first week against Bridgeport and in the second week against Valley Lutheran.
With the high school football season approaching the halfway mark, Tack has put up numbers that would make fantasy football fans drool.
Through the air in the first four games of the season, Tack completed 51 of 78 passes (65.4%) for 793 yards and 13 touchdowns. Tack also leads the Vandals on the ground, as he carried the ball 54 times for 337 yards (6.2-yard average) and seven touchdowns.
For good measure, Tack also serves as Merrill’s punter and is averaging 36.3 yards per punt.
Opponents have not been able to entirely focus on Tack, though, as junior running back Jordan Garchow has also made his presence felt. Garchow toted the pigskin 40 times for 236 yards (5.9-yard avg.) and scored three touchdowns over the first four weeks of the season.
When Tack goes to the air, he spreads the ball around to an explosive and improving corps of junior receivers. Derek Good has been Tack’s favorite target in the early going, as he has hauled in a team-high 17 passes for 303 yards (17.8 avg.) and five touchdowns. Reid Ott has caught 12 passes for 172 yards (14.3 avg.) and a pair of touchdowns, while Devon Danowski has snared 10 passes for 137 yards (13.7 avg.) and three scores.