Merrithey leads Glenbard East comeback

Note to DuPage Valley Conference football teams: don't give quarterback Jack Merrithey and the Glenbard East Rams more than three minutes to stage a fourth-quarter rally.

That's plenty of time for the undersized signalcaller to bite you - just ask Lake Park.

Trailing the Lancers 18-15 with 4:22 remaining in the game Friday night, the 5-foot-8 Merrithey engineered a nailbiting 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, giving Glenbard East (2-0) a 22-18 comeback victory in Roselle.

Merrithey twice connected with 6-6 wideout Lee Skinner on the winning drive while also rushing for 27 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

"(Jack) came up to me and said, 'You're riding Lee and myself to victory,' and that's what we did," Rams coach Dennis Lueck said. "We had some outstanding football plays tonight by our kids."

Just not outstanding in the first quarter.

The Lancers (1-1) needed just 34 seconds of total offense to rack up a 12-0 advantage over the visitors. Senior running back Artie Monaco busted a handoff on the Lancers' first play from scrimmage 63 yards for a touchdown. After an interception by senior linebacker Justin Kang gave Lake Park possession on the Rams' 25-yard line, Driscoll transfer Clay Cooper rumbled through the middle of the Glenbard East defense for an 11-yard score and the 12-point lead.

"They're a good team, and they were a little quicker than us in the first quarter," Lueck said. "Once we started getting our feet underneath us a little bit and playing a little faster, we were able to match up with them."

"We have no quitting bones in any of our bodies," Skinner added. "We know we have to stay together, and that's what we came to do."

For Merrithey, the game-clinching drive proved somewhat of a redemption. The three-year varsity starter threw an interception on second-and-goal from the Lancers' two-yard line to end the third quarter, going from potential goat to hero in less than 12 minutes.

"My team trusted me with a couple QB sneaks (on the final drive), and I'm grateful for it," he said. "I would not let them down in that situation."

Lake Park could have sealed the game midway through the fourth quarter, but a pair of holding penalties pushed the Lancers from the Glenbard East 6-yard line all the way back to the Rams' 35.

"All we had to do was (score), and we might've had the game there," Lancers coach Andy Livingston said.