One good arm was enough for Payton’s Grayson Schmueck.
Schmueck contributed some productive runs and spearheaded a stingy defense as the Grizzlies grinded their way to a 13-12 win against Amundsen on a hot Saturday afternoon at Winnemac Stadium.
The senior ran 12 times for 69 yards — both game highs — with an arm that was wrapped and padded.
“Grayson is the heart and soul of the team,” Payton quarterback Jackson Peters said. “He plays with 1000% effort. He has a sprained wrist right now in a club, and he said, ‘I’m still going to play offense and defense without having to stop. Yeah … we rally behind guys like him who want to play 100% effort every play.”
That’s a necessity given his size, according to Schmueck.
“Really, [I’m] just doing anything I can,” he said. “I mean, I’m 165 pounds playing at a linebacker. It’s not a great recipe. But I’m out here making plays and stuff, just doing anything I can.”
How does he carry the ball with the injury?
“I mean, just go right hand and use [the club] to whack some people,” he said with a smile.
In any case, Schmueck has done enough to help Payton (3-0) continue its push for a 15th consecutive IHSA playoff berth. The leaders of last year’s 7-3 team, two-way stars Thomas Fitchett and Sam Merrill, have graduated and Schmueck and Peters have stepped up to replace them.
“He’s a slot guy, he’s a do-everything [player],” Payton coach Calvin Clark said of Schmueck. “That kid said, ‘Give me the ball, coach.’
“And you’ve got to love this game with guys like him, man. … I’m not the coach I am without a Grayson at the end of the day.”
Peters has been clutch as well. He accounted for both Payton touchdowns on Saturday, throwing a nine-yard TD pass to Israel Oluwalana in the second quarter and running six yards for the go-ahead score with 3:31 left in the game. Peters was 8-of-14 passing for 99 yards with no interceptions.
Peters went 3-0 as the Grizzlies’ starting quarterback last season before Fitchett took over as the No. 1.
“So he has leadership already,” Clark said. “And he’s just built to be an outstanding and great quarterback.
“You saw it in that last drive. I looked at him when we went down, and the team didn’t get down. We knew this is what we work hard for during practice.”
Amundsen (1-2) is in a transition year after graduating 20 starters. One of the two returning regulars is junior quarterback Jake Siefert, who played receiver last season.
He completed 12 of 23 passes for 139 yards with no interceptions and ran seven times for 50 yards. His 12-yard TD run with 7:33 left gave the Vikings a 12-7 lead. Milton Follmar also had a short TD run for Amundsen.
“We’re a very young team and I told my coaches we’ve got to stay positive with them,” Vikings coach Nick Olson said. “… [Payton’s] kids just wanted it more today, And they were disciplined and we weren’t disciplined. We need to continue to work on majoring in the minors and figuring out the small nuances in the game of football.”