One of the sure bets in Public League football in recent years has been Payton qualifying for the IHSA playoffs.
But the Grizzlies, who earned their 14th consecutive state playoff berth this season, haven’t always gotten the respect of traditional powers like Kenwood, Morgan Park and Simeon or even up-and-comers like Young.
But two-way standouts Thomas Fitchett and Sam Merrill, who sparked a 20-9 road win against Westinghouse on Saturday, are working to change the narrative.
The first 12 state bids came when Payton (7-2, 5-2 Public Metro) was playing in second-tier White conferences. Last year, the Grizzlies moved up to the Red (now the Metro) and kept winning.
“It just shows our continued success,” said Fitchett, who threw a pair of fourth-down touchdown passes on Saturday. “It’s a great culture here at Payton. And being able to make the playoffs out of the Red two years in a row, that’s a really big jump for us. And now moving up to [Class] 7A, we’re excited to play some good [competition] and have some fun.”
Merrill also likes being tested.
“In the White I was playing these teams [and going] undefeated,” Merrill said. “It felt great, but we thought we were better. And this year, coach [Calvin] Clark and all the coaches just wanted to show what Payton can do in the [Metro] and how we can compete and go further beyond our expectations.”
Clark is the fourth Grizzlies coach during the playoff run, coming over after leading Sullivan to a 9-0 regular season last year. Like Merrrill, he enjoys the challenge of taking Payton football to another level. Wins over playoff qualifiers Corliss and Lane this season as signs of progress.
“We’re in a great place right now,” Clark said. “We had two tough losses against two great teams, Kenwood and King. I’m glad we had those type of games heading into the postseason because it just taught us about adversity. … These guys came out with great energy [against Westinghouse].”
Fitchett, a senior who plays quarterback and edge rusher, was 8-of-17 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He found Zach Hosek for an 18-yard score on fourth-and-15 in the second quarter and then hit Jhmari Guthrie for a 20-yarder on fourth-and-11 in the third quarter. That put Payton ahead to stay at 13-9.
Garrett had two catches for 50 yards, Hosek caught two passes for 45 yards and John Seward had three receptions for 69 yards and also picked off a pass on defense.
Grayson Schmueck broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to make it 20-9. After that it was a matter of locking down on defense and working the clock.
Merrill, a senior running back/linebacker, took over at Wildcat quarterback in the fourth quarter and the Grizzlies ran off almost four minutes before turning the ball over on downs with 1:59 remaining. He finished with 21 carries for 61 yards.
“At the end of the day, there’s nothing else to discuss,” Clark said. “It’s time to put the ball in your best player’s hands, which is Sam.”
Westinghouse (4-5, 2-5) had a 51-yard option pass for a touchdown from Ethan Wiley to Darryl Joyner on the last play of the first half and a 23-yard field goal by Luis Munoz. Senior quarterback Dylan Mosley was 13-of-24 passing for 143 yards with two interceptions and ran 11 times for 49 yards. Wiley had seven catches for 73 yards and Joyner caught three passes for 76 yards.
“We’re a young team,” Warriors coach Julius Carter said. “We start nine sophomores. … Nobody expected this team to compete in the Metro conference like we did. … My kids gave me everything.”