Joel Tack is a two-year starter at quarterback for the Merrill football team. He is also a third-generation player, following his grandfather, William, and father, Darick.

MERRILL, MI – The legend involves a broken arm, shop class and a Friday-night football game.

And, since it is Merrill, a Tack.

Joel Tack is the latest in the family to play a starring role for the Vandals, who are 2-0 after knocking off Breckenridge, 36-14. The Vandals travel to Fulton for a Thursday-night 8-player football game.

The Tack legend goes back to Joel Tack’s grandfather, William Tack, who was a star lineman for the Vandals. But according to Merrill legend, Tack was sidelined with a broken arm, at least until shop class, when he cut his cast off so he could play.

“That’s a story I’ve heard a lot,” Joel Tack said. “I’ve heard it from different people, people who would know, so I have to believe it’s true.”

Tack doesn’t need to do any last-minute shop-class work to get ready for Friday’s game, although he has come back from two torn Achilles tendons and a dislocated thumb.

“The thing about the Tacks is that they’re all tough, they all like to hit,” Merrill coach Christian Wiley said. “I work with the defensive backs, and Joel also plays defensive back. I work with the pads when they hit, but when Joel hits, it’s different. He’s only 150 pounds or so, but when he hits the pad, I feel it.”

The Tack legacy at Merrill didn’t end with William. His twin sons, Darick and Ryan, starred for Merrill before graduating in 1994. Ryan Tack had twin sons, Nate and Kyle Tack, who starred at quarterback for the Vandals, Nate Tack in 2009 and Kyle Tack in 2010 and 2011.

Darick Tack has had two Merrill football sons, Colin and Joel, with Colin playing tailback for the Vandals in 2014 and Joel manning the quarterback position in 2021 and 2022.

“They’re all smart players who know football,” Wiley said. “They understand formations. They see things others don’t see on the football field.

“Part of Joel’s improvement this season is just experience, having played quarterback last season. For instance, our offensive lineman have one line of instructions that they have to understand. Joel has 10 lines, and he has to know each one and what all of his teammates have to do on each play.”

Kyle Tack has returned to coach at Merrill, taking over the Merrill’s seventh and eighth-grade team.

“He was probably my favorite player growing up,” Joel Tack said. “He took me into the locker room when he was playing. He tells me what it was like for the older members of our family playing for Merrill.

“I remember going to the playoff games to watch Kyle play. I want it to be like that this season.”

After two games, Wiley feels the Vandals have a good shot at making a run in the playoffs after just missing in 2021 with a 5-4 record.

And part of the reason for his optimism is Tack, along with his offensive line.

“Joel has taken a step forward, but he’s also able to play behind an offensive line that has taken great strides in the off-season,” Wiley said. “They really committed themselves to football and reshaping their bodies in the weight room.

“And Joel was in the weight room with them. They worked hard to get better together. They were driven to get better, and they did it together. The relationship between a quarterback and his offensive line is different. They work well together.”

Wiley points to Mason Ordway as an example. Ordway starts at center for the Vandals.

“All five starting linemen are back, but they’re different,” Wiley said. “They’re bigger and stronger, but it’s more than that. They transformed their bodies. You can see it in how they move. They can see it in their arms. Mason was benching 200 pounds last year. Now he’s up to 265.

“It’s not just that they’re stronger, but it’s in the confidence that being stronger brings.”

Other linemen include Cameron Raftery, Caden Fleming, Lukas Fischer and Grant Vedrode.

“Some play both ways, but not all of them,” Wiley said. “One of the advantages we have this season is that we have depth that other 8-man teams don’t have. There are some great players in 8-man football, great players on every team in our league.

“But I haven’t seen a team that has our depth. We can give guys a rest without an issue. Other teams our size can’t do that.”

The Central Michigan 8-Player League includes Portland St. Patrick, which won the title in 2021 with a 9-1 record. The league added Morrice, which was 10-1 and won the North Central Thumb League Stars title, along with Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, which was 7-3 and finished second in the NCTL Stripes standings in 2021.

Against Breckenridge, Tack ran 21 times for 197 yards, including TD runs of 4 and 14 yards, to lead the Vandals to a 36-14 win. It was Merrill’s first win over Breckenridge since the teams were members of the Tri-Valley Conference West in 2015.

“It’s a good league, and we have a tough game coming up against Fulton,” Wiley said. “My biggest fear is a letdown after beating Breckenridge. That was such a big win for our program because they really beat us up pretty bad when we were in the same conference.”

“Beating Breckenridge was great … unbelievable,” Tack said. “But I’m not worried. We’re going to be ready this week.”

And they don’t even have to go to shop class first.

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