By Tim Stephens
HQ 39 | SUMMER 2000
Nearly nine years after he made the most famous field goal in Marshall history, Willy Merrick still is kicking.
Merrick, whose storied 22-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA championship game gave the Thundering Herd a 31-28 victory over Youngstown State, lives in Worthington, Ohio, where he coaches high school and youth soccer and plays in adult leagues whenever the opportunity presents itself. Life is relatively quiet for Merrick. Many who know him today don’t realize he is a college football hero and he’s not one to tell them. Yet, Merrick, 29, occasionally runs into a Herd fan who recognizes him and asks about “the Kick.”
“I don’t talk about it much,” Merrick said. “It’s fun to remember it. It’s something you never forget, the feeling, the emotion, all the fans. Yeah, I think about it sometimes.”
A walk-on who had come to Marshall as a soccer player, Willy had never kicked in a college game throughout his four seasons. Then, on the eve of the national championship game, Merrick’s younger brother, David, the Herd’s starting kicker, was suspended by coach Jim Donnan for a violation of team rules. Donnan turned to Willy, who flawlessly kicked four extra points as Marshall built a 28-0 lead. Then Youngstown State stormed back to tie the game. Marshall took over at its own 19-yard line with just less than three minutes to play. Quarterback Michael Payton skillfully guided the Herd to the Penguins’ 5-yard-line before Donnan called on Merrick to attempt the game-winner in front of 31,304 fans at Marshall Stadium and a national audience watching on CBS television.
“I never even thought about it coming down to a field goal,” Merrick said. “My teammates told me it was going to come down to me and I said, “really?” I had no idea.”
Maybe by being naive, Merrick kept himself from becoming nervous. Pete Woods’ snap and Andy Bowen’s hold were perfect. So was Merrick’s kick, which split the uprights and gave Marshall its first football national championship. Some fans sobbed, others cheered as Merrick raced to the Marshall sideline and into the arms of special teams coach Tim Billings.
“That’s a moment I’ll never forget,” said Billings, now head coach at Southeast Missouri State, Marshall’s opening opponent this season. “The look on Willy’s face, him running over and hugging me. It was indescribable.”
The kick culminated the most emotional game at Marshall since the 1971 last-second victory over Xavier, the Herd’s first after a Nov. 14, 1970 plane crash near Tri-State Airport killed the Marshall team.
Despite his heroism on the football field, Merrick’s future was in soccer. He played professionally in Buffalo and in Columbus, Ohio, before joining the heralded Indiana Blast in 1999. While fans didn’t chant “Willy! Willy!” as they did in Huntington, Merrick started for the Blast, an A-League affiliate of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, until a knee injury sidelined him and prevented him from playing professionally again this year.
Merrick’s greatest success on the soccer field came during 1996 when he averaged two goals per game with the now-defunct Columbus Invaders of the National Professional Soccer League.
“I had fun,” Merrick said of playing pro soccer. “It’s something I always wanted to do. Not many people get that opportunity, so I feel fortunate. I’m lucky that I’ve got to play as long as I have. I’d still like to get back out there, but I enjoy what I’m doing.”
Merrick has traded playing soccer for teaching it. He is the head soccer coach at Thomas Worthington High School near Columbus. He also coaches traveling youth teams and is the director of a youth league. On the side, Merrick dabbles in the grocery business. Wherever he goes, he said he’s proud to talk about Marshall. “I have enough to keep me busy,” Merrick said. “sometimes it gets hectic, but it’s a lot of fun, really.”
Merrick said he keeps track of his former teammates, watching the careers of New England Patriots receiver Troy Brown and Philadelphia Eagles tight end Mike Bartrum. He also follows the Herd, now a national powerhouse at the I-A level.
“I’m really happy for Marshall,” Merrick said. “I’m proud to have gone to school there. It’s unbelievable how far they’ve come, winning bowl games and being ranked in the top 10. I’m happy for the guys on that team who are doing well and for all the coaches. It’s amazing.”
That’s from someone who is an authority on “amazing.”
