Blue Valley North quarterback Graham Mertz made a few big plays in Friday’s season opener against Blue Valley Northwest.

More importantly for the Mustangs, Mertz added a lot of the little plays — which is precisely how he managed a somewhat quiet six touchdown performance in a 48-13 victory.

Only two of Mertz’s 25 completions covered more than 25 yards —– and four of his touchdown passes were 4 yards or less.

Not that he’s complaining.

“With those athletes around me, it’s just picking and throwing,” Mertz said. “It’s great having weapons on the field. It’s just easy throws. It’s awesome.”

Five different Mustang receivers caught a pass, and four scored. Running back Grant Hamel had three touchdowns among his four receptions, and finished with 114 yards from scrimmage.

Mertz had plenty of weapons on the field at his previous school, Bishop Miege. The only problem was that he was stuck behind standout quarterback Carter Putz.

Now that he has the reins of the Mustang offense, Mertz was happy to show what he can do. He finished with 259 yards and no interceptions to complement those six touchdowns.

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