Football: Junior varsity Mustangs gallop past Bucks 26-6

by Brent Riley

Peyton Marshall had three touchdown receptions to lead the charge as Meridian dominated Roscommon Thursday night in junior varsity action. The Mustangs hurt their opponents on the ground and through the air to come up with the victory despite some sketchy special teams play.

Meridian’s defense came up with a big fourth down stop in the red zone late into the first quarter and the Mustangs’ offense did not disappoint as Chad Larsen fired a pass to Marshall for six. A missed extra point left the Mustangs up 6-0 with 4:09 remaining in the first quarter.

The Mustangs offense began the second quarter by faking out the defense to draw an encroachment penalty on 2nd and 1. Meridian was charged with illegal procedure penalties that backed them up to 2nd and 23. Tensions on the field rose as Meridian players accused Roscommon players and coaches of screaming so loud that they could not hear the snap count. Coaches on both sides remained very vocal about questionable officiating for the duration of the night.

Marshall rendered the debate moot as he caught a pass on the five for the long fourth down conversion and then dragged two Bucks across the plane for his second touchdown of the night. A fake field goal pitch to Brad Wenzlick put Meridian up 14-0 with a little over five minutes remaining in the second.

Under a minute into the third quarter, the Mustangs struck again on a 50-yard bomb from Larsen to Marshall, with a missed extra point making the score 20-0 for the home team.

Meridian scored again in the third as Larsen took it in himself for the touchdown, set up by nice catches from Collin Alexander and Trent Hawkins that got the ball down close to the goal line. Mustangs coaches began subbing in second string players with a comfortable 26-point lead going into the fourth.

The defense kept the pressure up for the whole game, but looked most impressive during the third and fourth quarters as they repeatedly got to the quarterback for hurries or sacks. The Mustangs efforts paid off as Knute Hoffman recovered a fumble deep in Meridian territory with 11:01 to go in the fourth, effectively killing Roscommon’s chances of staging a comeback.

Meridian’s defense would preserve the shutout until the Bucks’ heavily run-based offense finally ground out a drive capped by a late rushing touchdown.

The Mustangs return to action Thursday, September 25 when they host the Gladwin Flying G’s. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Photos by Brent Riley