BY JEFF WOOD – For Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – It is 323 miles from Colville to Meridian High School so you would think the Crimson Hawk football team might have a hard time “getting off the bus” for their game on Saturday at Bob Ames Field. That was not the case on this warm Saturday afternoon as Colville took its first possession and promptly drove the field for a 7-0 lead.
The one-yard rushing touchdown was the first of five on the day for the Crimson Hawks, but the Meridian Trojans bested that mark with 6 touchdowns and came out on top, winning by a final score of 43-36.
Meridian answered the Colville touchdown with an 8-play drive that included five completions by senior signal caller Trey Alexander. The drive culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior running back Sawyer Strunk.
The extra point was made by placekicker Luke Kulhanek and the teams were tied at 7-7.
Strunk ended the next Colville drive with the first of his three quarterback sacks of the game, but the Meridian offense couldn’t get anything going and turned it over on downs. As the second quarter neared the midpoint, the Crimson Hawks hit a short pass and Colville running back Baxter Phipps was able to accelerate down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown.
Down 14-7, the Trojans showed they could also score quickly as Kasey Brennan showed his speed on a 51-yard touchdown reception.
Now tied and building momentum, senior outside linebacker Pierce Brzozowski stepped in front of a pass and secured an interception for the Meridian defense. It was the former safety’s seventh career interception.
From the good field position at the Colville 41 yard-line it took only four plays for the Trojans to score again and take a 21-14 lead. Alexander found senior receiver Kayson Culp for the first of his two touchdown catches within the last 3 minutes of the half. The second Culp touchdown was a 45-yard catch with 14 seconds in the quarter that extended the Meridian lead to 28-14 at halftime.
As they did in the first half, the Crimson Hawks came out strong in the third quarter, scoring 15 unanswered points including a successful onside kick recovery and 2-point play conversion. All of a sudden, the Trojans found themselves losing 29-28 before even touching the ball on offense during the third quarter.
Not panicked, Alexandar calmly led the Trojans on a touchdown drive, working the screen pass game. Brzozowski scored from the 15 on one such screen pass and Alexander then bootlegged around the right end for a successful 2-point conversion. That untimed play put Meridian up a full seven points 36-29 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
Colville picked up a first down on its next offensive possession before taking a delay of game penalty pushing the ball back to the 20-yard line. But in a game filled with big pass plays, the longest one hit next as a Crimson Hawk took a crossing pattern and turned on the jets for an 80-yard touchdown. Once again, the score was tied, this time 36-36.
Colville again tried an onside kick but this time the Trojans recovered.
With 50 yards to go, Meridian executed a balanced drive and took the lead 43-36 with only 2:37 left to play. The game-winning touchdown was an Alexander to Brzozowski connection on a slant pattern as the experienced duo proved to be the difference for the Trojans.
Colville attempted one last comeback but was stuffed by the Meridian defense. After an entertaining game and 79 points later, the Trojans came out on top. The Crimson Hawks pushed them to the limit and Meridian rose to the occasion, picking up its first win of the season.
The Trojans (1-2) will travel to Onalaska (3-0) on Friday to take on the Loggers at 7:00.
Meridian 43 Colville 36 COL 7 7 15 7 - 36 MER 7 21 8 7 - 43 COL - 1 yard touchdown run (kick good) MER - Strunk 3 run (Kulhanek kick) COL - 50 yard touchdown pass (kick good) MER - Brennan 51 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick) MER - Culp 2 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick) MER - Culp 45 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick) COL - 12 yard touchdown pass (kick good) COL - 6 yard touchdown run (2pt run good) MER - Brzozowski 20 pass from T. Alexander (T. Alexander run) COL - 80 yard touchdown pass (kick good) MER - Brzozowski 8 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick)
COL MER 36-73 Rush Att-Yards 14-33 14-18-1 Comp-Att-Int 23-30-0 234 Passing Yards 307 Individual Leaders RUSHING - COL: N/A. MER: Nguyen 2-10, Valich 2-9, Brzozowski 2-5, T. Alexander 4-3, Pfannenstiel 3-3, Strunk 1-3. PASSING - COL: N/A. MER: T. Alexander 23-30-0-307. RECEIVING - COL: N/A. MER: Brzozowski 10-129, Brennan 4-80, Culp 4-61, Fisher 2-17, Crabtree 2-5, J. Alexander 1-15.
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