BELLINGHAM – A lot was on the line for both teams, and it was Meridian that came out on top against Nooksack Valley 42-28 at Bob Ames Field on Friday night.
It was the first time that the Trojans defeated the Pioneers since the shortened COVID-19 spring season, and it also gave an automatic berth to Meridian in the 1A “Round-of-24” which begins in Week 10 of the season.
Unfortunately for Nooksack Valley, the loss knocked them out of playoff contention for the first time in five years.
It was a very even first half, as both teams scored touchdowns in the first quarter. The Pioneers got on the board first with a 1-yard touchdown run by junior Treven Scheenstra, and the Trojans answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Trey Alexander to senior wide receiver Kasey Brennan. It was Brennan’s 100th career reception, as he became just the third player in school history to join the 100-catch club.
Meridian began the second quarter with another long drive after forcing a Nooksack Valley punt, and a long pass from Alexander to senior Pierce Brzozowski set the home team up in the red zone. Moments later, the two senior captains hooked up again for a 2-yard touchdown which gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead.
The Pioneers then marched down the field and eventually scored the tying touchdowns when junior running back Trey Heutink scored from three yards out.
After a tight first half, Meridian exploded for three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter, which heavily shifted the game to the Trojans favor.
Alexander lofted one deep into the end zone from 30 yards away, and Brennan was able to bring it in with one hand to give Meridian a 21-14 lead, and two more long drives in the quarter each culminated with short rushing touchdowns. One from senior Ethan Valich, and the other from junior Jaxson Pfannenstiel.
Alexander then threw his fourth touchdown of the game in the final quarter, which was hauled in by Brzozowski who finished with 10 receptions for 174 yards. Alexander had another big game as he completed 25 of his 36 pass attempts for 393 yards.
The Pioneers finished strong as Scheenstra found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter. Once on a 29-yard run, and the other on a 10-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Lucas Woodrich.
Meridian (4-4) will host Mount Baker (5-3) on Thursday at 7:00, and Nooksack Valley (5-3) will travel to Marysville-Pilchuck (1-7) on Friday to take on the Tomahawks at 7:00. It is possible that the Meridian/Mount Baker game might be moved to Friday night.
Meridian 42
Nooksack Valley 28
NV 7 7 0 14 - 28
MER 7 7 21 7 - 42
NV - Scheenstra 1 run (Leyerly kick)
MER - Brennan 35 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick)
MER - P. Brzozowski 2 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick)
NV - Heutink 3 run (Leyerly kick)
MER - Brennan 30 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick)
MER - Valich 1 run (Kulhanek kick)
MER - Pfannenstiel 4 run (Kulhanek kick)
MER - P. Brzozowski 3 pass from T. Alexander (Kulhanek kick)
NV - Scheenstra 29 run (Leyerly kick)
NV - Scheenstra 10 pass from L. Woodrich (Leyerly kick)
NV MER
26-134 Rush Att-Yards 23-126
19-37-2 Comp-Att-Int 25-36-1
237 Passing Yards 393
Individual Leaders
RUSHING - NV: Scheenstra 14-100, Heutink 6-18, L. Woodrich 2-9, Martin 2-5, Berends 2-2. MER: T. Alexander 7-78, Valich 6-26, Pfannenstiel 8-17, Manzer 2-5.
PASSING - NV: L. Woodrich 19-37-2-237. MER: T. Alexander 25-36-1-393.
RECEIVING - NV: A.J. Woodrich 4-69, Ackerman 4-46, Martin 4-42, Jones 3-58, Berends 2-11, Scheenstra 2-11. MER: P. Brzozowski 10-174, Goodin 6-93, Brennan 3-72, Crabtree 3-27, Harris 2-16, Pfannenstiel 1-11.
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