LANGLEY – Although the weather didn’t make it much of a game to watch, it will always be a game to remember for the Trojans, especially for their five seniors, as Meridian closed its season by defeating South Whidbey 22-8 at Waterman’s Field on Thursday night.
Winds were high, rain was constant and the footing was less than ideal, and both teams struggled through the first quarter. The Trojans were able to put together two strong drives in the second quarter, with both resulting in touchdowns.
One on a 2-yard run by sophomore Landen Downey, and the other on a 25-yard run by junior Joshtyn Elmer. In fact, there were many plays that seemed as if Elmer had better footing than the other 21 players on the field. He had six runs that went at least 13 yards, and finished the game with 160 yards on 19 carries to lead his team.
By doing so, Elmer became the first Meridian player in four years to rush for over 1000 yards in a season.
The weather got worse as the game went on, and the Trojans were unable to complete a pass.
Elmer’s second touchdown of the game came in the third quarter, immediately after senior cornerback Eli Jensen’s big hit jarred the ball out of the Falcon quarterback’s hands, and it was scooped up by sophomore outside linebacker James Hedahl, who returned it 23 yards to the South Whidbey 19-yard line.
The Falcons were able to get into the end zone at the end of the game, but were outgained throughout the contest by Meridian in total yardage 259-125.
The Trojans ended their season with a record of 6-4.
Meridian 22 South Whidbey 8 MER 0 14 8 0 - 22 SW 0 0 0 8 - 8 MER - Downey 2 run (run failed) MER - Elmer 25 run (Castaneda run) MER - Elmer 19 run (Downey run) SW - 10 yard touchdown run (2-pt run good)
MER SW 55-259 Rush Att-Yards 38-90 0-7-0 Comp-Att-Int 4-15-1 0 Passing Yards 35 Individual Leaders RUSHING - MER: Elmer 19-160, Castaneda 14-66, Downey 17-45, Fyfe 5-(-12). SW: N/A. PASSING - MER: Fyfe 0-7-0-0. SW: N/A. RECEIVING - MER: None. SW: N/A.
