BY MAKAYLA SPARKS – for Whatcom Preps
BELLINGHAM – On Saturday night, Meridian faced King’s Way Christian for only the second time in history and moved to 2-1 on the season, taking a 35-12 victory.
Meridian found the end zone first in the game, after King’s Way Christian gave away the ball. The Knights punt came after an illegal substitution penalty that forced King’s Way to turn over possession.
The Trojans grabbed a hold of the momentum on the next drive, converting a fourth down and scoring the first points. Junior quarterback Jaeger Fyfe connected with junior running back Landen Downey for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The following kick was no good, leaving the score at 6-0 for Meridian.
The Knights responded two and half minutes later with an 11 yard touchdown pass. King’s Way’s kick was no good and the score sat tied at 6-6.
After trading the ball back and forth for the rest of the first quarter and much of the second quarter, Meridian’s senior running back, Joshtyn Elmer, gave the Trojans the advantage with a 5-yard touchdown run.
The Knights started the next drive on their own 43 yard line only to be stifled in the backfield on back-to-back Meridian tackles for a loss, both of which Trojan junior defensive end, Lincoln Hoefer had a hand in.
King’s Way attempted to punt the ball away but Meridian junior linebacker Kelley Gray blocked the punt and the Trojans took possession on the Knights’ 19 yard line. Almost a minute later, Elmer scored his second rushing touchdown of the night, this one from 3-yards out.
The Knights finished out the first half scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run. The two point conversation was no good and the Trojans entered halftime with a 20-12 lead.
Meridian ate up time for most of the third quarter putting together a 15 play drive that took up seven minutes and forty-eight seconds off the clock. The drive culminated with an 11-yard touchdown ran in by Gray. A successful two point conversation by Elmer lengthened the Trojans lead to 28-12. The quarter saw no more scoring as both King’s Way Christian and Meridian had a turnover on downs.
The Trojans collected the last touchdown of the game after Meridian senior defensive back, Cohen Fuller intercepted a Knight’s pass. They took over possession on King’s Way Christian’s 17-yard line and a couple plays later, Downey scored his second touchdown of the game. Rushing in from nine yards away, he also kicked a successful extra point and put his team up 35-12.
A desperate fourth down conversation attempt from the Knights proved fruitless as the Meridian defense denied them of the yards they needed. The Trojans knelt out the final seconds of play and closed out the game, up 35-12.
Meridian was led offensively by Downey who had 15 carries for 117 yards on the ground and 5 catches for 74 yards through the air. Elmer had 19 carries for 88 yards on the ground and 3 catches for 49 yards through the air. Fyfe had 9 carries for 38 yards as well as going 13-of-20 passing for 171 yards.
Downey also led the defense along with Gray. Downey had 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery while Gray had 7 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. Fuller helped with the defensive with his interception.
Meridian (2-1) heads out to the islands to play Friday Harbor (2-1) at 6:30pm on Friday..
Meridian 35 King's Way Christian 12 KWC 6 6 0 0 - 12 MER 6 14 8 7 - 35 MER - Downey 35 pass from Fyfe (kick failed) KWC - 11 yard touchdown pass (kick failed) MER - Elmer 5 run (Downey kick) MER - Elmer 3 run (Downey kick) KWC - 75 yard touchdown run (run failed) MER - Gray 11 run (Elmer run) MER - Downey 9 run (Downey kick) KWC MER 18-60 Rush Att-Yards 50-290 12-27-1 Comp-Att-Int 13-20-0 106 Passing Yards 171 Individual Leaders RUSHING - KWC: N/A. MER: Downey 15-117, Elmer 19-88, Gray 5-45, Fyfe 9-38, Fuller 1-2, Larsen 1-0. PASSING - KWC: N/A. MER: Fyfe 13-20-0-171. RECEIVING - KWC: N/A. MER: Downey 5-74, Elmer 3-49, Fuller 3-30, Haugen 1-13, Brennan 1-5.
