MEEKER I After a long bus trip for both teams, the Meeker Cowboys and the Holyoke Dragons met in Golden on a neutral field, and the Cowboys beat the Dragons, 52-14.
Meeker will host the Lake County Panthers as their Homecoming opponents this Friday evening in Starbuck Stadium.
“It was a four hour bus trip for both teams, but we were mentally and physically ready to play,” Meeker head coach Shane Phelan said. “We had to overcome a little adversity (a turnover, which turned into a touchdown) early, but we wore them down.”
The Dragons scored first, but the Cowboys quickly answered and continued to put points on the scoreboard, amassing more than 700 all-purpose yards, including 363 on the ground and 216 in the air.
“We were able move the ball successfully,” Coach Phelan said. “T.J. (Shelton) and Devon (Pontine) both had a good day, which is a credit to the offensive line.”
Shelton finished the day with 263 yards rushing on 14 carries and three touchdowns, including one for 94 yards. Shelton also threw a halfback pass to Cole Brown for a 75-yard touchdown.
“He is a special player,” Phelan said. “He also had one of the best one-handed interceptions I have ever seen.”
Pontine rushed for 61 yards, scored two touchdowns and caught two passes for the Cowboys to give him 100 total offensive yards. Sophomore quarterback Logan Hughes completed seven of 10 passes to five different receivers for 141 yards. Hunter Garcia, Eli Hanks and Sheridan Harvey also caught passes from Hughes.
Casey Turner and Chase Rule led the Cowboys on defense, each recording eight tackles.
According to statistics on Maxpreps.com, every Cowboy on the roster recorded at least one tackle. Turner, Ty Gibson, Jacob Nielsen and Tyler Ilgen all recorded sacks for the Cowboys, Ilgen had two.
This week’s Homecoming game against the Panthers will also be the first league game of the season for the Cowboys.
“We are hoping for a big Homecoming crowd, and we are excited to start league play,” Phelan said.
