Meeker Sports, MHS Football, Sports

Cowboys corral Longhorns

\MEEKER — The Meeker High School varsity football team opened the season in grand form last Friday night with a convincing 34-14 victory over the hometown Basalt Longhorns.
The Cowboys used a balanced running and passing attack to gain 197 yards on the ground and 170 yards passing in the win.
Meeker won the opening coin toss but deferred receiving the ball until the second half. Good coverage on the kickoff had the Longhorns starting on their own 16. Basalt gained enough for an initial first down, but three more plays and two penalties had them punting to the visiting Cowboys. Starting on the Basalt 44, Meeker showed that it may be a long night for the Basalt secondary on their opening play as senior quarterback Tyler Matrisciano connected with junior Dakota Rowlett for a 19-yard gain down to the Basalt 25.
Hard running by backs Tyrell Gerloff and Mitch Jacob found Jacob in the end zone with 7:20 left to play in the first quarter. The point-after-touchdown (PAT) attempt failed, but the Cowboys had gained a 6-0 lead.
The next series for Basalt showed some possibilities of a close game as Basalt quarterback Dillon Buck escaped the Cowboys defense for a 38-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 6-6. This was as close as the Longhorns would get the rest of the night though, as Meeker’s offense promptly marched the ball down the field again mixing passes and runs as Jacob found the end zone again for the Cowboys from three yards out for a 12-0 lead with 1:08 left in the quarter.
Meeker’s defense stopped Basalt to start the second quarter. Matrisciano picked up 14 yards for a first down to get the offense rolling again. Colton Brown relieved Matrisciano for a series and the junior QB showed good poise and ability as he proceeded to march the team 60 more yards and capped the drive with a 9-yard run for the Cowboy score.
Meeker’s defense stopped Basalt on the next series and took over with 24 seconds left in the half and the Cowboys set up a well executed drive. Matrisciano found senior receiver Trenton Schindler for two quick passes and gains of 20 and 8 yards. With four seconds in the half, Matrisciano rolled to his left, and found Rowlett wide open in the right corner of the end zone for six as the halftime horn sounded. With Jacob scoring the two point conversion, Meeker had a commanding 26-6 halftime lead.
Meeker only had the ball one time in the third quarter but made the most of it as Matrisciano scored from three yards out and then connected with Schindler for the conversion and a 34-6 lead. Although Basalt had the ball for 8:21 of the quarter, the Longhorns were unable to score.
Meeker did not score in the fourth period as some of the younger players got a chance for some varsity experience. Basalt did connect on a nine yard pass play and PAT to finish the scoring at 34-14.
For the game seven Cowboys carried the ball for the 197 yards with Jacob leading the way with 81 yards, two touchdowns and an extra point. Matrisciano was eight of nine passing for 116 yards and a TD, while Brown was four of seven for 57 yards. Defensively Jacob, Quinn Wix, and Caleb Ball anchored the Cowboy defense with 12, nine and eight tackles respectively.
In other action around the league:
Hayden, ranked No. 4 in 1A fell to Coal Ridge 16-14, No. 9 Paonia clubbed Cedaredge 30-13, newcomer Hotchkiss did likewise to 3A Roaring Fork 41-0, West Grand defeated Saratoga, Wyo., 13-9, Rangely lost to Altamont, Utah, 12-25. Meeker will host Olathe at Starbuck Stadium Friday.

Meeker 12 14 8 0 – 34
Basalt 6 0 0 8 – 14

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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