Tiffany Jehorek Photo
MEEKER | The Cowboys opened the game kicking off to the Bruins who drove down the field with force before finally punting. Meeker’s opening drive was a bit shaky as they adjusted to Olathe’s defense; they went for the first down without anything to lose and fell short turning it over.
“We didn’t start as fast as we would have liked to,” commented head coach Shane Phelan; “Olathe is a good team with good players.”
Adjusting the entire time during the opening drives, the Cowboys dominated the rest of the game.
“We played really well in the third quarter, imposing our will,” said Phelan. The Cowboys put up 397 all-purpose yards, and Cole Rogers led the way with 158 receiving. Rushing, Kelton Turner and Jeremy Woodward each had in excess of 60 on the ground. Combined with their receiving yards they were just shy of 100.
There is one regular-season game left; Hotchkiss will be coming to Meeker and the No. 1 and 2 teams in the Western Slope League will face off for the second time this season.
The Cowboys are ready. “We are expecting Hotchkiss to come looking for revenge,” Phelan said.
The last game between the two teams ended in a Cowboy victory 28-7. Hotchkiss is currently ranked ninth in the state with a 7-1 record, their only loss suffered at the hands of the Cowboys. Their defense is good, holding opponents over the last eight games to a total of less than 60 points.
Offensively, Hotchkiss has the state leading rusher and while their quarterback does not throw like the Cowboys’ last two opponents, Phelan calls them “extremely efficient.”
There was a bit of a shakeup this last weekend in the rankings. Florence faced Centauri; they now have their first loss in their record and their RPI dropped below Meeker’s. In class 1A, as it currently stands, there are only two teams that remain undefeated, Holyoke and Strasburg. However, Limon jumped ahead of Holyoke in RPI as they played a top 10 team, winning 40-9, a huge margin. Limon, therefore, sits in the No. 1 spot and Holyoke No. 2; these two teams will face each other this Friday and that win will ultimately determine who will hold the top position going into playoffs.
Meeker is currently ranked No. 4, and if that ranking holds into playoffs they will take on No. 13 at home in the opening round.
Kickoff of the Meeker and Hotchkiss rematch is slated for 7 p.m. this Friday at Starbuck Stadium. It is senior night and the parents and seven seniors will take the field prior to the game.
By TIFFANY JEHOREK | Special to the Herald Times
