MEEKER I Cowboy junior running back T.J. Shelton rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns against the Bruins in Cedaredge on Friday to help his team come from behind and win the league contest 40-27.
The Grand Valley Cardinals will be the opponent for the Cowboys’ Homecoming game in Starbuck Stadium on Friday with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
“It was a game of big plays and a total team effort,” Meeker head coach Shane Phelan said of his team’s league victory in Cedaredge. “A lot of guys did a lot of good things at critical junctures in the game.”
The game in Cedaredge did not start well for the Cowboys, as they trailed 7-6 after the first quarter, and were down 20-12 at halftime.
“We had to overcome a little adversity against a good football team in the first half,” Coach Phelan said. “We didn’t play defense as well as we would have liked in the first half, but in the second half we shut down their big plays and made some big plays of our own.”
The Cowboys had five players run with the ball for a total of 399 yards and the defense recovered two fumbles and had two interceptions in the game.
Shelton carried the ball 25 times and broke away for a 65-yard touchdown. He now has now rushed for 1,049 yards in seven games, averaging 10.2 yards per carry and he has rushed for 16 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Jake Phelan had a 50-yard touchdown run, Devon Pontine had one for 38 and Logan Hughes had a 30-yard gain for the Cowboys. Senior Tristin Pelloni had a 10-yard run for touchdown and he also had an interception and eight tackles on defense. Pelloni now has four interceptions this season. Raul Lopez had Meeker’s other interception against Cedaredge and he too has four on the season.
Sophomore Hunter Garcia caused and recovered a fumble while classmate Casey Turner also caused a fumble, which was recovered by teammate Chase Rule.
Rule and Pontine led the team with 10 tackles, Shelton, Pelloni and Robby Jensen were each in on eight. Turner and Dillon Frantz each finished with seven tackles and Matt Frantz was in on six for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys have a 6-1 record so far this season and are currently ranked third in 2A.