Meeker Sports, MHS Football, Sports

Cowboys fall to Centauri in quarterfinal

MEEKER | The Meeker Cowboys made it two games into the postseason before falling to the Centauri Falcons 41-6. The Cowboys struggled to get out of the gates on a warm November afternoon. Starting quarterback Ryan Phelan, junior, suffered a season-ending injury in the first playoff game against Buena Vista. In the second game of the playoffs, the duties fell to junior quarterback Brayden Garcia who took a late hit in the second quarter that resulted in a personal foul on the Falcons and injury to Garcia that kept him out of the rest of the game.

“The kids did well, we had the injury bug bite us this game, but we are really proud of their effort,” commented head coach Shane Phelan.

The Cowboys then looked to senior Jake Shelton who had not played quarterback since his freshman year. Ten games into the season the injuries were felt throughout the team.

Offensively the Cowboys passed for 67 yards led by Shelton and rushed for 129 yards led by Kelton Turner and Jeremy Woodward. Cole Rogers was the only Cowboy to score on a pass from Shelton. Meeker averaged 252 yards passing and 179 yards rushing and 30.4 points this year.

Centauri controlled the clock for much of the game and the defensive numbers are reflective. Four Cowboys had double-digit tackles: Ridge Willams and Colby Clatterbaugh each had 10, Tevin Pelloni had 11, and Turner had 13.

“The kids played hard but defensively we struggled and offensively we couldn’t get into the end zone, makes it hard to win a game,” said Phelan.

Regardless of the outcome in the final game, the Cowboys had a tremendous season, the best in the Western Slope League. Phelan talked about the year as a whole. “We didn’t finish like we wanted, but we are excited for another league championship, a fourth for this senior class, says a lot about those boys.”

Meeker suffered one loss during the regular season when Limon traveled to Meeker. “We plugged away all year, there was a small hiccup after Limon, but we faced the league strong,” said Phelan.

Meeker names were often listed as stat leaders across all classes in the state of Colorado throughout much of the year. The following Cowboys are named stat leaders in 1A: Phelan— No. 1 in passing, Woodward—16th in rushing, Rogers—No. 1 in receiving, Shelton No. 5 in receiving, Pelloni—13th in tackles, and Turner—No. 1 in interceptions.

The Cowboys now look to the rest of the 2019-2020 school year and winter and spring sports. Phelan encourages players to participate in sports “during both the winter and spring seasons so they continue to develop skills that will help on the field and stay in shape.”

Changes are coming next year for the Western Slope League. Two additional teams will be added: Gunnison and Roaring Fork (Carbondale). Both of these teams dropped their varsity programs and have only had junior varsity teams the past couple of years, and when they had varsity programs they were in class 2A. The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) allowed them to come back with a varsity program a division down in 1A. According to the 2020-2021 CHSAA alignment bulletin, two teams from the Western Slope League will make it into the playoffs and automatically qualify for the bracket.

Photos by Tiffany Jehorek

By TIFFANY JEHOREK | Special to the Herald Times

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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.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
  • 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!
  • It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
  • 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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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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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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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!
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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It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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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
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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Meeker FFA Chapter members competed at the District Leadership Development Event in Craig, Colorado, this month. Top row from left to right: Eva Scritchfield, Charlie Rogers, Alan Rivera, Trent Sanders, Koy Weber, Orion Musser, Said Rodriguez, Carlos Carrillo, Aidan Tapia, Hayden Garcia, Tristan Rollins, Mathew Willey, Quentin Simpson. Middle row: Sidney Keetch, Aurora Stallings, Sydnie Ross, Ava Nay, Lili Piper, Leah Wood. Bottom Row: Jaicee Simmons, Kailynn Watson, Cody Richardson, Kayla Castillo, Braydin Raley, Autumn Stallings, Aimee Shults, Emily Hamm. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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