BY TIFFANY JEHOREK
Special to the Herald Times
MEEKER I Meeker Cowboy football faced its second top 10 opponent over the weekend. The team traveled to Buena Vista on Friday for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Demons during their homecoming.
“It was a long bus ride with an overnight stay and I am pleased how we got after it,” commented head coach Shane Phelan.
In the opening quarter the Cowboys dominated the scoreboard 14-0 with two scores, one by Kelton Turner and one by quarterback Connor Blunt.
The Demons answered in the second quarter putting up their first score of the day, and the teams went into halftime 14-7 the Cowboys.
“The boys showed great effort the whole game,” said Phelan, “and we did a lot of good things. We missed several opportunities and were unable to execute a few things that ended up costing us the game.”
Offensively Tuner led in rushing yards with 215 in 29 carries and the Cowboys only put up three yards receiving by Casey Brink.
Once again place kicker John Hampton Hightower made it through the posts two times scoring the PAT’s for the Cowboys. Clay Crawford led the team in punt returns with 17 yards and one fumble recovery.
In the second half the defensive sides dominated the game, neither allowing any scoring during the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Buena Vista tied the game and then in the last four seconds of the game the Demons kicked a 40-yard field goal, winning it at the buzzer, 16-14. Turner led the team in tackles with 11, Connor Blunt had nine, and Elijah LeBlanc had eight.
“We are continuing to improve each week,” commented Phelan, “This bunch of guys is getting better every day.”
This weekend the Cowboys turn their focus to Grand Valley. GV is 3-2 on the year, losing to Gunnison and last week North Fork.
“We are so happy to be back at home,” said Phelan, “Grand Valley had a strong spring season with a new head coach that began last year, and they are excited about football again. We are looking forward to the task at hand and excited to be under the lights again.”
The second home game of the year for the Cowboys will begin at 7 p.m. at Starbucks stadium.
In JV, the boys traveled to Parachute last week to take on the Grand Valley JV, winning 43-6, then this Monday they took on Moffat County at home, sealing another win again.
