MEEKER I Coming off of a fantastic win over the North Fork Miners, the Cowboys turned their sights to the Gunnison Cowboys. In a battle deemed “Range Wars” by the announcer in Gunnison, Meeker took the lead early and didn’t let it go.
“Gunnison has a good bunch of kids,” commented head coach Shane Phelan, “We were able to get points on the board early and play with lead from the beginning.”
The coldest game of the season thus far found a large Meeker following at the game.
Connor Blunt took the majority of the snaps and ran for 22 yards and scored one touchdown. Ryan Sullivan also came in as QB for the Cowboys and together the two put up more passing yards then had been seen for the year.
“The way their defense was playing it just worked out that we threw more then we had for the past couple weeks,” commented Phelan.
On the ground Kelton Turner had 131 yards, Dagon Dade had 29 yards, Porter Hossack and Clay Crawford each had 13 yards, and Liam Deming 11 yards and Deming also caught for 68 yards.
“We were effective with our passing game so that was a bonus,” said Phelan.
Scoring for the Cowboys was Turner with two touchdowns, Blunt with one, and Trinden Powell for another.
“There were a lot of guys that contributed to the win,” commented Phelan.
No stats have been posted to see how effective Meeker was at controlling Gunnison in both the rushing and passing yardage, but this was the lowest scoring game that Gunnison has had to date. Defensively leading in tackles was Turner with 16, Zach Eskelson with 13, Elijah LeBlanc with 11 and Blunt with 10.
Going into the game Meeker and Gunnison were tied for the top spot in the Western Slope League, now Meeker sits on top. With a loss this upcoming weekend Meeker would still tie for league championship.
Looking to this week, Olathe is currently winless with a 0-7 record.
“Their numbers are a little down, but have some good kids and historically the kids compete hard and we look forward to a stiff challenge for a home game,” commented Phelan.
This week’s game will be senior night for the 10 seniors on the team and Cowboy Pride night. The team is selling retired jerseys for $8 each for the public to wear to the game and show their school pride. Numbers are limited as they have been distributed to the parents of the team but a few remain. Please get in touch with Tiffany Jehorek or Denise Sheridan if you would like to purchase one. They will also be available at the game.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Starbuck Stadium.
By Tiffany Jehorek | Special to the Herald Times
