Meeker, Meeker Sports, MHS Football, Sports

Cowboys rope Center 43-20

Alema Atoafa rushed for 170 yards, scored four touchdowns, recorded seven tackles and forced and recovered a fumble in Saturday’s 43-20 win against Center. “He had a monster game,” coach Jeff Palmer said of the senior captain. “He did a little bit of everything.”
MEEKER I Game three of this football season was a lot like game one for the Cowboys.
They won big.
And they shut down the other team in the process.
Playing their second Saturday game of the season — they will play their last one this Saturday against the Fruita Monument junior varsity — the Cowboys clobbered Center 43-20 at Olathe.
In the season opener Sept. 4 — also played on a Saturday — Meeker won by a similar score of 41-24.
“It was a lot like the first game,” said first-year coach Jeff Palmer. “We started off a little slow in the first quarter, then we exploded in the second quarter.”
In both the first and third games of the season, the Cowboys’ first-team offense and defense were dominating. The other teams did most of their scoring against the Cowboy reserves.
“Our first team has played nine quarters, basically, and the first-team defense has given up 14 points in nine quarters and the first-team offense has scored 98 points in nine quarters,” Palmer said.
In the second game of the season, Meeker lost to Monte Vista 14-10.
Palmer was pleased with the way the Cowboys responded after the home-game loss to Monte Vista.
“A lot of times, after a tough loss like we had, you can come out really flat the next week,” Palmer said. “We talked all week about staying focused and keeping our minds on the task at hand and bouncing back.”
The Cowboys scored one touchdown in the first quarter Saturday — a 25-yard run by Toby Casias. Victor Villalpando kicked the extra point.
But in the second quarter, the Cowboys kicked it into high gear, scoring four times, three of those on runs by fullback Alema Atoafa. He scored on runs of 11, 28 and 18 yards, with Villalpando adding the PATs.
“He had a monster game,” Palmer said of Atoafa, a senior captain, who plays linebacker on defense. “He did a little bit of everything. He had 12 carries for 170 yards, which averaged to like 14 yards a carry. He also had seven tackles, he caused a fumble and recovered a fumble.”
Jared Frantz caught a 7-yard pass from Trevor Matrisciano for another Meeker touchdown in the second quarter of Saturday’s game, and Villalpando kicked the PAT.
Palmer played the reserves in the second half, until Center pulled to within two touchdowns, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter.
“The JV kids didn’t play too bad in the third quarter, but we gave up some points in the fourth, so I had to stick the varsity back in,” Palmer said.
Meeker’s defense caused six fumbles and intercepted three passes. Ryan Wix had six solo tackles, two assists and recovered two fumbles. Frantz, Jake Nieslanik and Charles Scherbarth intercepted passes.
“We thought we could take advantage of some things they did on offense,” Palmer said. “Rather than going with a regular alignment, we had the defensive ends move in a little and shoot the gap. It seemed to disrupt their offense.”
Atoafa scored Meeker’s final touchdown of the game, a 20-yard in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys added the two-point conversion.
“He’s a big strong kid,” Palmer said of Atoafa. “He runs hard.”
Meeker, 2-1, will play its final non-conference game Saturday. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Starbuck Stadium.
“I’m happy we were on the winning side (last Saturday),” Palmer said. “Obviously, we’d like to be 3-0, but we’ll take 2-1.”

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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
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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.
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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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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4 days ago
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