MEEKER | The Meeker High School football team continued its winning streak Friday night, picking up their third consecutive victory by defeating the Moffat County Bulldogs 45-0 in their Homecoming game at Starbuck Stadium.
The Cowboys had several standout performers in the win. Junior quarterback #11 Cade Mills completed both of his pass attempts for 83 yards and a touchdown while adding 66 rushing yards and another score. Junior running back #5 Said Rodriguez provided a spark on the ground and through the air, recording 101 rushing yards, a 42-yard touchdown reception and 167 all-purpose yards. Senior #10 Tristin Rollins scored twice on the ground, while junior #4 Tucker Chinn contributed a rushing touchdown, 41 receiving yards and 91 total yards.
Reflecting on his performance, Rollins said, “What clicked for me is that there was nothing that I didn’t see before in other games. It was all the same reads on both sides of the ball. Watching film and just staying focused prepares me for the game, just looking for the right reads and trying to get better.”
On defense, Chinn made his presence felt with two interceptions. He said, “I don’t have to prepare a whole lot because football is just fun and I have fun playing throughout the whole game. On my second interception I got a pass read and watched the QB’s eyes, which pointed me right to where he was throwing the ball. All that was left for me was to catch it and run. I think it is pretty important to be a versatile player on our team as a lot of our team plays in multiple positions and on both sides of the ball so you have to always be ready for anything. I think the biggest challenge this week against Cedaredge will be getting the right reads on defense, but I’m sure if we keep playing like we have been we will be just fine.”
Sophomore #52 Jonah Christenson led the team with seven tackles and reflected on the defensive approach. “As a defensive unit, discipline and communication are taught to us as a lifestyle. No matter the score of the game, we keep the same intensity and pace the entire time. The scoreboard is never a priority. In order to properly react and read an offense, days of preparation are needed. Constant film study and drilling are necessities in order to understand how an offense operates and how to disrupt those operations. Whenever something new or unexpected arises, the defense communicates these changes and makes micro-adjustments. One of my biggest takeaways from the game is, a violent and fast pace must be set early in the game in order to really shut down an offense. Once the pace is set properly, I think nobody can keep up with our intensity. Positive enforcement after every single play keeps our defense motivated. Even after missed assignments or errors, it’s crucial to take away the positives and move on from any mistakes. Simply doing better the next play.”
Rollins anchored the defense with four tackles, including two for loss, and both Rodriguez and junior #16 Trent Sanders added five tackles each. Senior #25 Samuel Conrado and junior #33 Johnny Allmon also contributed tackles behind the line of scrimmage to keep the Bulldogs’ offense in check.
Special teams were highlighted by freshman #8 Lawson Anderson, who had seven kickoffs for 292 yards, and junior #2 Elai Powers, who returned a kickoff 15 yards to set up field position for the Cowboys.
After the game, Head Coach Andy Coryell explained what stood out most about the team’s performance. “We’ll go look at some film. I don’t think we missed many tackles tonight. Those guys up front were super physical and did a really good job,” Coryell said.
On what he liked most about his team’s execution on both sides of the ball, Coryell added, “Just being physical. Moffat County is a big school. They’ve got big kids. We knew that we were going to have to answer the bell a little. They were big and strong. I’m proud of these guys for showing up.”
With the Homecoming victory Friday night, the Cowboys’ record improved to 3-2. This weekend, Meeker returns to the road to open league play against Cedaredge. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.
