MEEKER | The Meeker High School football team earned its second straight victory Friday night, defeating the Olathe Pirates 51-8 to move to 2-2 on the season. The win sets up a Homecoming matchup this week as the Cowboys host the 1-3 Moffat County Bulldogs at Starbuck Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.
Junior quarterback Cade Mills led the Cowboys with 151 total yards. He threw for 44 yards and two touchdowns and added 107 yards and a score on the ground. Mills also converted two two-point plays and kicked an extra point.
Reflecting on his performance after Friday night’s game, Mills said: “Even though we had to cut a practice short this last week, I felt like we worked hard all week and were prepared for anything that would come our way. I really owe all the yards and longer runs to our offensive line and our coaching staff. The win will help build momentum for our Homecoming game, but we also need to keep in mind that we will still have to compete.”
Running back Tucker Chinn added 95 yards and a touchdown on six carries, also converting a two-point play. Chinn credited the offensive line and Mills for his success. “Every time I get the ball I just try to make the most of it and get as much yardage as I can. The offensive line has been improving every game and they did very well last Friday night, opening up running lanes and making my job way easier. On my touchdown run it was a triple option play, and I’d like to give Cade credit for making an amazing read and pitching me the ball. After that all I had left to do was just beat everyone else on the field to the end zone. It feels good to finally change our record from a losing one. But we started off just the same last year and were able to still make the playoffs so I had no doubts in my mind we’d be able to turn it around again this year. For this Homecoming game, I hope we just bring the same energy as we have been these last two games. We’ll be working in practice all week so that come Friday we will be ready.”
Junior Said Rodriguez had 101 total yards, including 83 rushing and 18 receiving, scoring on both the ground and through the air. Senior Samuel Conrado, junior Johnny Allmon, and junior Trent Sanders also found the end zone as Meeker totaled 445 yards of offense.
Defensively, Meeker’s front seven controlled the line of scrimmage. Senior Tristin Rollins recorded a sack, two tackles for loss and totaled five tackles. Rodriguez led the team with six tackles, and Allmon added three tackles and a blocked punt.
After the game, Head Coach Andy Coryell said he liked how the team started and stayed physical against a talented Olathe squad. “I liked how we started that’s a really much improved football team. They got good athletes over there, and I liked how we stayed physical with them,” he said.
Coryell also praised the front seven for their performance that evening against the Pirates. “I think those seven guys up front, everything we do starts up front. No holes open without the big seven. I really like how those guys are playing right now,” he said.
Looking ahead to this week’s Homecoming game, Coryell said the team will focus on incremental improvements. “I don’t look too far ahead. We’re gonna try to get better Monday and work on stuff Tuesday, Wednesday and keep stacking stuff together. We’ll see what happens next Friday,” he said.
This weekend the Cowboys will be at home again as they play their Homecoming game against the visiting Moffat County Bulldogs. Good luck to the team this week as they look to defend their home turf against the Bulldogs who will be looking to spoil their game on Friday night, and as always go Cowboys!
