Meridian football slays another giant, moves to 2-0. ‘We’re gonna be something special’
Four years ago, knocking off a perennial 5A contender like Eagle or Mountain View would have made Meridian’s entire season.
Now, the Warriors take down the state’s powerhouses regularly. And they don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
No. 5-ranked Meridian held off No. 4 Mountain View 13-7 in a defensive slugfest Friday, scoring a second marquee victory in as many weeks to open the season.
No longer an up-and-coming program, the Warriors (2-0) have officially arrived.
“We’re that team this year,” Meridian junior running back Rylie Byington said. “We’re gonna be something special this year. Next year, too.”
Meridian’s defense dominated for the second straight week, holding Mountain View’s offense off the scoreboard and to 220 total yards.
The Mavericks’ only points came on a Maximus Maile‘s 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter. But Meridian quickly responded when Zeke Martinez found Byington for a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-3 with 19 seconds left before halftime.
That capped the scoring for the night as the state’s top two defenses from a year ago dug in for a stalemate. The Mavericks (0-1) forced a Byington fumble and recovered it at the Warriors’ 48-yard line with 3:52 left, setting the stage for a comeback.
But Meridian’s defense rode to the rescue one last time when senior Bodi Verity came up with a tipped-ball interception on fourth down to drive the final nail in the coffin.
“That’s what you sign up for when you play defense,” Meridian coach John Zamberlin said. “I don’t care if you get a turnover (on offense). What we talk about is it’s just another chance to play football, another opportunity for us to make a statement about what kind of defense we are.”
Despite making the state semifinals and taking eventual champ Rigby to triple overtime a year ago, Meridian entered the season unranked in the state media poll. The Warriors only climbed to No. 5 after a 36-14 thrashing of Eagle last week.
But another win over another blue-blood program sends a clear message: These aren’t the same, old Warriors.
“We’re capable of a state championship,” Verity said. “We believe that. We’ve been saying that for four years. Ever since my freshman year we’ve had that goal, and we’re gonna go get it.”
Meridian didn’t produce much offensively Friday. But what it did, it produced in a hurry.
Nathan Reynolds turned a tight end screen back against the grain and made a host of Mountain View defenders miss en route to a 54-yard touchdown catch. And Byington found a hole in the Maverick’s defense for a quick-strike score seconds before halftime.
Byington also ran 127 yards on 15 carries. And Martinez finished 5-of-12 for 123 yards and two TDs.
UP NEXT
Meridian takes a bye next week before traveling to Middleton on Sept. 9.
While the victories over Eagle and Mountain View are impressive, neither of them count in the 5A SIC Foothills Division standings.
Rocky Mountain, the state’s No. 1-ranked ranked team and the SIC’s preseason favorite, still looms Oct. 7. The Warriors will almost assuredly need to beat the Grizzlies to qualify for the conference championship game.
Meanwhile, Mountain View hosts Rocky Mountain in the annual Battle of the Mountains rivalry next Friday.
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 11:00 PM.
