Meridian football delivers statement win on opening night. ‘We just … imposed our will.’
After making a run to the state semifinals last year, the Meridian High football team proved Friday it’s not going anywhere.
The Warriors opened the season with a 36-14 rout of Eagle, snapping a 15-game losing streak to their rival and making a statement in a marquee matchup of two of the top teams in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.
“We’re continuing where we ended last year,” Meridian senior linebacker Nathan Reynolds said. “The end goal, obviously, is a state championship. But we’re not going to be on the come-up one year and then just go back down the next year. We’re building a program here.”
Reynolds spearheaded another dominant defensive effort for Meridian. The Warriors (1-0) returned all but two starters from one of the state’s best defenses a year ago. And all that returning talent held an explosive Eagle (0-1) offense to 158 total yards and just 14 points.
A muffed punt set up one Eagle score in the first quarter, and Eagle quarterback Jake Longson broke off a 92-yard touchdown run as Meridian started subbing with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Outside of the broken play, Eagle could muster only 66 total yards on 40 plays. It also committed three turnovers.
“We were physical,” Meridian coach John Zamberlin said. “We ran to the ball. We gang tackled kids. We just kind of wore ‘em down, and I really think imposed our will.”
Snapping the 15-game losing streak adds to a long line of recent milestones for Meridian. After winning the state title in 2007, the Warriors never seriously contended again until last season, when they made an underdog run to the semifinals and took eventual state champ Rigby into triple overtime.
But the long-struggling program no longer carries the underdog title. Meridian finished tied for second in the 5A SIC preseason coaches’ poll. And the Warriors backed up the hype by dominating Eagle, which was picked fourth, in every aspect of the game on Friday.
“I remember, freshman year, we missed the playoffs. We went 3-6,” Reynolds said. “Now, everybody doesn’t want to play us.”
The game started 30 minutes late after a lightning delay. But Meridian shook off the curveball, finding the end zone on its first possession with sophomore quarterback Zeke Martinez’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Acree.
Eagle tied the score when a muffed punt set the Mustangs up at Meridian’s 8-yard line on the next possession. But Meridian took a 15-7 lead into halftime thanks to another Martinez touchdown pass and then a defensive safety, and the Warriors never looked back.
Martinez finished the night 8-for-13 for 149 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Junior running back Marco Del Rio helped ice the game with 69 rushing yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns. And Rylie Byington added 63 more yards on the ground as Meridian unveiled a potent Wing-T running game.
“Season openers are always a little rough,” Del Rio said. “... But we still executed. We came out and executed. And I think that gives us a lot of momentum for the season.”
UP NEXT
The Warriors host Mountain View next week in another marquee game. The Mavericks also finished tied for second in the SIC’s preseason poll. And they saw Meridian end their perfect season last year in the state quarterfinals.
Eagle has a bye week before trying to bounce back at home against Kuna on Sept. 2.
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 11:11 PM.
