‘This one stings.’ How a fourth-quarter rally killed Meridian’s 5A state title dreams
For three quarters, it looked like the Meridian High football team would cruise to the 5A state championship.
But Rigby mounted a wild fourth-quarter rally, scoring 21 points in the final frame to spoil Meridian’s perfect season with a 28-21 victory Friday night at Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium.
“It takes resilience. It takes the power of wills,” Rigby (11-2) junior quarterback Luke Flowers said. “I knew that we got guys that can make plays, and I trust them to make plays.
“We leaned on each other to get it done, and it worked out.”
Flowers, who holds an offer from Arizona, led the comeback. He finished the night 31-of-44 for 312 yards and a touchdown. But he also made one of the biggest plays of the night with his legs.
Facing 4th-and-goal and trailing by seven points with 2:23 left, he couldn’t find anyone open in the end zone. So he tucked it and ran on just his fifth carry of the night, sneaking inside the pylon.
Flowers then hit Brady Packer for a bubble screen on the two-point conversion, putting Meridian in a deficit for just the second time all season. But the theatrics were only getting started.
Meridian (11-1) quarterback Zeke Martinez drove the Warriors to the Rigby 24-yard line on the ensuing drive. But Mason Burgess came off the edge and got a hand on Martinez’s arm as he threw. The ball popped up into the air and into the awaiting arms of Jack Boudrero, who returned it 69 yards for a pick-six interception to seal the Trojans’ third title in the past four years.
“We didn’t play perfect, because it was a little ugly early,” Rigby coach Armando Gonzalez said. “We turned the ball over and we dropped some balls. But we finished strong, and we took the ball away from them, and that was the difference.”
The blitz, fourth-and-goal call and two-point conversion all represented a series of calculated gambles the Trojans made all night. Gonzalez said he knew Rigby would need to take some risks to upset the state’s unanimous No. 1-ranked team and slow down its potent Wing-T offense.
The Trojans finished the night 3-for-4 on fourth down.
“I never want to see that offense again,” Gonzalez said. “I wish it never would have come back. It’s supposed to be in the Stone Age, or something. But they’ve done a great job reviving it, and a lot of coaches my age have never defended it.
“And so when you’ve got an offense like that, you’re not going to put it in their hands. I’d rather be aggressive and go after them and keep them off the field.”
MISTAKES COST MERIDIAN
Meridian had several opportunities to close the door on its first state championship in 2007. But a series of mistakes and three turnovers in the fourth quarter fueled the Trojans’ rally.
Meridian recovered an onside kick early in the fourth quarter after Rigby cut the lead to 21-14. But Meridian’s Marco Del Rio fumbled the ball away on the next snap.
Meridian star linebacker Nathan Reynolds ended Rigby’s ensuing drive, delivering a bone-crunching hit on Packer to force a fumble at the 10-yard line. But a high snap on the ensuing drive forced him to scramble to get a 22-yard punt off. That short kick set up Flowers’ go-ahead touchdown.
Even after Rigby’s pick-six interception, Meridian had a chance to rally with 1:33 left. But Del Rio fumbled the ensuing kickoff.
“We could have done a lot of things differently,” Reynolds said. “I know I put all my heart out there, and I know a bunch of my teammates did too. We’re happy that we got here, but disappointed with the outcome.”
MERIDIAN’S BEST SEASON IN 15 YEARS
Despite the loss Friday, this still goes down as Meridian’s best season since 2007.
The long-struggling program went 14 years without winning a playoff game until last fall. And then this year, it crushed everyone in its way until Friday, breaking a series of droughts, winning the 5A Southern Idaho Conference and rising to the state’s top ranking.
Junior running back Rylie Byington ran for 78 yards and two TDs. And sophomore quarterback Zeke Martinez finished 8-for-14 for 124 yards with two interceptions.
“We did some great things this season, some things that haven’t happened in a long time in Meridian football,” Meridian coach John Zamberlin said. “This one stings. I feel for the players and the school. But everybody is energized about Meridian football.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 11:48 PM.
