PREPARING TO FACE GOLIATH

Meridian Yellowjackets takes the football field braving 100-plus degree heat in anticipations of their Class 2A, DII uphill battle in 2023

MERIDIAN – With practice for the upcoming 2023 Texas high school football season beginning Monday, very little could have prepared the Meridian Yellowjackets for the extreme heat weather conditions they faced as they took the field for the first time. Blazing temperatures soared past 105 degrees with no relief in sight over the next two weeks.

But considering the challenge that lies ahead for the team with one of the smallest enrollments playing 11-man football in Texas, the Jackets took the heat in stride by picking up right where they left off from six weeks of Summer Strength and Conditioning workouts.

“We have had a great couple of days,” said Meridian athletic director and football head coach Jim Kerbow, entering his second season at the helm. “The kids are working hard. As of right now, we will be able to fill a junior varsity and a varsity football team, which is good for the program.

“As far as the heat, Monday was hotter than Tuesday. We monitor our players closely and hydrate often.”

Following four days of conditioning without contact activities permitted and no equipment worn except helmets, the Jackets will have their first day of contact Friday, before playing their first scrimmage on the road at Valley Mills on Aug. 11 at 5 p.m. Following a trip to Chico for their second scrimmage Aug. 17 at 5 p.m., the Jackets will open the 2023 Texas high school football season at Lindsay Aug. 25.

Despite losing some key seniors to graduation in 2022, the Jackets will enter this season with plenty of experience to build around with six offensive and seven defensive starters returning. Senior quarterback Brayden Wehmeyer will have two veteran receivers in senior Ian Gomez and junior Matthew Jones, while the Meridian defense will be led by linebackers John Wyatt, Austin Pogue and Noah Alviso.

Following the last University Interscholastic League’s realignment in Feb. 2022, the proud Meridian Yellowjacket football program chose to opt up and play on the 11-man gridiron despite diminishing enrollment numbers, refusing to accept moving down to play six-man football in 2022.

Despite playing as David facing a gauntlet of Goliaths, the Jackets managed to snap a 13-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 8 of the 2021 season by winning their season finale on the road against the Frost Polar Bears, 28-27, in dramatic fashion to avoid its second winless season in school history.

“It was a huge win for our program,” Kerbow said. “We had to battle through adversity the entire game. It came down to stopping a two-point conversion with 21 seconds left. That game really showed the character of our kids and how relentless they were.”

Hoping to carry that season-ending momentum into the 2023 season, the Jackets find themselves once again selected to finish in the District 10-2A, Division II cellar behind the 2022 state finalist and second-ranked Mart Panthers as well as the Wortham Bulldogs, the Dawson Bulldogs, the Hico Tigers, the Frost Polar Bears and the Hubbard Jaguars.

“I don’t really take much stock in pre-season predictions,” Kerbow said. “There are too many variables especially in 2A that can change the outcome of district play.

“Our expectation is to make the playoffs. As far as the district, Mart will be in the mix to play for it all. And I feel like Wortham will play several rounds. However, I feel that we will have the opportunity to be competitive and fight for a playoff spot.”

Even with considerable experience on the rosters, the Jackets will have plenty of work to do going into practice in preparation for the upcoming season beginning July 31. After completing the first three weeks of summer camp, Meridian athletes took a week off for the Fourth of July before resuming for three more weeks of camp on July 10 running through July 27.

“These last three weeks, we have been preparing our kids physically for this heat that has set in,” Kerbow said. “We have also been using the sports specific skill days to work on our fundamentals to try and be a little ahead come July 31.

“We will have several new faces at key positions. However, the majority of those players have been at summer workouts. Therefore, they will be ahead physically. We have made a few changes offensively and defensively to fit our personnel, so it will be critical to get those fundamentals taught. We are excited about the fact that our players have a positive outlook as we move into the season.”

Although Meridian has not qualified for the postseason since 2017, the Jackets have a rich Texas high school football tradition dating back to 1916 – four seasons before the University Interscholastic League even existed. While posting a respectable all-time 538-410-36 win-loss-tie record for a .565 winning percentage, the Jackets have qualified for the postseason 26 times and won 16 district titles.

But that was then, and this is now. As attendance numbers have dropped, the Meridian football program has fallen on hard times, posted a dismal 6-43 win-loss record over the last five seasons with a 3-23 district mark.

Without posting a winning record since 2016, Kerbow has given the Jackets a sense of coaching stability after the jackets underwent three football head coaching changes in four years. With 212 years of coaching experience, Kerbow hopes that the system his coaching staff installed last season begins to produce victories on the field in 2023.

“My expectations of our football team is to win at least five games and make the playoffs,” Kerbow said. “Obviously, District 10-2A is a very tough district. But I believe if we can create buy-in, we can compete for the third or fourth seed. If we can go out and continue to build on our, it will be a great turn around for the Meridian Football Program.”