HITTING A SPEED BUMP

Looking to rebound from season-opening loss at Lindsay, Class 2A, DII Meridian Yellowjackets go back on the road to face Cross Roads in rematch at Malakoff

After getting off to a rough start in the 2023 Texas high school football season, the road just keeps getting tougher for the Class 2A, Division II Meridian Yellowjackets.

Coming off a difficult trip to Lindsay that resulted in the Knights handing Meridian a convincing 41-0 loss last Friday night, the Jackets will hit the road again this week to take on the even bigger Class 2A, DI Malakoff Cross Roads Bobcats at 7 p.m. this Friday.

Against Lindsay, the Jackets became their own worst enemy and could not overcome five turnovers as the Knights jumped out to a commanding 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

“It was tough Friday,” Meridian head coach Jim Kerbow said. “We don’t believe that we played to our potential. We also had some injuries that forced us to move players around to positions that they had not practiced all week. And as I have stated previously, depth is our greatest weakness and that showed Friday night.”

Using the season opener as a learning experience, the Jackets now turn their attention to their rematch with Cross Roads this week. Coming into the season, Cross Roads was picked by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine to finish sixth in the seven-team District 7-2A, DI behind district favorite Cayuga and 24th-ranked Axtell.

Last season, Cross Roads edged Meridian, 24-22, and the Bobcats opened this season with a crushing 48-0 victory over All Saints Episcopal.

“Cross Roads is much improved from last year,” Kerbow said. “They are big up front on both sides of the ball. They have a quarterback and a receiver that are very talented, so we will have to do some things defensively to defend those two.

“Defensively, they will be a 3-3 stack, which we have not seen yet. The stack can sometimes cause issues up front. However, it leaves them vulnerable on the perimeter and in the passing game. So, we will need to take advantage of that.”

Certainly, Lindsay capitalized on Meridian’s five turnovers as the Jackets managed only 96 yards of total offense. Senior Brayden Wehmeyer led Meridian with 86 yards rushing on 19 carries, but only completed three of eight passes for 32 yards. Senior John Wyatt added 28 yards rushing on four attempts, while freshman Wayln Sheppard caught a pass for 15 yards and junior Matty Jones hauled in another catch for 13 yards.

“Offensively, we struggled moving the ball most of the night,” Kerbow said. “Our inability to throw the football Friday night left us one dimensional. We are going to have to have some players step up this week if we are going to pull the win out against Cross Roads.

After a 2-8 campaign in 2022, the Knights brought 13 returning lettermen into the opener, including four offensive and five defensive starters. Lindsay has been picked to finish fifth in District 8-2A, Division II behind district title favorite Santo, sixth-ranked Collinsville, 15th-ranked Muenster and 2022 playoff qualifier Celeste.

While Lindsay must replace its entire offensive backfield, the Knights leaned heavily on experienced linemen Henry Hess, Cody Williford and Justin Schumaker to keep the line of scrimmage moving in the right direction with running back Simon Thurman finding space to maneuver.

Defensively, senior Noah Alvizo led the Jackets with eight tackles, followed by Wyatt with seven and junior Alex Rodriguez, while sophomore Garrett Pope came up with a fumble recovery.

“Defensively, we struggled with tackling,” Kerbow said. “That will and has been a focus defensively.

“We were pleased that several of our players stepped up and played multiple positions such as Brayden Wehmeyer and Garrett Pope. We were pleased with our offensive line play. They did a great job executing and staying with blocks. But we will need to work on our passing game and tackling.”