BATTLING THE BEST

CLASS 2A ROUNDUP: Coming off loss to top-ranked Mart, Meridian hosts playoff-contending Goldthwaite Friday; Valley Mills with open date before hosting Rio Vista for season finale

Certainly, things have not turned out the way Bosque County’s two Class 2A high school football programs had hoped this season. But with two weeks left on the regular season schedule, the DII’s Meridian Yellowjackets and the DI’s Valley Mills Eagles hope to close the campaign out on a positive note to begin building toward the future.

Hoping to snap a four-game skid in District 10-2A, DII competition, the Jackets (1-4 in district, 1-7 overall) will host the playoff-contending Goldthwaite Eagles (3-2, 4-4) at 7 p.m. Friday at Jacket Stadium. The Eagles will be coming off a disappointing 44-36 loss to Wortham last Friday night.

“Goldthwaite is big, physical, and they play hard-nosed football,” Kerbow said. “We will have to come out and play fast, physical and minimize our mistakes if we want to get this one Friday night.”

Coming off a disappointing loss to playoff-hopeful Dawson, the Eagles (1-4, 2-7) get an open week before hosting the Rio Vista Eagles (2-2, 4-4) in the District 7-2A, DI regular season finale at 7 p.m. Nov. 8. Rio Vista took the driver’s seat for the district’s fourth place playoff berth with a 34-7 victory over Itasca last Friday night. Valley Mils clings to a slim chance at a playoff berth, needing a win over Rio Vista and some help from others. But Rio Vista can clinch the spot in advance with a victory at home over Dawson (3-1, 4-4) Friday night.

“We will use this week to evaluate some positions and see if there are better fits in certain areas,” Valley Mills head coach Bob Featherston said. “We have a lot of kids coming back next year, so we need to see the best place they can be pieced together.”

” I haven’t seen Rio on film yet, but here they are big up front with some good athletes in behind them.”

MART 54, MERIDIAN 0

Despite coming up with four turnovers against the Class 2A, Division II’s top-ranked team, the Meridian Yellowjackets were unable to capitalize on the opportunities as the Mart Panthers ran away with a convincing 54-0 victory last Friday night at Jacket Stadium.

“We thought our kids played hard,” Meridian head coach Jim Kerbow said. “We were just overwhelmed by Mart’s size and speed.”

While the Jacket offensive unit managed 109 total yards against Mart (4-0, 6-1), the Panthers shut down the running game, limiting Meridian to only 16 yards on 37 carries. But senior quarterback Matty Jones completed seven of 14 passes for 93 yards, connecting with four different receivers — junior Garrett Pope twice for 47 yards, senior Ian Gomez twice for 29, sophomore Walyn Sheppard once for 11 and sophomore Guillermo Ortiz twice for six.

“Our offense moved the ball at times,” Kerbow said. “We had over a 100 yards of offense, which was more than the past two years combined against Mart.”

Defensive Player of the Week sophomore Josh Nunez led the Jackets with five tackles, two assists and a fumble recovery, followed by Offensive Player of the Week sophomore Ezekiel Mabry and Pope with three tackles, one assist and a fumble recovery each, as well as Gomez with an interception. Jones earned Special Teams Player of the Week, while sophomore Jackson Boganwright was recognized as Practice Player of the Week.

“Our defense played well at times,” Kerbow said. “We had several opportunities to get off the field, but couldn’t get out of our own way. Mart’s speed and athleticism was too much for us to handle.”

DAWSON 30, VALLEY MILLS 8

All but losing any realistic chance of making a return trip to the playoffs this season, the Valley Mills Eagles were mauled by the postseason contending Dawson Bulldogs, 30-8, on the road last Friday night. Still hoping for a multi-team logjam for fourth, the Eagles struggled on both sides of the ball against Dawson as the Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding 22-0 lead before halftime.

Valley Mills tried to claw their way back in the game as the Eagle defense came up with a safety and junior Jasean Johnson powered in for a nine-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. But it proved to be too little, too late as the Bulldogs mounted a fourth quarter scoring drive to put the game away.

“Dawson is a very big and physical team, and they used it well against us,” Featherston said. “We didn’t play well on either side of the ball to even give ourselves a chance. I haven’t seen Rio on film yet, but here they are big up front with some good athletes in behind them.

Photos by WENDY OROZCO & courtesy of VALERIE KENDRICK PHOTOGRAPHY