The Meridian Mustangs football team completed its three-game home stand on Friday night, playing host to the Colonels of Winchester’s James Wood High School (which, no, is not named after the Washington Nationals outfielder). Meridian entered the game having lost its two previous home matchups, but had played competitively in both games and was supported by a packed crowd of Mustang fans on this clear and sunny evening.
The visitors received the ball first, and marched straight down the field to open the scoring with a touchdown run. Meridian was able to fight back, though, driving into opponent territory thanks to their formidable running game, and the Mustangs earned three points by way of a Brayden Mellon field goal. That would be all of the scoring in the first quarter, as a series of empty possessions ensued, but Meridian caught a break near the end of the half when James Wood fumbled in their own territory and the Mustangs were able to recover. That set up a second field goal with seconds remaining in the half, as Meridian went into the break trailing 7-6.
Looking to grab the momentum, the Mustangs had an effective drive on their first possession out of the half as they found the end zone by way of an Alex Jacobson rushing TD. They attempted a two-point conversion to go ahead by seven but it was unsuccessful, and a James Wood touchdown on their ensuing series gave the Colonels a three point lead after their attempt to go for two was converted. Meridian trailed 15-12 after three, but after both teams were forced to punt, the Mustangs received the ball with solid field position at the start of the fourth quarter. They made the most of it as Jack Moore crossed the goal line to give the home team the lead back with about six minutes remaining, but unfortunately it was quickly answered by a Colonels touchdown to give James Wood the 22-19 advantage. Meridian had two more chances to either even things up or retake the lead, including one final shot when the Mustangs received the ball just shy of midfield with under 15 seconds remaining, but they were unable to find the big play they needed.
With the loss, Meridian drops to 1-4 on the year despite competing hard in all of its games. Now the Mustangs will face their next two opponents on the road, the first of which will be Kettle Run next Friday.
