By Dinos Simcox

Photo: The conditions were far from perfect, with heavy rain throughout the contest. (Photo by

Dinos Simcox)

The Meridian Mustangs escaped their homecoming bout against their biggest rival, the

Brentsville Tigers, with a 21-14 win. This victory marks the Mustangs’ first time beating

Brentsville since 2017.

“That’s our biggest rival. I’m so proud of our guys. They’ve worked so hard for tonight. Our

players had a great week of practice, our coaching staff put together such an amazing gameplay,

[assistant coach Adam] Amerine called the best defensive game he could have possibly called.

That’s the best win of my career here, and it’s all thanks to our players and our coaching staff,”

head coach PJ Anderson said after the game.

The Mustangs started their bid for victory very strong, with an explosive return on the opening

kickoff, allowing the Mustangs to set up shop in Brentsville territory. Meridian capitalized on the

short field, running the rock all the way down to the one yard line. From there, senior Keaton

Grace bulled his way into the endzone for the first score of the game.

After a huge defensive stand by the Mustangs on fourth down, a long touchdown run by junior

running back Noah Mayer put the Mustangs up 14-0. However, that lead didn’t last for long, as

Brentsville struck back quickly with a touchdown of their own, shrinking the Meridian lead to

14-6 with six minutes left in the half.

After a lengthy drive by the Mustangs, a deep touchdown pass from junior quarterback Luke

Micciche to sophomore tight end Nate Landers put Meridian ahead 21-6 with 26 seconds to go in

the first half, cementing a dominant performance by the Mustangs in the first two quarters.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they wouldn’t be able to carry that momentum into the second

half. A lightning delay kept the game from resuming for over 60 minutes. When it finally did

resume, both teams played a very sloppy second half.

“It’s tough. We were amped up, and all things considered, that’s one of the best first half

performances our offense has had in a while. It would’ve been great to be able to get right back

out there, but we’ll take it any way we can,” coach Anderson said.

The only score in the entirety of the latter half of the contest was a touchdown and two-point

conversion by Brentsville to cut the lead to 21-14. After multiple turnovers by both teams,Brentsville failed to convert on on a fourth down late in the game. Meridian converted their own

fourth down try on the ensuing drive, officially sealing the win.

“Like I said, coach Amerine called a whale of a defensive game. We were pretty dialed in on

everything they did on offense. I wish we had converted on a couple plays after we got those

turnovers, but it is what it is. Definitely things we can and will improve on for Warren County

next week,” coach Anderson reflected.

The win finally breaks the Mustangs’ alternating win-loss streak, and improves their record to

5-3 on the year. With just two games to go in the regular season, Meridian’s upcoming contest

against Warren County will have massive playoff implications, as the two are very close to each

other in district standings. The Mustangs will go on the road on Friday, Oct 23, to partake in the

crucial matchup.