On Friday, Oct 13 the Meridian varsity football team kicked off their annual homecoming game. They achieved an amazing 56-7 win, and now hold a 3-4 record as they head on the road to Front Royal to play Skyline.
Meridian got off to a quick start by recovering an onside kick at the 50 yard line. Three plays later, senior Omar Dabbourah (1) took a handoff for a 3 yard touchdown to take a quick 7-0 lead. The defense held them to a quick three and out that led to a punt. Then, junior quarterback Ben Kozbelt (5) passed the ball to junior Grady Jinks (29) to extend the lead to 14-0. This was the only pass attempt of the night from the Meridian Mustangs offense. Manassas Park then put together a long drive that killed the rest of the quarter but ultimately ended with a turnover on downs.
The next drive consisted of a series of runs with a fumble taken for a 7 yard gain. Senior running back Martin Kraft (23) capped the drive off, running it in for 6. This extended the lead to 21-0. On third down, the Manassas quarterback threw an interception into the hands of junior Domanic Zacharias-Martin (55), which led to great field position for the Mustangs. The first half ended with Omar Dabbourah’s second touchdown of the day. Senior Alden Harrison (9) also had a touchdown on the ground which went for 81 yards. This put the Mustangs up 35-0 prior to halftime.
Meridian started the second half with an onside kick, recovered by sophomore linebacker Seth Hahn (31). Later in the drive, sophomore running back Duke Dawson (10) ran the ball in for 6 as Meridian took a 42-0 lead over the Cougars. From there, senior Henri-Louis-Bono (33) scored a touchdown on the ground. Manassas Park finally scored a touchdown, placing the score at 49-7. Freshman Jetson Fitzpatrick (14) sealed the game with his huge run for a touchdown and a final score of 56-7.
“I thought our effort level was awesome. We played really hard, we practiced really hard” said Head Varsity Football Coach PJ Anderson.
“I thought that we did a really good job of staying on our blocks tonight. That’s something we focused on all week in practice.”
“That’s the effort level we need every night.”
