Football: Bullock Creek Junior Varsity grinds out win against Mustangs

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Bullock Creek’s old-school run-based offense pounded the Mustangs all four quarters as the Lancers opened their season with a comfortable 20-6 victory at home.

Creek’s special teams set the tone early as Scott Flowers jarred the ball lose from Meridian on an early return to give the Lancers the ball at the 26 yard line. Bullock Creek seized the opportunity and marched up the field on a series of run plays culminating with fullback Tyler Carman punching the ball in from inches out. Sam Meyer kicked the extra point to give Creek a 7-0 lead with 8:21 remaining in the first.

Meridian’s offense looked dangerous on their first possession as quarterback Chad Larsen eluded Lancer defenders on third down and ran all the way to the thirteen. Bullock Creek’s defense managed to push the Mustangs back on three straight plays but to no avail as Larsen hooked up with tight end Jim Van Nortwick for six.

The Mustangs looked to take the lead on an option pitch to Van Nortwick, but Meyer came up with a nice open field tackle to keep the score 7-6 Creek.

Lancer’s special teams came up big again as Andrew Ortiz broke a tackle by Shane Bass-Fullerton and managed to return the Mustang kickoff all the way down to the one yard line before finally being pushed out of bounds by Van Nortwick. Ortiz then drove the pile to put Creek up 14-6 after another successful extra point.

Meridian’s offense moved the ball well during the second, coming up with key conversions and using both the rush and pass elements with some decent success. Creek’s defense always found an answer, however, and kept the score where it was.

The Mustangs finally managed to crack the Bullock Creek riddle as Larsen made a nice dash up the left side to score with 2:55 left in the third, only to have it recalled on an illegal procedure penalty. The Lancers took advantage of the slip-up as Josh Bailey tipped a pass intended for Mustangs wideout Jacob Hoyt for a turnover on downs.

Creek scored again in the fourth with 4:22 remaining as the versatile Meyer drove home another goal line scoring opportunity. A missed extra point left the Lancers up 20-6.

Undaunted, the Meridian offense marched down the field again - aided largely by a tremendous Van Nortwick reception which he ran down to the 33 before finally being dragged down by Ortiz and David Kobel.

Just a few plays later, it was Ortiz who put the nail in the Mustangs coffin as Larsen threw a pass right to him on the ten. Creek’s Trey Griese, Zack Roethlisberger, and Kenny Meyers all made solid plays off the bench to keep possession and run out the final minutes of the game.

Photos by Brent Riley