No. 2 Meridian captures 5A SIC divisional title by knocking off No. 1 Rocky Mountain

Warriors snap 10-game losing streak to Grizzlies with memorable last-second 14-12 victory

MERIDIAN, Idaho - Not a lot happened for the first 46 minutes.

But the last two were filled with all kinds of excitement, including a 'Hail Mary' pass and a pair of two-point conversion attempts that all led to the ending of a decade’s old drought.

Second-ranked Meridian beat No. 1 Rocky Mountain for the first time since 2011 and clinched the 5A Southern Idaho Conference Foothills title with a 14-12 win.

The Warriors (7-0) will host No. 5 Eagle (5-2) in the 5A SIC championship game on Oct. 21.

"We knew we always had something since freshman year," senior wide receiver Corban Freese said. "So now that we’re finally here, that we were able to win on this night against Rocky Mountain, it just means so much. All the hard work that we put in, it’s just incredible. It was definitely well-deserved and played out tonight and I can’t wait to keep going."

The matchup between the state’s top-two defenses was certainly that. Rocky Mountain (8.5 points per game) and Meridian (6.7) both held each other’s offense to more than 23 points below their season averages. And the defenses would have probably gotten a lot more shine if not for the final few minutes.

Meridian was holding on to a 7-6 with just under five minutes remaining. But the Warriors looked like they were going to have to give the ball back to the Grizzlies facing a 3rd and long from their own 29-yard line.

That’s until sophomore quarterback Zeke Martinez dropped a dime to Freese. He hit him in stride for a 57-yard competition all the way down to the Rocky Mountain 14-yard line.

"As soon as I was about to catch it, I heard the crowd roar. I was so excited," Freese said. "I knew I was going to catch that. It was such a fun atmosphere to be out there to make that catch, to make that play. It was just another opportunity that I got that I took care of."

A few short players later, Martinez threw a quick slant to junior halfback Rylie Byington. He made one man miss before running through two more defenders for a 9-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 14-6 with 2:06 remaining.

But Rocky Mountain (6-1), which came in, only having twice to 5A SIC opponents over the last five seasons, wasn’t about ready to go down without a fight.

The Grizzlies’ ensuing drive started at the 2:01 mark and their own 15-yard line. However, senior quarterback Tegan Sweaney marched them down to the Meridian 30 with 11 seconds to go. He then took the snap out of the shotgun, rolled to his left, set his feet and let one right towards the corner of the end zone.

The pass tipped off the hands of Meridian senior defensive back Ethan Beard and senior linebacker Nathan Reynolds. It then went backwards and floated into the arms of Luke Luchini, who acted as if he almost couldn’t believe it, for a 39-yard touchdown catch with only a tick remaining on the scoreboard.

But Rocky Mountain was still down 14-12 and needed to convert a two-point conversion to force overtime.

Sweaney first tried to go to senior wide receiver CJ Jacobsen in the right corner of the endzone. Jacobsen just picked up an offer from Wisconsin on Thursday. It fell incomplete, but pass interference was called.

But on the retry, the Grizzlies decided to keep the ball on the ground with Idaho commit Art Williams. Yet, with an offensive line that includes a pair of future NCAA Division I players in Jackson Fullmer (Kansas State) and Zach Penner (Idaho), they were stuffed. The entire Meridian sideline emptied to celebrate snapping a 10-game losing streak and a bye to the state quarterfinals.

"As a defense, we keep our composure no matter what," Reynolds said. "These are the games we love when it comes to the last play. It really proves who the tougher team is and we showed who that was tonight."

Freese scored the Warriors’ first touchdown of the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Martinez early in the second quarter. He finished the game with five catches for 102 yards and the score. Martinez went 13-for-19 for 178 yards and a couple of touchdowns for Meridian, which ends the regular season next week on the road against Capital.

"It’s great, but we got to finish this thing right against Capital," Meridian coach John Zamberlin said. "We want to finish it out with a win and go into that with momentum."

Rocky Mountain senior kicker Dawson Anderson made field goals of 42 and 23 yards in the first half before the minor miracle at the end. He missed a 41-yarder late in the third quarter that would have put the Grizzlies up 9-7. They close their regular season at home against Timberline next week.