Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 06, 2008

PREP FOOTBALL: Backup QB leads Trojans to district victory

BELLINGHAM - At Meridian, the football team doesn't go to the backup quarterback, it goes to the backup Slesk.

With usual starter Zachary Slesk sidelined for disciplinary reasons on Thursday, Nov. 6, the team turned to another member of the First Family of Trojan Football for its postseason opener in the Class 1A Northwest District playoffs.

Tait Slesk, Zachary's first cousin and a fellow sophomore, didn't disappoint, passing for 191 yards and three touchdowns and running for two more in Meridian's 45-8 victory over Coupeville at Civic Stadium.

"I was happy that I could fill in and help the team get a win," said Tait Slesk, who wasn't told he'd be starting at quarterback until Wednesday night. "I just wanted to do what I could to help fill in for Zach when he wasn't in."

Slesk got plenty of help from his teammates, as Bodean Norris rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown, and the defense limited Coupeville to 95 yards of total offense. If not for a 59-yard run by Justin Adams in the first quarter, the Wolves, who had only five first downs, would have managed only 36 yards and probably been shut out.

With the win and Lynden Christian's 27-14 victory at King's on Thursday, the Trojans receive the district's No. 2 seed and will face West Central District No. 3 Vashon Island for the right to move on to the state playoffs. That tri-district game will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Civic Stadium, as Meridian (5-5) will attempt to advance to state for the third straight season.

Coach Bob Ames said he expects Zach Slesk to be available to play on Tuesday, but he was impressed with what he saw from his cousin in his first varsity start under center.

"He showed a lot of composure for a sophomore," Ames said. "But our whole team is sophomores, and I thought they all showed composure at times tonight."

Of course, it's much easier to look that way with the start Tait Slesk got Thursday night.

Coupeville fumbled the opening kickoff, and Meridian recovered at the Wolves' 20. On his first varsity snap as a quarterback, Slesk - who has seen some varsity action at receiver and played quarterback on the junior varsity level - found Mitchell Tripp at about the 3. Tripp went high to make the catch and then splashed into the end zone for a 6-0 lead eight seconds into the game.

"We schemed it exactly that way," Ames joked.

Slesk's second pass attempt was almost intercepted, but he rebounded to lead the Trojans on an eight-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a 34-yard touchdown toss when he recognized Coupeville did not have a defender on Tripp on the left side.

In the second quarter, Slesk showed he can run, too, as he kept an option play around the right end for a 20-yard touchdown, giving Meridian a 20-8 halftime lead.

"I just tried not to get too worked up," Slesk said. "Zach talked to me a lot about staying calm, and Coach (Mark) Simmons told me to try not to do too much. They just told me to relax and play the game."

Slesk added a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 2-yard pass to Kody Carlson in the fourth, and Norris and Max Crook capped the night off with a pair of long TD runs.

Slesk completed 13 of his 19 attempts.

A performance like that, and it's easy to wonder if he might see more time at quarterback.

"I'll do whatever they need me to do," he said. "I don't know if there's going to be a quarterback competition between Zach and myself. Each of us will do whatever they ask us to do ... We just want to win."

That's something the Slesk family and their relatives have been doing as Meridian quarterbacks for years.

"I don't think Zach or I feel any extra pressure because we're Slesks, other than what we put on ourselves," Tait Slesk said. "The coaches and other players don't put pressure on us or say we have to live up to what our older brothers and cousins have done here. They just let us play."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.