Meridian displayed the heart of a champion; would it get the hardware to match?

Getting a high school coach to pick a favorite team from year to year is like trying to get a mother to pick a favorite child – it just won’t be done. But if you listen and watch close enough, you can pick up on some clues of when a coach has a squad they really like.

Legendary Meridian football coach Bob Ames always smiles when he talks about the 2017 version of the Trojans. Sure he’s used the terms “small” and “slow” to describe them, but he says that every year. This year, when he says “they’re real nice kids,” you get the sense he isn’t just saying it to avoid a question – he really means it. And he’s come up with the nickname “pound puppies” to describe them.

“This is a special group,” Ames admitted Saturday. “They stuck with us through thick and thin. They liked what we were doing, never complained, worked hard and had fun, and here they were – we had a chance to upset the best team in the state.”

They most certainly did.

Meridian did nearly everything except win the game, pushing the two-time defending state champions to the brink before succumbing 33-27 to top-ranked Royal in an exciting back-and-forth battle for the Class 1A state title Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. Alonso Hernandez-Rangel’s third touchdown of the afternoon from 7 yards out broke what was a tie game with 2:32 to play.

Meridian (13-1) reached midfield on a last-ditch attempt to come back, but Simon Burkett’s Hail Mary attempt fell to the turf just short of the end zone in the southeast corner of the arena as time expired, ending the Trojans’ dreams of bringing home the fourth state title in school history this year, as the Knights (14-0) stretched their win streak to 41 games dating back to a state playoff loss in 2014 and claimed a hard-earned third straight crown.

“Everybody wants to win,” Meridian senior Tony Schleimer said. “We wanted this so bad, but you can’t be too upset – we played a great game.”

That’s a bit of an understatement, but considering Meridian was a sizable underdog, we’ll let it pass.

Ames’ pound puppies played with every bit of heart and determination you could ask for – they just simply ran into the best 1A team in the state.

But every time Royal thought it might start pulling away, the Trojans had an answer. The Knights, who averaged beating teams by nearly 47 points per game this year, never led by more than eight Saturday.

The 27 points Meridian scored were the most Royal gave up this year, and the Trojans’ four offensive touchdowns were twice as many as anybody else managed against the Knights.

“They’re really good,” Ames said of Royal. “I’m proud that our kids didn’t fall into the ‘oh my gosh they’re big and if they score a touchdown we’re going to fold.’”

In fact, you got the sense that if Meridian had just 15 or 30 more seconds on the clock, it would have been the Trojans celebrating with the big trophy.

“Nobody’s come that close, so we’re pretty proud,” Schleimer said.

Royal struck first on its third possession, when the Knights capped off a 10-play, 53-yard drive when Sawyer Jenks found Corbin Christensen from 14 yards out in the left front corner of the end zone with 3:47 left in the first.

Meridian immediately answered, as Burkett guided the Trojans on a 13-play, 65-yard drive before finding Bryce Vandenhaak on fourth-and-goal from the 4 on the third play of the second quarter.

And so it began.

Royal’s 44-yard double pass from Christensen to Angel Farias Ramos with 2:12 left in the half, was answered by Burkett’s 15-yard scramble to the end zone with 1:11 to play. The Knights’ 1-yard dive by Hernandez-Rangel 14 seconds before the half was answered by the Burkett’s 55-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Logan on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Hernandez scored on a 2-yard run with 3:51 left in the third, so Burkett sprinted 10 yards to the end zone on Meridian’s ensuing possession.

“Just knowing we had confidence in ourselves and feeling we could get it done kept us in it,” said Burkett, who passed for 305 yards and two TDs and rushed for 40 and two more scores. “We just came up short at the end. ... We knew we were outmatched by size, but our effort was second to none.”

Meridian looked like it might take its first lead early in the the fourth quarter after Burkett tied it at 27, as Manny Sabalza stepped in front of a Jenks pass and returned it to the Royal 43. But the possession didn’t produce any points, as on fourth down Kevin Galliano was tripped up on a play that definitely could have been called pass interference and the ball went back to Royal on downs.

“I thought he was going to take that to the house,” Ames said of Sabalza’s interception. “Our defensive guys and offensive guys did a great job scheming and gave us a chance – they put us in position.”

And though Saturday’s loss stings, Meridian should feel proud of what it accomplished this season, advancing to the sixth title game in school history.

The Trojans listed 10 seniors on their 37-player roster, and some of the losses will definitely be big. But Meridian will return a strong core. What remains to be seen is if they will bring the same level of heart, grit and determination that this year’s Trojans did.

“Our guys never talked about winning or losing,” Ames said. “That’s not just talking; they just didn’t. The came every week ready to play.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Meridian displayed the heart of a champion; would it get the hardware to match?."